Q.A. Engineer for Intel & Avid Gamer

Back in 1999, I started getting wrist pains very frequently. I tried remapping my flat keyboard for Dvorak, but it was taking to long to re-learn typing and the interface was still not ergonomic. I went on a mad search for a new keyboard. I found some chord keyboards (which looked like more trouble than they were worth), the chair mounted keyboard by Kramer (which was about 3 times as much money as I'd spend on a single piece of equipment), and I found Kinesis. I ended up buying my Kinesis Classic (contoured) keyboard about a week later for $275. At the time, I felt the burn in my budget... but it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. My wrists almost never hurt anymore. (When my wrist hurts, is usually the mouse's fault.)

It took about 2 weeks for me to really get used to my keyboard. After a month I was typing at 65 WPM again. Now I'm typing around 100 WPM with awesome accuracy. One of the things I was concerned about was it's performance under games. At the time, I was very obsessed with StarCraft (real time strategy). I remapped the left palm on the keypad (10 Key) with arrow keys, numbers, space bar, and the few hot keys I use. It took a few games get used to, but operating the keyboard with only my left hand became a breeze and made things much quicker. If I needed to get my regular keys back, I just hit the keypad button and switched off the 10 key mode. (I left the right hand alone so the ten key still functioned perfectly.)

A bit later, I got into Half Life Team Fortress (First Person Shooter). This game has a lot of keyboard shortcuts (2 grenade buttons, reload, drop ammo, drop flag, call for medic, paint logo, flashlight, etc...) It took several tries to get the game set up with the right keys, but again, I can operate all the keys with my left hand. (And having 5 buttons under your left thumb makes for quick action on jumping, ducking, grenade 1 and 2, etc...) I usually toast my coworkers in this game, and I give a lot of the credit to the efficient interface.

Now I'm into Unreal Tournament as well. It's the type of game as Half Life. It took a day or two to get all the keys tweaked right, but I'm running the show with my left hand again. It makes things so much easier when every command you need is within a few centimeters of a finger tip. No reaching or searching. After you get used to it, the interface just fades away and it's just you and the game.

I had tried to achieve the one handed approach with regular keyboards and it just didn't work as well. 5 buttons under the thumb really helps. But more importantly, the keys are all very close to your fingers. Reaching isn't a problem, and there's a definite break between the left and right sides.

It takes time and dedication to get used to these keyboards, but it is worth it. It's an investment in efficiency and health. Some have asked me if I can still type on a flat keyboard... I can't type quite as well as I used to. I make a few more mistakes, but I'm still around 60 WPM on them.) I still use them for games sometimes (when my Kinesis is at work.) It's usually a painful experience. Like going from a Dodge Viper to a 78 Ford 1 ton truck. (My game suffers on a flat keyboard.)

A month ago, I met someone else with a Kinesis. He hadn't tried his on games yet. The next day he came in and was very happywith how well his keyboard had done on his games at home. (Unreal Tournament I think.) These keyboards really help game play.

This keyboard just rocks. Get one. Stop thinking about it, just get one!

Thomas Hood