Keyboards: separate, with smooth columns and half a turn

In this article, I will discuss the keyboards of general application, but with non-traditional physical layout, namely, completely or partly separated into halves, and the vertical columns.
If you are interested in the keyboard and do not miss the article about them here, then you already know than straight vertical columns shifted better, and the keyboard is divided in half better coincident. If not - at the end of the article I will provide links.

No, there will not be anything extravagant about chord keyboards, or constructed for printing shorthand method.
Just what is suitable Kaji of us who print a lot, whether he is a programmer or just loves chatik and forums.
Anyway, each of us develops a method to touch the print, and the sooner it happens the better.

For seed KDPV.





Please talk about this type of old keyboards, including Apple, IBM and NEC, who did not live up to our time, then a more or less advanced, and then a new wave, including domestic movement.



Keyboards are so many that classify them pretty hard. Leave this work to professionals, taxonomists.

History

Tron h4> It's hard to tell who was a pioneer in this area, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Japanese in the project Tron, who had in the mid 80s to become the personal computer platform, but there is an opinion that did not because of the pressure of the US government on Japan, lobbying Microsoft. We stayed on the multi-project report on a study conducted on a random sample of several hundred Japanese people to make ideal keyboard for most users. And what they got pretty interesting:



One can notice immediately a lot of interesting:
- Column straight, and are a fan. Relax your fingers and porazzhimayte poszhimayte hand and you will realize that it is very natural when fingertips closer to the hand, and they are closer to each other;
- Several buttons under your thumb. Even on a conventional keyboard spacebar is a bit high for that thumbs on it lying in a relaxed position, to say nothing of the modifier to which the thumbs prihoditya unnatural bend;
- The space bar, Shift, Backspace on thumbs;
- Press O and X (presumably - Enter and Escape) under the index and little fingers are not under the weak;
- The block is shifted by little fingers below. It is not surprising, because the little finger is shorter than the other fingers in most people.

NEC h4> In the Footsteps Tron'a went with my NEC PC-880I-KI, was released in 83m:


There were modifications reduced the keys from the middle block:


And then completely removed, at the same time adding another button under the thumb:


And then there is almost entirely removed the second column under the little fingers, and half pushed together.

Apple h4>
 Alas, Apple or did not fully understand the idea of ​​the Japanese, or afraid to do something revolutionary (and it was just a few years of stagnation), or tried to reduce the price of the product. It is possible that US law regulated the keyboard, and do something more or less deviate from standard was impossible.
It turned out that's what is called the Apple Adjustable Keyboard:



All great ideas were thrown out of Tron, there was only a half-turn, but adjustable.
Interesting to note that the keyboard has been released to protect the company's top while lawsuits from people who received RSI when printing on a conventional keyboard.
Keys - low profile.

IBM h4> IBM in the same year released 93m keyboard with the same name as Apple, Adjustable Keyboard, but a more flexible regulatory:





In addition, it has a traditional IBM for those times clicky mechanical switches with spring.
It sold a little over 1,000 such keyboards.

Cherry h4> A year later released the Cherry G80-5000 (before was a prototype V80-5000, but its release year unknown):



Those shoes, so even with the jambs - Enter Backspace farther than normal.

Silicon Graphics h4> These people are known to have thought about their users more than other manufacturers.
At 96m the year, whether the employee within the prototype, or hobbyists, gathered from laptop parts SGI O2.





I contacted the author, he still ardently relates to the keyboard, but are now very busy.

Again NEC h4>
 At the end of the section, because it released a decade later.

Model nonetheless interesting. First, Effortlessly keyboard, with a symmetrical shift of the series. 95y year:



Second, Ergo Fit keyboard, straight columns and half a turn. 98y year:

Daewoo h4> Unknown years prefix KOBO:



What is the market?
Currently sold pretty much everything. There are Kinesis, and Maltron, and many other, which I did large panoramic topic .

Since then, from the new just came Matias Ergo Pro:



Yes mysterious Esrille NISSE, which seems to be possible to buy, but the price is very strong bite, and there is a delivery outside Japan - unknown:



All these keyboards something good and something bad.
No wonder so many enthusiasts continue to invent new and new keyboard.
So, of enthusiasts.

Family Ergodox
Immediately shocking pictures. All keyboards are assembled by skilled craftsmen, home diy. By collectins or individual projects.
Sborkomplekt periodically can be bought on the internet, when accumulated a critical mass willing to buy.

Original Ergodox (kit for self-assembly) in different variations:

















The last version of the project was born Axios, as Ergodox open source. While it is impossible to buy. One of the prototypes was KPDV for this post:













Inspirer of the project Ergodox, Key64:



Not-Ergodox
Series keyboards from Jesse Vincent, who organized the company and continues to look for the perfect keyboard that vskolyhnёt public:











Atreus:



Handed OneHand:



Serial keyboard maker with capacious nickname suka manages to insert his keyboard trackpoint from old notebooks:





Here is such a nondescript version:



Here's a noodle:



And here is the miracle of technology, which is already difficult to call and keyboard:





That seems to me this keyboard is very comfortable, if you pick Wrist Support:



Very nice keyboard:


And even something that could find in the Korean forum diy:


That's not all, there is still a certain amount of keyboards in the development stage, they did not add a review.

Domestic
Tireless ibnteo and closest associates with their CatBoard, CatBoard] [ and 44 palms that me happy occasion managed to hold in their hands:







Like-minded people from Ukraine, nepotrib:



Steve_Key with its prototype:





Nylithius with concept < a href = "http://habrahabr.ru/post/218157/"> Ant-keyboard :





Zuncl with your keyboard :


Jedi_PHP from here such development:




Marseille Abdrahmanov with his concept :


And modestly yours truly:



Conclusion
The dream of many people, spending a fair amount of my free time and resources for the development of ergonomic keyboards, is that all printed on a comfortable, light, compact keyboard.
Would you like one of the keyboards of this review? Or at least try?

Links for curious minimal split ergo, inspired by ergodox, suka & obra
Homemade split keyboard • deskthority
Simplified split keyboard • deskthority
AcidFire's custom keyboard aka The Grand Piano
Homemade ergonomic keyboard CatBoard] [/ Habrahabr
Give me feedback on my custom design
AcidFire's custom split keyboard - ErgoGP
CatBoard
70% + ErgoDox = I may have gone mad
Hey Webwit! Also, Prototype vertical Cherry keyboard • deskthority
splits
1994 Options by IBM model M15 (ergonomic) 13H6689
Yogitype - Features
Index of / input / utron
kurplop
第１０章
www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/8801KI.htm
Oobly builds an ergo board!
Ergo56 - crazy idea for a mini, foldable ergo keyboard
ErgoTravel (ErgoT) - The small luggable Ergonomic keyboard
 

Source: habrahabr.ru/post/221209/