I've been using split and other odd keyboards since 1995, beginning with the Lexmark Select-Ease (IBM M15). I've extensively used many different types over the years. What I found is that colstag models are the worst for me, and what I like best is a traditional 65% to 75% rowstag board with QMK and hotswap, and a small touchpad under the space bar. Heavily customized layout with dvorak or colemak-dh. And vim, of course. The biggest ergonomic gain I've found is to push the keyboard back roughly 1 cubit on the desk, and split a wrist rest to use as elbow / upper forearm rests on the front edge of the desk. Also, switching from mouse to touchpad eliminated any pains from mouse use, though I instead use mouse keys (in inertia mode) most of the time.

I'm waiting on part 2. Tell me more bout the splits bro!

Hi Ajackster. Thanks for the high quality content, bro! Can you share your Ergodox or Moonlander layouts? Maybe you have a link from Oryx.

Thank you, it means a lot! I’m learning new things every video I make lol I still have a lot to improve on but content will keep getting better :)

Second this

I came here just to say this. It definitely is worth it.

I respect my pinkie vi-motions are way to go.

Good advice. Time to use some Autohotkey.

what sort of masochist uses emacs movements instead of vim style :)

Lmao a windows dev

Thank you! It means a lot - I plan to keep that vibe and improve quality for future videos :)

Not nice - mialeading thumbnail...

Thanks man appreciate it 🙏

6k views now! lets go lets go

13k now. Let the algorithm bless us all, 🙏

May the algorithm be with you

22k+ views now. May the algorithm bless us all!

Thank you for the compliment! I’m glad you enjoyed :)

Which are you using?

Lol “heaven forbid, the mouse” I totally feel you. I spent a little time using VIM a couple years ago but never got near the depth you’ve gotten into. I will say though, on split keyboards, there are still certain keys that don’t have to do with navigation that you don’t have to move your hands at all e.g. backspace, arithmetic operators, etc. that you’d have to move your hand to on a traditional. Because all of these keys are now being utilized by your thumbs. But if you have a system that works for programming already, I think you’d probably get more benefit from other things e.g. you’d probably just be in a more natural resting position on the keyboard. Your arms are split and straight forward rather than coming in together.

As a vimmer myself, I would do it a bit differently: jfdxp j - down one line fd - jump to first "d" on line, which is inside "wordl" x - delete the character under the cursor p - paste the just deleted character. "xp" is a nice trick to swap two characters, one of the more frequent ones I need.

@@LordOfTheDing That's neat! I'll try to remember xp, that does seem really useful. Thanks for that :) Maybe I should consider using f more often, but I've stopped using it for longer jumps to letters. Too many times I end up having the letter appear multiple times before my destination and I end up having to use ; a bunch. So I mainly orient myself on word boundaries and reserve f for short in-word jumps or to jump to characters that are easily findable in a line like symbols. But I will admit, your solution is much shorter. :D My solution can also be made shorter by skipping visual mode and just using ch instead of vhc. I actually noticed this as I was writing the original comment, but if I were to actually do this edit, I would use visual mode there, so I posted that instead.

@@LordOfTheDing that "xp" is saver for people like me still using "xi[correction]". Thanks a lot.

Wow! Thanks for the info! I'm a vim noob and I had no idea I could do such things. Time to dig in!

Thanks! It's awesome you're starting the journey :) It may feel weird at first but you just have to persevere for a week or two and it'll start to click

take it from someone who was in your position as well, definitely do it. i built a lily58 pro as the gateway to the hobby of split keyboards and havent looked back since

@@Ajackster @mk8ez I've been using my ErgodoxEz for more than 2 years now, and I will never go back to a normal keyboard. The natural position of the hands and arms really helps to prevent injuries from bad positions. i use my keyboard for 8 to 16 hours per day for work and hobbies.

Thank you! I’m glad I was a part of your binge lol

Amazing story :) I’m glad they’ve impacted you in such a positive way

May I know which split keyboard you purchased? Thank you.

@@sikavistasipal5968 He mentions Dygma Raise. A staggered split keyboard.

Or /dlxp from the beginning of the file in vim visual mode. No arrow keys needed.

