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Where do you keep your keyboard?
Obviously, if you have an all-in-one like an iMac or a traditional laptop, the keyboard is connected directly to the display. But if you have a desktop or a docking station — or even a Bluetooth keyboard for your mobile phone — there is some flexibility on where you place your keyboard.
I currently have an old (mechanical) Hewlett Packard PS/2 keyboard sitting on my desk attached (via a USB connector) to my laptop. The laptop sits off to the side and feeds into a much larger external monitor. I've tolerated this arrangement for a while but it is becoming apparent that this is far from the most ergonomic arrangement.
So, I am considering getting a keyboard arm. For those who have gone that route, how has that worked for you? What model did you get and how much did it cost? Did it flex under use or was it rigid and solid? Was there space for a mouse next to the keyboard? Do you have any suggestions on what to watch out for, either pro or con?
I'm in hopes that not only will I benefit from the collected experiences of the SoylentNews community, but that someone else we see a reply and choose to do something to improve their arrangement, too.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:23AM
i have modified my seat to accommodate my keyboard. my ass sits just above the keys, and to press a key i simply shift my position slightly and push out a turd enough so that when it turtles it pushes down on the key that i want
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:39AM
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 27 2016, @03:49PM
Sweet! Tell me more: then maybe I'll start building bombs in a cabin and take out Hillary!
Turd typing.... mmmmmmmmm....
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by xorsyst on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:28AM
What's wrong with on the desk, in front of the monitor? That's where literally everybody I know has it.
(Score: 5, Touché) by RamiK on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:49AM
Clearly, even when it makes perfect sense, doing it like everybody else is not the Apple way.
compiling...
(Score: 3, Touché) by Nerdfest on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:08PM
Plus you can do it with non-Apple hardware.. We can't have that.
(Score: 2) by Hyperturtle on Tuesday September 27 2016, @03:42PM
I have to admit I was not aware that there was a problem to solve. If I have a wireless keyboard, it is almost always for something like a tablet or raspberry pi sort of contraption. Maybe even the occasional mame cabinet configuration, but I use a ps2 keyboard most of the time for that. Most of my keyboards ARE "ps2", excepting for the work laptop as there was no ps2 port on it to use. Wireless keyboards get put in some storage or get things laid on top of it only to find it needs recharging later when it comes time to actually use it, because wireless peripherals suck in that regard.
That said... if it's a cabled keyboard, the keyboard is either on the desk, with enough cable slack to lean back and bring the keyboard onto my lap while reclining, or if the desk is small, the keyboard drawer under the desktop, where I will reach in to type without extending the drawer... assuming there is room for a mouse and mousepad with wrist wrest under there as well. Different postures and placements for different purposes.
I will have to look up what a keyboard arm is. It sounds like it is not intended for someone who actually types for a living.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:05AM
I through out the kiwi bored and ewes dick asian boys reconditioned software.
Salved!
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday September 27 2016, @05:09PM
I thought maybe this was a trick question.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Wednesday September 28 2016, @03:58AM
Depends. Is this where you use it, or just where you keep it?
I keep mine on a shelf under the monitor.
But I use it on my lap, which takes a whole lot of strain off shoulders and wrists.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:36AM
On my desk, which was selected specifically to be the correct height for me.
My previous desk was higher, but had a keyboard tray below it, putting the keyboard at the correct height, but also made it easier to reach my Wacom on the higher part of the table.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:50AM
If you are:
{1} Under 30 * You must use a gamer keyboard with garishly labeled WASD keys.
{2} Over 30 * You must use a Model M keyboard with keys loud enough to cause hearing loss.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Marand on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:50AM
If you are:
{1} Under 30 * You must use a gamer keyboard with garishly labeled WASD* keys.
{2} Over 30 * You must use a Model M keyboard with keys loud enough to cause hearing loss.
{3} Using a gaming keyboard because it 1. has extra configurable keys (5 left of capslock, 3 under spacebar) that are useful in normal applications, 2. is comfortable, 3. is full-sized unlike a lot of keyboards, and 4. has a proper numpad, arrows/home/end/etc. section.
I actually do have a Model M somewhere, but I really like the extra keys, plus I have one of those thumb keys set as a modifier so I get a whole extra set of shortcuts by doing things like binding mod+[key] to a common combination like alt-f4, or setting up an insane combination (like alt-shift-ctrl-|) and then assigning it in an application, or have it fire off a script.
