this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

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I'm considering the Moonlander but I have small hands. I have an older Iris which is a good fit but doesn't have hotswap and occasionally needs to be unplugged and replugged to work. I am looking for something that just works, not a new soldering project - especially since my office will cover the cost.

Which would you recommend? And is it the end of the world if I can't reach the full thumb cluster on the Moonlander?

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[–] hootener@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think it's pretty easy to assign rare operations to the more unreachable parts of the thumb cluster and be fine.

I find that even with my pretty large hands some of the bigger reaches, like left shift to the rightmost column of keys on the left side, can be a bit cumbersome.

Personally I could never find my groove with the moonlander. I used it for about three weeks and couldn't overcome about a 30% reduction in my wpm. Worse though was that I could never get programming to feel really good on it. I acknowledge this has much more to do with me being an old dog that's opposed to new tricks, so I was probably just doing it wrong.

My moonlander has been collecting dust in its box for about three months, which I find to be a shame. Maybe I'll break it out and give it another try.

[–] hsl@wayfarershaven.eu 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for sharing your perspective! It's frustrating when a tool that is supposed to help doesn't work for you.

[–] hootener@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 year ago

Eh, I think it's just a question of practicing more and practicing deliberately. I don't blame moonlander really. It's well constructed, and the split was really nice for opening up my posture vs a more conventional keyboard. I just have to carve out the time to practice more.