Minikeyboard vs. Traditional keyboard

  Hi,

I am getting some shoulder pain when using my pc.

I am thinking of swapping the keyboard for a minikeyboard that does
not have the key pad.

Has anyone any experience of using the minikeyboard?

Does it have any disadvantages?

Thanks.

A

 species8350 wrote:

  My job calls for me to use a keyboard and mouse most of the day so arm
an wrist comfort are very important to me. I haven't used a
mini-keyboard unless you count lap top keyboards in the mix, which I am
not fond of by the way.

However I have found that a keyboard tray that allows lowering the
keyboard so that the your forearms are lower than your elbows helps
immensely. I also prefer a keyboard that doesn't require me to hold my
fingers higher than my wrists. My guess is that blood flow is improved
and therefor less likely to lead to fatigue. That may sound superficial
and unscientific but it works for me.

John

  species8350 wrote:

Not clear how removing some keys will help anything?
Is there more to it than that?
And what's the "mini" mean?  If it means that the keys
are closer together, you might find that a problem
depending on the size of your hands.
The problem I have with mini keyboards and laptops is
not the size, but that they're just different.  Your fingers
learn where the keys are.  When I change to the laptop,
the keys are not spaced the same and my fingers press
in the wrong places and my brain takes a while to catch up.

I second the suggestion that making the keyboard lower
can help.  But then, you need to do something with the mouse.
My solution was to get rid of the mouse entirely and use a touchpad
placed just in front of the space bar...and lowering the whole
thing so my hands aren't higher than my elbows.  Lots less stress
on the wrists.

 

My problem with laptops (and mini-keyboards?) is that so many of them
have no depressions in the keys.  Until I tried a laptop like that, I
didn't realize how much I relied on the depressions to keep track of
which key I was hitting, and if I were hitting two at the same time.
(Same as until I tried to play an organ, I didnt' realize how I relied
on features of piano keyboards to keep track of the same things)


Sometimes I just rub the ball-less mouse on my thigh, rather than lift
my arm higher.  Sometimes I put the keyboard on my lap, which is
similar.  I haven't figured out yet how to keep both of these things
on my knees, but I know enough keyboard shortcuts that I can spend
quite a bit of time without using the mouse.

 
Thanks for responding

There is no facility for a keyboard tray, and in any event I need to
see the keys as I am typing.

The point is if I obtain a mini keyboard the numeric keypad will be
missing, hence I can move my arms closer to the keyboard. I believe
that this will help with my discofort in the right shoulder.

I use a left hand mouse.

I haven' though much about the 'key depressions'. Not sure if they
would make much of a difference. But I will take this point into
account.

The main keyboard would be the same size as my original keyboard, but
would not have a keypad. Thought to be more ergonomic

Best wishes

A

Ps. Chain and table are non-adjustable