I didn't specifically want a gaming keyboard, I just wanted something full-sized with a good layout (none of that space-saving fuckery some keyboards do with the numpad/arrows/etc, for example) and extra keys to work with. Turns out gaming keyboards are about the only option in this niche, and they do a pretty good job of filling it. I bought the keyboard mostly for size -- smaller keyboards make my wrists hurt after a while -- and the extra keys, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fancy bindable modifier keys thing. (As a bonus, the dumb backlighting is configurable and can be dimmed or even completely disabled. yay.)
People like to mock gaming keyboards, but they sometimes have a use beyond pointless blinkenlights and keyboard macros.
* Fuck your WASD heresy! ESDF is the One True Way. Keeps the hand on the home row, unlike the heathen WASD.
(Score: 3, Funny) by fadrian on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:20PM
{3} Using a gaming keyboard because it 1. has extra configurable keys (5 left of capslock, 3 under spacebar) that are useful in normal applications...
Don't tell me... You use Emacs, too.
That is all.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @05:43AM
I do, though my use of extra keyboard keys predates my emacs use, so I can't blame it on emacs. I mostly have the keys bound to things like toggling mute/unmute of microphone, minimise/maximise/close windows, some extra window management stuff, things like that.
I did try making one of the thumb buttons send M-x for emacs use for a while, but I didn't stick with it. I already have ctrl and capslock swapped, so I prefer ctrl+space to fire off the M-x command.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @08:42AM
But Crtl+Space in Emacs sets the mark. So how do you do that if you re-purpose it as Meta-X?
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @09:37AM
I rebound set-mark-command to C-t, replacing something else that I wasn't using very much. Though, shift+arrows usually works in GUI emacs as well, which would probably be fine for most people. (I don't rely on that because modes like org-mode often bind those combinations.)
I use the extended commands (via helm-M-x specifically) often enough that I wanted a better shortcut than M-x (though M-x still works because I still hit it sometimes). Did something similar with showing the buffer list and opening new files, repurposing easier shortcuts that I don't use as often for convenience.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by hojo on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:23PM
Fuck that ESDF nonsense!
Every FPS gets remapped to ASDF, then I use W for Use/Talk/Manipulate or whatever they stupidly had F mapped to.
Once you're comfortable on the home keys, why the FUCK would you scrunch up your hand to hit WASD or any other non-home series??!?
(Score: 4, Funny) by cykros on Tuesday September 27 2016, @06:12PM
JKL; is the true way, so sayeth the cult of Vi.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @06:38AM
Filthy vi heathen, embrace emacs as your saviour or be purged in the coming Hurdpocalypse! ;)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @08:45AM
A true vi user of course knows it's HJKL.
With the meanings of J and K being swapped compared to what intuition would tell you.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @06:01AM
Every FPS gets remapped to ASDF, then I use W for Use/Talk/Manipulate or whatever they stupidly had F mapped to.
I use ESDF because I don't usually need to press forward (E) and back (D) at the same time, and it's still easy and comfortable to hit E from the homerow. I use A for crouch or sprint (depends on game), and W tends to get mapped to some kind of interaction key just like you do. My left hand stays on the home row just like yours.
I once tried doing SDFC (using D for forward, C for back) thinking it made more sense to have forward on the homerow, but the D and C don't line up as well as ED, plus it's more comfortable (to me, at least) to extend the finger up to the E than to curl it in for the C. I tried, but disliked, having all the movement keys on ASDF because I find the A more useful as sprint or crouch. Easy to hold it down while moving that way.
Once you're comfortable on the home keys, why the FUCK would you scrunch up your hand to hit WASD or any other non-home series??!?
I think that's precisely why people use WASD: they don't use the homerow. Most people have no idea how to fucking type, so it never occurs to them to use the homerow for games. I've encountered people that didn't understand why keyboards have those little nubs on the F and J keys because they can't touch-type, so the idea of finding the homerow without looking at the keyboard was an alien concept, even after explaining it.
That's what happens when schools don't introduce typing classes until too late (my school only had a typing class in high school), if at all. Years of bad habits are hard to break. What helped me is I learned the basics of touch-typing from family when I was younger. Promptly ignored what I learned until years later when I got online, but it did help me long-term. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @09:16AM
I'm not sure that touch-typing would really be that helpful to me. Sure, if I'd copy long text from paper, or from online sources that don't allow copy/paste, the extra speed it would give me would probably be worthwhile. As is, my text writing speed is still mostly limited by my thinking speed, not by my typing speed (especially since I tend to move back/forward in a text quite a lot, in order to make — and sometimes undo — changes to stuff I've already typed).
