One More Keyboard Choice
Thu May 25, 2006 10:57AM EDT
See Comments (18)
Add this to the QWERTY/Dvorak files:
The TypeMatrix ergonomic keyboard offers a layout with the caps, backspace, and enter keys running down the middle. And it supports both QWERTY and Dvorak layouts with the help of translucent skins that lay over the keyboard. Typematrix also has a Dvorak typing tutorial that can be downloaded from its web site.
Here's a review to check out, and another from a few years ago on SmartComputing.com.
One more option if you're in search of one.
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7 Posted by ahmccoy23 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:47PM EDT Report Abuse
I also have been using Typematrix Dvorak about 1.5 years.It took a couple weeks or maybe a month to get back to my still not very fast typing. I wasn't very fast before I switched though. I use one at work on my Mac as well. The keyboards feel great. Zero problems with the keyboards and Typematrix is a pleasure to deal with. My wife and kids haven't given the keyboards a chance, but it's easy enough to switch back and forth. I wouldn't go back. Alan
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8 Posted by n2n1ck49d@ameritech.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse
I always wondered why the keyboard was set up the way it is. My father, who was self employeed, would use an old underwood typewriter to write purchase orders and create letters. I asked him why the keyboard was laid out the way it was, and he did not know. I read about the Dvorak layout in 1976 when some magazine, I think Popular Mechanics, had an article about SCM typewriters. At the time, SCM was offering all their typewriters in either layout, Qwerty or Dvorak. When I bought my first computer, within a year, I discovered that the Dvorak layout was inside, and all I had to do was apply a soldering iron to the right spot. I have been typing on Dvorak ever since. I got to know the TypeMatrix folks when I finally gave up my Apple in favor of a dreaded Windows PC. The Dvorak keyboard is inside windows, but when you leave windows, you leave the Dvorak layout behind. Plus switching between the two is was a real pain. I found DvortyBoards on the web, bought three, and returned one (couldn't use it). Then TypeMatrix started producing these keyboards with straight columns. What an improvement! The old keyboard with the staggered columns really sucks. It is remarkably how bad the standard keyboard and layout really is. Your fingers have to move sideways when you move up or down a row, and the Qwerty layout is so difficult (it was designed to be difficult). No wonder it takes so long to learn how to type. I spent a year in high school just to get to 45 words per minute with 5 or less errors in 15 minutes. If I would have had a TypeMatrix keyboard (I like the 2020), I could learned to type that fast in less than a semester, probably about a quarter school year. I had an old 1965 3-on-tree Ford Custom (bottom of the line) in high school. I got 20 miles to the gallon and did not perform very well. No, I do not want it back. My Honda is just fine. I have long come to the conclusion that learning to type is so hard because the current standard keyboard is so lousy. But people just hate to change, even if it would serve them well. It is like the people of my parent's generation learing to us computers: It is a real struggle at first but once they get the idea, they would never give up the internet, or e-mail. If you have not tried a TypeMatrix board, give a try. This is being typed on my 2030 model, the one that travels with my laptop.
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9 Posted by qwasty on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:25PM EDT Report Abuse
I take my keyboard with my laptop too, I made some neat photos of how I do it and sent them to typematrix.
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10 Posted by gregatmagic2go on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:12PM EDT Report Abuse
After type out of Qwerty keyboard for over 25 years, I decided to switch to a Dvorak layout. I did not suffer any wrist pain like many people who switch keyboards, but was hoping to gain a little speed in typing. I found TypeMatrix via a Google search and was intrigued by their common sense layout. I bought two 2020s back then and have retired them with three model 2030s (one for my home, office, and laptop). Switching was not as easy for me as it apparently was for most other people. However, I would say it was definitely worth the effort. And I would also suggest that you check out TypeMatrix 's design even if you decide to stick with the Qwerty layout.. One more note, this old dog is not finished learning new tricks. This post was created by dictating with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
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11 Posted by anitzenna on Fri May 26, 2006 12:09AM EDT Report Abuse
Most ergonomic keyboards seem to be designed with the assumption that the user will have both his hands on the keyboard most of the time. For me, that isn't the case -- I spend a lot of time using the keyboard with my left hand and the mouse with my right. This separation of the arms alters the natural angle of my left wrist, making it harder to press keys on an "ergonomic" keyboard, because they're angled outwards. I've been using the TypeMatrix Dvorak for a little over a year now, and I like it because it's comfortable to use both one- and two-handed. On the down side, I wish it had big, easy to press modifier keys instead of the useless Start/App/Shuffle keys. Even better would be if it had CTRL and ALT in the middle, but perhaps I'm dreaming there :)
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12 Posted by learnedcomcastnet on Fri May 26, 2006 1:21PM EDT Report Abuse
I type a lot at work, and as a radio amateur I like to send high speed morse code with a keyboard. I had gotten to the point at which I was rationing out my typing time to more important tasks because of symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. But I didn't want the symptoms to get worse, and I didn't like the rationing of my work to a painful endpoint. When I read about the economy of motion that could be achieved using a Dvorak board, I bought one. It took me about 6 hours one weekend to learn the Dvorty configuration. I must be a slow learner--I've heard of one professional QWERTY typist who learned it in one hour. I became an 'unconscious' typist at the Dvorak board in about 4 months. Until about that time, I had to make a conscious effort to hit the keys that I had learned from the tutorial that came with the board. In only two months I was typing better and faster than I had been with QWERTY. Professional typists could probably manage that in a couple of weeks. The payoff has been that I no longer have any carpal tunnel symptoms, and I've achieved that without any other medication or change in my work habits. And I can type to generate morse code comfortably at just about any speed anyone can understand. By the way, the unofficial typing speed record for Dvorak is 206 WPM. For you competetive types, the Guiness Book of Records will not accept a typing speed record from anyone who is using a Dvorak board.
