Keyboards have been standardized for many years and they typically come in a straight four to five row QWERTY layout. This is fine for short periods of writing but it is not the most natural way for the human body to be positioned for hours on end. In particular, the wrist must be bent in order to have your fingers resting on the home rows properly. This can put pressure on the nerves within the wrist and hand and lead to carpal tunnel in some people.

Ergonomic keyboards are those that are designed to help alleviate the pressure on yours hands and wrists to provide a more natural position for typing. There are many different designs for ergonomic keyboards but the earliest and most affordable designs are called split keyboards. These essentially take the standard keyboard layout and split it into two halves and then angle them so that the hands are wrist are aligned. It is a simple and economical solution for anyone that wants to try an ergonomic keyboards as there is learning curve on how to type unlike some other designs. Microsoft is one of the biggest makers of split keyboard designs. Today, I’m going to take a closer look at two of their ergonomic keyboards. Continue reading →