Note that, contrary to what many touch-typists believe, hunt-and-peck is not the only alternative to touch-typing. As every pianist can tell you, it is possible to hit the correct keys while using all your fingers and moving your hand.
On the positive side, not using touch-typing means that I've got a more natural hand position, so I probably won't ever suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, it means that I have generally no trouble typing unusual key combinations (try to type a backslash on a German keyboard layout [wikipedia.org] using touch-typing!).
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @10:39AM
I'm not sure that touch-typing would really be that helpful to me. Sure, if I'd copy long text from paper, or from online sources that don't allow copy/paste, the extra speed it would give me would probably be worthwhile.
Being able to type without having to look at the keyboard is a useful thing for any sort of typing, not just when copying something else. It's not just about the speed, it's about the muscle memory and not having to mentally switch contexts every time you have to add some input. You're right that thinking speed will be the limit for character output in a lot of cases, especially with something like programming, but you can still benefit from the consistency of keeping the hands in a specific location because you develop muscle memory for the characters you need, so you focus more on what you're typing rather than how you're typing it.
As every pianist can tell you, it is possible to hit the correct keys while using all your fingers and moving your hand.
That's part of what you do while touch typing. Ideally, you minimise unnecessary hand movement by keeping the hands on the home row so that you only have to move your fingers, but that doesn't mean that moving your hands for far-away keys or weird combinations instantly disqualifies it as touch typing. When I decide to hit escape or type a ` I take that hand's fingers off the home row, but they still end up right back in the correct location without having to think about it or look at what I'm doing.
Also, it means that I have generally no trouble typing unusual key combinations (try to type a backslash on a German keyboard layout using touch-typing!).
Other than the slowdown that would be caused by unfamiliarity because I don't use that layout, I'm not seeing why that would be so horrible to type. Thumb on altgr, ring finger presses the ß; I can manage that while still keeping my index finger on the j. The { } [ and ] keys look like they'd be far more annoying, at least for programming. Even then, it's not any different than touch typing while using function keys or things like home and end. You can learn to hit those and still go back to the correct location without stopping to look at the keyboard, and it's still touch typing.
The thing I've noticed about touch typing (and possibly why you think you're better off without it) is people get too hung up on the precise rules of it and act like it's an all-or-nothing thing. I learned the rules, then figured out what to change to work better for me. There are plenty of places where I use the wrong finger or hand for a key (especially the numbers row), and some keys I'll use the correct finger some times and the wrong finger others, dependent on what other characters I've had to type (this happens mostly for the middle of the keyboard).
Despite my personal deviation from the "correct" way of doing it, what I'm doing is still touch typing, and I'm much faster at it than I was when I rigidly followed the rules I learned in school. (Not going to mention actual speeds because I'm not interested in seeing this turn into a pissing contest over WPM.) It's also a lot more comfortable for me this way, which has helped me avoid carpal tunnel.
Not trying to convince you to change what you're doing, mind. Your current habits are probably too entrenched for it to be worth the trouble of picking up better ones, and I gain nothing trying to convince you otherwise. Just seemed like you're a little confused about the subject so I wanted to respond with some info.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by riT-k0MA on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:09PM
I use a Logitech G510 at work. Those 54 (18 keys * 3 modes) macro keys are incredibly useful for scripting mundane stuff. Git flow has never been so easy.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @06:35AM
How's it do with Linux? When I was shopping for my current keyboard a few years ago, Logitech support of Linux was pretty shit and I didn't want to take the chance.
I ended up buying from Roccat [roccat.org], a German company that (unofficially*) supports Linux, and I haven't regretted it. Configuration has worked fine, and better still, all the settings and binds are saved in the keyboard itself, so once it's set up nearly everything the keyboard does works on any system, with or without driver and software installed.
Funny enough, I only found out about the company because my Logitech mx518 mouse was finally about to die after years of abuse, and I wanted to find a replacement that had a similar shape and feel. Logitech's own successor to it doesn't (or didn't, at least) work right in Linux, so I had to look elsewhere, and ended up finding out about Roccat in the process because their Kone+ mouse had a similar shape and feel. It was a great mouse but didn't survive** as long as I would have liked. Bought it at same time as the keyboard, and I'm still using the keyboard while the mouse messed up pretty early on and had to get replaced because repairing it ended up not being worth the trouble.
* It's not listed on "System Requirements" for any device, but the site links to the community-supported Linux page and the company assists the developer with keeping things working for Linux users.