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13 Posted by philipkd on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:09PM EDT Report Abuse
TypeMatrix is pretty much the gold standard as far as Dvorak keyboards are concerned.
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14 Posted by wyrdvans on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:51PM EDT Report Abuse
Dvorak released me from having to look at my keys to type. I never learned fully how to touch type in QWERTY so after about a week of practice, I was fully transitioned to DVORAK and no longer had to look at my fingers when I typed. After a friend gave me a typematrix keyboard, there was no turning back. Now, if only typematrix made dvorak laptop keyboards.
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15 Posted by sullmanbarry on Sat May 27, 2006 8:55AM EDT Report Abuse
Typematrix keyboards are the next best thing to sliced bread. I am a UK physician and I have been using these keyboards in Dvorak for 3 years. The speed, accuracy and total ease astounds me. Why is this the worlds best kept secret?
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16 Posted by cobbk5 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:28PM EDT Report Abuse
I'm on my second Dvorak keyboard from TypeMatrix, but that's a good thing. The EZ Reach I have now from TypeMatrix is better than my older one which I wore out (I abused it actually). I still have the old one, but it's on my home computer, my new one is at work. I work in IT, but I originally changed to Dvorak because it looked like I might be switching to Medical Transcription work which pays more the faster you type. Although I didn't end up going that route, I use my Dvorak every day in my programming job, and I love it. If you do just a little research on the web, you find that Dvorak just makes sense, period. But Type Matrix is capitalizing on that logic. It suprprises me frankly that I haven't seen Dvorak taught to grade schoolers around the country. Maybe it is, but not the places I checked. Brett
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17 Posted by redjasper2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:34PM EDT Report Abuse
I regularly scour the internet for ergonomic computer peripherals, and I have yet to find a keyboard that comes close to the TypeMatrix 2030. The keys are in-line, and tactile lumps and ridges help you find your way around the keys without having to look at the keyboard itself. When I return to normal shaped keyboard the feature I miss the most is the central Enter and Back Space keys. A close analogy could be using a mouse without a scroll wheel when you are used to its benefits. The integrated numeric keyboard beats any laptop layout I have tried hands down. I recently purchased a blank 2030 with two Dvorak skins, black and clear. The skins are a great innovation because they fit snugly to the keyboard and protect it from the usual debris. The black one makes my old 2030 look sleek, but I use the clear one on the new keyboard as the rubber is thinner and makes typing easier. TypeMatrix is a really friendly company who go out of their way to ensure quick, efficient and safe delivery of their goods, even to the UK. In a challenging market they come across as determined to make their product a standard. I love my 2030 because the black case and the stainless steel fittings make it eye-catching. It has a small footprint, which is essential on my busy desk, and above all, it is the most comfortable ergonomic keyboard I have ever used.
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18 Posted by pond_nigel on Wed May 31, 2006 3:43AM EDT Report Abuse
Hi, I've been using the Dvorak TypeMatrix for about a year now and although I use it everyday I'm still not happy about my typing speed - about 54 WPM (which is still faster than I could type on QWERTY) - I'm hoping to achieve 100 WPM at some point. I have to say though that I can type continuously for over an hour with no signs of fatigue which is great! I now have 3 of these keyboards and they create interesting conversations whenever someone sees them for the first time although I've still to convert anyone I know - I'll keep on trying though!
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6 Posted by bwholladay on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse
After several months of wrist pain I had to try something new ("ergonomic" keyboards did NOTHING to help). I ordered the TypeMatrix Dvorak keyboard listed above and downloaded a Dvorak typing tutor. After a few weeks of mental anguish relearning touch-typing (more mentally challenging than I anticipated)... SUCCESS! Wrist pain is completely gone! Typing is enjoyable again and I LOVE the keyboard. One note... taking the GMAT... they would NOT let me use the keyboard or switch the PC to Dvorak. I paid for it as I had to hunt-n-peck. Other than that... outstanding! I wish my kids could use Dvorak in school... everything about QWERTY is bad - as you will realize when you go Dvorak.