6 ms·

I just picked up a moonlander that i'm really living. https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/

by cliffwarden 6y ago

oskardenandre 6y ago
I am on the fence about this one, care to push me over? (I already have the Ez)
- dhruvmittal 6y ago
  I just learned about this last night, and was really considering it. One thing that I wasn't sure about is the size-- I already love the ergodox I've been using for the last 6 years, and reddit says the moonlander is much smaller feeling.
  - oskardenandre 6y ago
    Huh, smaller could be better. I have huge hands but do not utlize a lot of keys on the Ez: I basically use home row and the big buttons in the thumb cluster ...
  - komali2 6y ago
    Funny, that makes it more attractive to me. I liked my coworker's ergodoz but it was such a monster I didn't want it on my desk.
  - mcpeepants 6y ago
    I highly recommend the Lily58 if you like something approaching a 60% in terms of available keys, but in a small form factor.
- bbojan 6y ago
  If you have smaller hands, consider a Kyria. I use an Ergodox EZ and while I'm generally happy with it, it's quite difficult for my thumbs to reach all but the first key in the thumb cluster.
- simias 6y ago
  I've had an Ez for years and I'm typing this on my brand new Moonlander. I think it's nice, but I don't think it's that much of an upgrade over the Ez. The new thumb cluster is a bit better than the EZ IMO, but it's not a complete win because of the hinge that creates a pretty wide gap between the main board and the thumb cluster. I don't regret my purchase but if I were you I'd wait for something a bit more consequential, maybe a Moonlander Mk2. Or a more drastically different keyboard, like a manuform or a kyria for instance.
- sendhilp 6y ago
  I was going to buy an EZ myself but went with the Moonlander because of the smaller size as it felt counter productive to have a split keyboard for ergonomics but have my hands hurt because they keep stretching to reach the thumb cluster.
StavrosK 6y ago
I wouldn't recommend an ortho keyboard, I've found it takes a lot of time to relearn how to type with not much benefit.
- MrPowers 6y ago
  I've loved learning how to use ortho keyboards. They open your brain to new text editing possibilities. Just like how learning Spanish teaches you about English and learning new programming languages teaches you about what's possible with code. They improved my typing accuracy and got rid of my right pinky pain too. I agree that they're not for everyone.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    Hmm, really? What did they open your brain to? I didn't see any benefit, it's just harder.
    - chaorace 6y ago
      Can't speak for OP, but I've found that staggered layouts are rather non-standardized when it comes to the severity of the slant. As a consequence, my muscle memory is all over the place when touch typing, especially for the third row (ZXCVBN). Ortholinears, of course, are all exactly the same, which lets me type with more confidence. I don't type any faster, but I do suffer fewer typos for words that require multiple row switches.
      - sleepybrett 6y ago
        Yeah there, in my experience, keyboards can come with generally two different layouts for the bottom alpha row, it's a slight move, only about half a unit (where a unit is the width of one key), but it's significant.
    - MrPowers 6y ago
      Emacs keybindings like Control-x Control-c don't work for me on regular keyboards. They work just fine for me on ortho keyboards with an easily accessible control key for my right thumb. Ortho keyboards got me in the habit on using modifier keys on the opposite side of the keyboard from the shortcut key. On a regular keyboard, I'll type Command + c with my left thumb / left index finger with an unergonmic movement. On an ortho keyboard, I use my right thumb + left middle finger for the same motion. For Vim, I started using Control + c to escape with ortho keyboards, which keeps me on the home row. None of these are huge productivity gains. But a fun way to shock your brain and to stay sharp.
eyeball 6y ago
That looks awful if you have smaller hands. They say you can tilt the thumb clusters up, but then you lose the ability to tent the keyboard. If you tent it, the thumb cluster is doing the work and has to be tilted down making it harder for smaller thumbs. They should have provided another leg to do the tenting so you could adjust the thumb cluster as needed.

I just picked up a moonlander that i'm really living. https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/

oskardenandre 6y ago

I am on the fence about this one, care to push me over? (I already have the Ez)

dhruvmittal 6y ago
I just learned about this last night, and was really considering it. One thing that I wasn't sure about is the size-- I already love the ergodox I've been using for the last 6 years, and reddit says the moonlander is much smaller feeling.
- oskardenandre 6y ago
  Huh, smaller could be better. I have huge hands but do not utlize a lot of keys on the Ez: I basically use home row and the big buttons in the thumb cluster ...
- komali2 6y ago
  Funny, that makes it more attractive to me. I liked my coworker's ergodoz but it was such a monster I didn't want it on my desk.
- mcpeepants 6y ago
  I highly recommend the Lily58 if you like something approaching a 60% in terms of available keys, but in a small form factor.
bbojan 6y ago
If you have smaller hands, consider a Kyria. I use an Ergodox EZ and while I'm generally happy with it, it's quite difficult for my thumbs to reach all but the first key in the thumb cluster.
simias 6y ago
I've had an Ez for years and I'm typing this on my brand new Moonlander. I think it's nice, but I don't think it's that much of an upgrade over the Ez. The new thumb cluster is a bit better than the EZ IMO, but it's not a complete win because of the hinge that creates a pretty wide gap between the main board and the thumb cluster. I don't regret my purchase but if I were you I'd wait for something a bit more consequential, maybe a Moonlander Mk2. Or a more drastically different keyboard, like a manuform or a kyria for instance.
sendhilp 6y ago
I was going to buy an EZ myself but went with the Moonlander because of the smaller size as it felt counter productive to have a split keyboard for ergonomics but have my hands hurt because they keep stretching to reach the thumb cluster.

StavrosK 6y ago

I wouldn't recommend an ortho keyboard, I've found it takes a lot of time to relearn how to type with not much benefit.

MrPowers 6y ago
I've loved learning how to use ortho keyboards. They open your brain to new text editing possibilities. Just like how learning Spanish teaches you about English and learning new programming languages teaches you about what's possible with code. They improved my typing accuracy and got rid of my right pinky pain too. I agree that they're not for everyone.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  Hmm, really? What did they open your brain to? I didn't see any benefit, it's just harder.
  - chaorace 6y ago
    Can't speak for OP, but I've found that staggered layouts are rather non-standardized when it comes to the severity of the slant. As a consequence, my muscle memory is all over the place when touch typing, especially for the third row (ZXCVBN). Ortholinears, of course, are all exactly the same, which lets me type with more confidence. I don't type any faster, but I do suffer fewer typos for words that require multiple row switches.
    - sleepybrett 6y ago
      Yeah there, in my experience, keyboards can come with generally two different layouts for the bottom alpha row, it's a slight move, only about half a unit (where a unit is the width of one key), but it's significant.
  - MrPowers 6y ago
    Emacs keybindings like Control-x Control-c don't work for me on regular keyboards. They work just fine for me on ortho keyboards with an easily accessible control key for my right thumb. Ortho keyboards got me in the habit on using modifier keys on the opposite side of the keyboard from the shortcut key. On a regular keyboard, I'll type Command + c with my left thumb / left index finger with an unergonmic movement. On an ortho keyboard, I use my right thumb + left middle finger for the same motion. For Vim, I started using Control + c to escape with ortho keyboards, which keeps me on the home row. None of these are huge productivity gains. But a fun way to shock your brain and to stay sharp.

eyeball 6y ago

That looks awful if you have smaller hands. They say you can tilt the thumb clusters up, but then you lose the ability to tent the keyboard. If you tent it, the thumb cluster is doing the work and has to be tilted down making it harder for smaller thumbs. They should have provided another leg to do the tenting so you could adjust the thumb cluster as needed.