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Ask Soylent: Where do you Keep your Keyboard?

posted by martyb on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:10AM   Printer-friendly
from the in-front-of-me dept.

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.

 
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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:59AM

    by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:59AM (#406896) Journal

    > 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.

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  • (Score: 2) by jimshatt on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:47AM

    by jimshatt (978) on Tuesday September 27 2016, @10:47AM (#406906) Journal
    Tried all of that. Tennis arms, keyboard arms, sidearms. I think the last one works best. Keep your arms at the side and your keyboard in front of you.

    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

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Tuesday September 27 2016, @05:21PM (#407027)

      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