A few months ago I got a new keyboard, thinking that I would become a better typist, work faster, increase my brain plasticity, and boost my I.Q. by a couple of points. My wild-eyed expectation was that I would accomplish these great things while reducing the risk of RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury). You can read my initial impression of the TypeMatrix keyboard and my update to see where I’m coming from.
Notice the RETURN and BACKSPACE keys in the center of the keyboard–both convenient and disruptive.
If the TypeMatrix keyboard were the only keyboard in the world, I wouldn’t have a bad thing to say about it. The thing is, my working laptops (Thinkpad and Macbook Pro) have regular QWERTY keyboards, and my brain cannot deal with two different layouts. When I switch from the TypeMatrix (hooked up to my iMac) to my laptops, I become a fumbling idiot.
When I’m in the classroom entering my ingenious code examples for a classroom full of students, I simply can’t type straight. My confused fingers are in TypeMatrix mode on a QWERTY keyboard, inflicting pain on dozens of innocent victims. Most people will agree there’s nothing worse than watching a bad typist fumble through a demo. Most disturbing of all, my student’s screams of pain haunt my dreams.
My final judgment is that the TypeMatrix keyboard is a decent keyboard, with a good feel and nice build quality. Yet, these virtues aside, it is also doomed to fail because of its non-standard layout. This keyboard would be worth a try If you have problems with RSI and you do the majority of your work on one keyboard.
As for me, I’m going back to my Happy Hacking Professional 2 keyboard.
The very sexy Happy Hacking Professional 2 with blank keytops. For super nerds only!
If you ever hear me say I’m thinking of another keyboard, please have me institutionalized.