** They don't even have that specific mouse on sale any more, so it may have been a design problem that resulted in it being phased out. They still use the same body for other mice though, so I might try again one day.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @12:55AM
What if you're exactly 30 years old?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @08:39AM
{3} Under 20 * You must use an on-screen virtual keyboard.
(Score: 5, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:59AM
> I am considering getting a keyboard arm. For those who have gone that route, how has that worked for you?
Not recommended. It seemed like a great idea at first, but the surgery was painful and recovery was complicated by all kinds of rejection issues leading to endless courses of immune-suppressants. When I finally got over all that and had it working as it was supposed to, I realised that an actual arm with a hand and fingers and stuff was far more versatile and useful for most tasks than a keyboard anyway. I dunno, maybe if I'd got a Model M I'd feel differently.
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:47AM
Anyway, my setup is exactly the same as martyb's. I keep my laptop open so I have dual monitors, and even dual keyboards which is sometimes useful when I switch the bigger monitor and keyboard and mouse to my other PC (KVM switch).
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday September 27 2016, @05:21PM
Tennis arms, keyboard arms, sidearms.
I am envisioning some kind of bizarre robot.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Nuke on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:16AM
Mine is on the desk in front of the monitor, where else?
If I needed that desk area for writing sometimes (what's writing, some of you ask?) I would pick the keyboard up and lean it against the desk pedestal to my left. However, in all the offices I've worked in for the last 20 years, and at home, I have had a 'L' shaped desk with the PC on the smaller wing and the larger wing is kept for writing, or playing with Lego, or storing junk etc
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @12:38PM
All of the cubicle desks in my office have those "keyboard arm" things under them. In 5+ years I have only seen one person using it, everyone else has it swiveled out of sight and keeps their keyboard on the desk itself. I only get reminded that it's there if I manage to bang my knee on it once a year or so.
Mine is on the desk in front of the monitor, where else?
Indeed, this must be one slow news day.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:21AM
Obviously, if you have an all-in-one like an iMac [...] the keyboard is connected directly to the display.
Is it? That would seem cumbersome.
Anyway, since you asked, I keep my keyboard under my fingers. I find this to be the most convenient place.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 3, Funny) by turgid on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:30AM
Mine is attached to the Harpsichord. It's a devil to keep clean but we have a good maid.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by Rich on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:13AM
... the whole laptop rests on a 6 cm high cardboard box (73 cm table, 45 cm chair levels). This is in order to reduce the down-looking angle for the neck. I get neckache when I have to work with a laptop that plainly sits on a table, but the slight elevation makes a massive difference and I haven't had the slightest problem in a long, long time. Except for the sitting itself, which requires compensation through regular gym work-outs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @12:55PM
Similar here, but have the laptop on a small wire rack that holds it about 5.5 inches / 140mm above the table. Puts laptop screen up near to eye level and also lets the laptop cool with bottom exposed.
Think the rack came with some cooking device, but can't find it, sorry. Similar to this one,
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kitchen-Metal-Rectangle-Foldable-Bread-Cake-Baking-Cooling-Rack-Black-40-x-25cm/153137078 [walmart.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by crb3 on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:27AM
If you need stability, IMO a keyboard arm is not for you. No matter how robust they're built, they will quiver and oscillate in recoil from your typing. You're likely to waste a lot of effort chasing your home row around.
I, unlike most (perhaps because I'm not a touch typist -- more like "turbo hunt 'n' peck" that converged over time towards a two-hand style but stays one-hand-flexible), favor a modern low-travel low-force keyboard, like, say, a Logitech K-120... so that's the kind of keyboard I tried using on a massive painted-steel-monster keyboard arm I picked up cheap, and still it was way too mobile for decent typing. I can just imagine how it would recoil from the impacts of an M-30 typist.
I suggest you instead figure out the needed surface heights according to your ergonomics, and then see about arranging for stable support surfaces there, keeping in mind having the most-used tooling most conveniently ready. For example...
My setup is one full plus cut-down blank doors in a U-shaped trio of rectangles with triangle pieces screwed on for a part-octagonal arrangement, but then my space has four consoles for four under-desktop machines plus DMM, 'scope, power supplies, plugboards and mounds of hand tools and parts (at least the soldering iron is usually at the next work-surface over, though it can be plopped into the mess when needed). The keyboards are put next to the monitors with their mice adjacent, because they're used a lot. The one console that isn't up 24/7 has a roll-under keyboard tray; that keeps clutter off it between uses.