@@homerdummy5639 I love seeing the different ways people do the same thing in vim, I never would have thought of this combo

I would suggest learning vim keybindings too, alongside getting an ergo keyboard. it allows for less layer switching to get to single use keys like the arrows, home, end by using the alpha keys (letters) for both inserting text and navigating it. It also allows for more expressive actions like selecting everything inside parenthesis, cutting a whole string instantly, jumping to a closing brace. inside real neovim i.e. not in an IDE extension, using plugins you can even add more semantic "text objects" so you can select/delete/replace a whole function, expression, parameter with just one key combination. I think all programmers should spend at least an afternoon going through the vim tutor (search for it, yt doesn't allow links) even if you are not willing to leave your IDE behind. You might like it and stick with it but if not, at least now you are aware that there are better ways of doing what you are already doing. And from knowledge come power.

This isn't actually a benefit specific to split keyboards, but rather any programmable keyboard with multiple layers. I used a split keyboard (RGBKB Sol) for more than a year, then switched back to a 65% because I disliked needing two hands for hotkeys like ctrl-B and I missed having bracket keys in the standard position. I adapted the layers from my split keyboard back to the 65%. I do occasionally miss my left-hand rotary encoder, the ergonomics of the split, and the thumb clusters. I remain very happy with my decision to switch back.

motorola check

Glad you enjoyed!

Thanks appreciate it homie

I've been using a split keyboard for two years and I've run into a few challenges: 1: The learning curve. Not only is it going to take a while, about one month for me, what isn't said in that video is that you're basically going to have to setup your layout yourself for your specific work use. The default one really won't cut it. Think those people using Colemak or Workman are being a bit too loud in the back? You've made your own layout! Some people dig that but it's undeniably work. And you'll always end up with something only you can use. Speaking of... 2: Being the only person in the house able to use that thing. If someone wants to type a song during a party or your significant other wants to use the beefy computer, they'll struggle. If this is a common scenario for you, you'll need a secondary keyboard. 3: Price. They're expensive. No two ways around it. You can go prebuilt with an Ergodox or a falbatech premade, or custom with a splitkb, but it's not going to be cheap either way. And the build quality won't be excellent either. The Ergodox EZ is as plasticky as they come. 4: Support for keycaps and customization. If you're a keyboard nerd, you're going to have to work extra hard to have something nice looking, ESPECIALLY if you're going with something more obscure than an Ergodox. Keycaps will be restricted to either blanks or uniform profiles. Legends will be hard to come by. Key sizes are inconsistent with the traditional offering. It'll also be impossible to have something as nice sounding as a really premium custom mechanical keyboard. You'll have to make your peace there. 5: Support for non-english languages. Making an Ergodox work nicely with my native language was hard work and a lot of trial and error. Handling a lot of accents on a keyboard with less keys is a challenge and you'll need to do double the work of an English speaker to really make your split yours. I haven't heard from Thai split users but I imagine it's the worst case scenario. 6: Thumb support on the Ergodox specifically. The Ergodox has a six key thumb cluster. If your hands are not larger than average there is realistically only two of those keys that are truly accessible to you. The other keys cannot be "common" hits in your layout or you'll ruin the experience. Some other layouts addressed that problem better. I still recommend going for it, I think they're worth it and a wise investment. But it's not a 100% pure win kind of deal.

@@hugolavaill6579 Wow - thanks for the interesting, thorough and in-depth description! It certainly makes for a great counterweight to all the positives raised in the video. I must say that some of the issues you mentioned I'd never think of myself (like the one about the problems such keyboards cause when other people randomly need to use your machine). Your comment certainly adds another dimension to the question whether to try an ergo keyboard or not - I am glad I read it before foolishly jumping head-in - thank you again good sir! :)

Thank you! Hopefully the algorithm will start picking it up more :)

what do you mean in your lap. im scared to imagine the unergonomic horrors youre unfolding upon yourself

Haha thanks glad you liked it :)

No problem! Glad you enjoyed :)

Haha thanks! 🙏 I hope you like your Freestyle :)

Thanks man I’m glad you liked it

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed :)

🤓😤😤

It's all just preferance when comparing many of the similar columnar staggered boards. Some offer a more aggressive pinky stagger, some use a different switch profile making it more low profile, some get rid of all the keys they deem unnecessary to further reduce finger travel. The Kinesis Advantage 2 has a static position, so you can't move each half further apart or closer together, which may be a flaw for many people.

I really enjoy my Ergodox EZ but I got it a few years ago so I’m sure there are more amazing ones on the market. I have Cherry MX Clears which I absolutely love to type on (I normally get tired of typing on Browns, Blues, etc. but Clears never)