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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) 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.