This arrangement works for my needs, and that's the point.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Marand on Tuesday September 27 2016, @12:04PM
I keep the keyboard on my desk, aligned with the primary display. I've tried other things and hated them, always back to this simple setup. The desk's legs are adjustable, as is the chair's height, so I figured out a comfortable height for typing and leg clearance and that was all I needed. There's occasional variation to this, but it's always temporary. I have enough room that I can push the keyboard out of the way if I need the space for something else (like a laptop, a tablet, paper, whatever), then move it back into position when done.
The only other configuration I've liked is the time I had an L-shaped corner desk. I had a monitor in the corner and could effectively change my workspace just by swiveling in the chair from one side of the desk to the other. I miss that, but it was built into the room so it wasn't something I could take with me when I moved.
(Score: 2) by tonyPick on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:35PM
This - I've played around a few times, but always come back to flat on the desk below the primary monitor (right now a Kinesis Freestyle split keyboard. They are nice.), and adjust chair to fit. Anything else just ends as a strain eventually. Leg clearance is important though.
My work setup actually has a dual monitor swing arm stand for a triple display from my primary laptop (VGA & HDMI outputs as left & centre, laptop LCD as right), and I'd recommend looking at monitor arms before keyboard if space is a problem.
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Tuesday September 27 2016, @12:31PM
I don't have any hands, you insensitive clod!
Tips for better submissions to help our site grow. [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Touché) by meustrus on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:39PM
Obviously you've never actually seen an iMac and just like to imagine the most ridiculous possible thing your personal fanboy caricature would tolerate.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Osamabobama on Tuesday September 27 2016, @05:25PM
For those not familiar, Wikipedia has a picture of the iMac in question. Here is the page for the iMac ADM-3A [wikipedia.org], which represented a new class of all-in-one machines at the time.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Thursday September 29 2016, @03:01PM
That Wikipedia page, and a quick Google search, attribute that machine to Lear Siegler. It is variously called the "LSI ADM-3A", the "Xerox [Model] ADM-3A", or just "ADM-3A", but never an iMac or an Apple product of any kind. Check out this timeline of all iMac form factors [wikipedia.org]. Not one has an integrated keyboard.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 1) by butthurt on Saturday October 01 2016, @02:30AM
Obvious joke is obvious.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:58PM
here's the $10 version: ingredients: 6 reams of paper,
1 board about 80% as long as the desk is wide and about 45% the desk-depth, one board ~60% wide and ~35% deep.
put 1 ream each under the ends of the narrow board. your keyboard now has a stable place to slide to.
put 2 reams on top of the ends of the narrow board and put the deeper board on top.
now you have a space for speakers under the wings and you also have room for lights/books next to that.
you also have a 2 reams high, easy to reach space to for office utensils/knick-knack.
put monitors/notebook/removable media docking on top. there's room for more books, your coffee etc now.
the bottom layer/original desk can now do crafting and paperwork. room for pads, multiple mice, etc.
this design is completely stable once you set-it up. monitors are at the perfect height for my back and me. your's too probably. just shove the kb/kbs under the board anytime you need space. office supplies are already out of the way. add some under-board led-strip lighting for late night/darkness computing.
brought to you by the guy who has all the power, networking, usb and gadgetry of his workstation in a small dresser that fits (90 degs turned) under the desk so there are no extra cables in sight.
now go and enjoy life without a keyboard-arm!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Fnord666 on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:11PM
(Score: 3, Interesting) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:51PM
What kind of sick place do you work for?
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:26PM
Sometimes, I've been known to move the keyboard from my desk to my lap. Not the computer itself, mind you, just the keyboard. That's handy for those times when I want to sit back and think about a more complex problem, but still be able to type thoughts down.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1) by Gertlex on Tuesday September 27 2016, @03:41PM
I keep my desktop's keyboard (Targus Multimedia keyboard; 2000s style low profile laptop-like keys)... in front of the monitor, on the keyboard tray sliding out from under the desk.
I keep Logitech K350 (very large wireless keyboard) leaning against the wall next to me, for use on my lap when I want to use different ergonomics.
I keep a third Iogear Keyboard with built-in scroll ball for an always-on single board Linux computer to the side on my desk. I do this since Synergy apt packages are really out of date on some older linux installs, and I'm lazy. I don't really want to add all the wires for a physical keyboard switch. Also the desktop is usually off, but I'll want to check IRC quickly with the Linux computer.
That said, Synergy and InputDirector get used for controlling 4/5 computers that end up at my desk occasionally.
