Looking for a secondhand Datahand Pro II

[Gareth Kirwan]

On Tue, 2009-10-20 at 10:44 +0100, James Laver wrote:
> I would just get a unicomp. It's shaped like a keyboard, it feels like
> a very good keyboard (springs, they bounce back at your fingers!) and
> my typing speed is improved using one overall. Of course you'll want
> to keep a correct typing position or the whole exercise becomes one in
> futility.

Thanks for the tip. I got it from another monger recently.
Whilst I dislike microsoft in general, I've been a natural keyboard user
for 10+ years now, and currently use the new 7000.
I've found the split design and slightly concave design is a step
forwards for them, and their key travel and spring has always been very
good.

However what I really want to do is completely move away from keyboards
for the majority of my usage.

My keyboard usage is very strict, and I've gotten more rigid with
certain things. The most important of those for me is to try and
minimise wrist movement, and to avoid using fingers when the wrists are
turned. One particular offend of this is using the cursor keys with the
little right finger, just quickly turning the wrist and arm to reach.
That was a bad habit for a while, and I've switched to enforcing moving
the whole of the forearm slightly when I need the cursors.

There are some unavoidables on any type of traditional keybaord, though.
The backspace key is always hit by my right ring finger, which causes
extension. If anyone's thinking that I press the backspace key too
often, then you're right: The number of times I type an expletive in
email or IRC and then delete it is extraordinary ;o) I've considered
using joel's approach to RSI, and just not delete the expletives. I also
try to ensure my forearm to wrist alignment is close to natural when
typing.

I guess RSI is about 80% of my motivation here.
Whilst I don't suffer currently, and when I feel a twinge I can adapt,
I've hopefully got a long career ahead of me. I'm 27 and I've been touch
typing for 12 years, the last 10 of which have often been hard work for
sometimes 70 hour weeks. I want to be proactive about protecting my
future against the risk of damage.

I hear from so many people who have been working for 40+ years with bad
habits and no issue. But I also hear from people whose lives have been
severely affected. It's a die I'd prefer not to cast, tbh.
Maybe that might seem melodramatic to anyone who has worked in similar
for many decades without issue, I don't know.