I also have the same Logitech keyboard at work. I use it on my lap unless I'm standing at my desk.
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Tuesday September 27 2016, @03:47PM
I keep the keyboard in my lap.. it leaves the desk for papers and laptops while allowing me to easily change position even whilst mid-typing (useful when turning to read other screen/papers), my elbows are usually on the chair's armrest.
However using a mouse is a PITA (not to mention that I dislike guis to start with) and easily becomes painful very fast.. Hence I'm an avid user of mousekeys/accessability keys.
I really wish unicomp would start making model M5-1.
As an aside - my sister prefers RollerMouse to reduce strain.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @05:10PM
My space. 2 on desk. 1 ps2 to old all in one There other usb to kvm connecting to 4 computers
Bedroom wireless leans against side of bed then on laptop lap table 50" inch screen makes a great monitor! Stuck in bed for 2.5 months
kitchen wireless on shelf the on daughter's lap while sitting on table to do homework
3 other bedrooms 2 wireless on desk and lap as needed. Wired on desk
Office 1 ps2 to kvm with 4 machines this on top of wire shells holding equipment. Very light use. Another wireless on big desk with 43" 4K TV as monitor.
Keyboard arms tried YUK. Takes out to much space. Did go with monitor arms though. Allowes faster access to equipment that sits behind monitor. Think usb drives stacked behind monitor to not take up space.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @05:21PM
I use an onscreen keyboard that is transparent until you hover over it, sitting at the bottom of the screen. When it gets in the way I close it, but is one click away in the taskbar. The only time I use the real keyboard is if I need to write more than a paragraph.
(Score: 2) by cykros on Tuesday September 27 2016, @06:08PM
As my desktop sports a 50" tv and 30" monitor as the two visual outputs, a couch, rather than a desk chair, is where I put myself. The wireless keyboard thus sits on my lap, or otherwise on the couch, along with the wireless trackball and 900 mhz wireless headset.
(Score: 1) by RS3 on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:26PM
Once I learned to touch-type and didn't need to see the keyboard much, it opened many possibilities. I remember a split keyboard that would hang over your legs so each half would hang on the outside of your thighs. Interesting but not for me. I also remember some split hinged keyboard that would form an inverted "V" sitting on the desk in front of you. There were many other ergonomic designs which were curved or split in the middle, forming an adjustable horizontal "V" so that the "B" and "N" keys had a gap and your wrists were horizontally straighter. But these only work if you can touch-type.
If I'm doing any amount of typing, I like it about a foot (30 cm) or so, sometimes 18 inches (45 cm) back from the edge of the desk so that my forearms are resting flat on the table. I like a wrist-rest too. Ideally I would have a full forearm rest so that the keyboard would be a bit lower than the surface my forearms rest on and my wrists would be straight. A couple of books or a few mouse pads works.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @05:44PM
.... Old, but I hope I can help.
My personal keyboard at work sits on my desk in front of my elevated monitor. However, I also have it attached to a KVM switch to my Asus Windows 7 Tablet PC. So when I sit down, I put my tablet on a modified riser support and plug in the USB hub and power cables, so I can use keyboard and mouse between it and my desktop flawlessly.
Most of our office has very old Humanscale under-desk mounted keyboard/mouse arms. These are several years older than the 12 years I've worked here. They still work well and allow horizontal swiveling and above-or-below desk level height for the keyboard, at the expense of requring one to site twelve or so inches behind the desk.
Two persons here use Varidesk risers, one for desktop and one for laptop. They work excellently.
You won't find an excellent solution that is also inexpensive, IMVVHO.
(Score: 1) by Mike on Friday September 30 2016, @03:44PM
I find for ergonomic support that a keyboard arm provides is quite helpful. You generally want a comfortable chair at the right height (feet flat on the floor). You can find pictures online that show ergonomic positioning. And you should have raised monitor. I prefer a monitor stand that is height adjustable. (I used a hydrolic car jack for awhile, but there are better commercial stands).
My suggestion for a keyboard arm would be thin. You generally want the keyboard pretty close to your lap, a thick keyboard arm/tray makes that less comfortable. I'm not a hard typist, so I haven't had much problems with flimsy keyboard arms, but you certainly want the stiffest one you can find. One other difference I've notice is how the keyboard arms lock in place. Some I've used have a switch (usually a lever) that locks and unlocks the position. The one I've found I prefer is one that unlocks the arm by tilting the keyboard tray. I found that much quicker to do small adjustments to get it comfortable without much thought/effort, YMMV