What Is a Ergonomic Keyboard?

Video Transcript

"I'm Jonathan Ayres with Network For Success and today we're going to talk about what is an ergonomic keyboard. An ergonomic keyboard is a keyboard that more closely fits the profile of your hands to allow you to type commands on the computer more efficiently and more comfortably and safer in the long run. Now the idea behind an ergonomic keyboard is how do we provide a keyboard that more closely resembles the shape of the hands? Now if you look at the shape of your hands your fingers are all different lengths and your thumbs are down at a stubby location so when you design a keyboard one of the things you want to take into mind is let's make every key the same distance away from the end of the fingertip as every other key and then nobody would have to work any harder or travel any farther to push a key than anybody else and that's the idea behind an ergonomic keyboard. Now there are many different types of ergonomic keyboards that have been invented over the last 20 to 30 years and one of them is a Microsoft design that is shaped in a gentle curve that goes outward like this so that your hands are placed at an angle and it makes the keys closer to the tips of your fingers. The keyboard is split in two sections so it has got two completely separate sets of keys and you can move them around a little bit to get comfortable. That particular keyboard is difficult for a lot of people to use. Another keyboard that was invented and was extremely interesting and never took effect by being popular was a keyboard that was invented by a gentleman that is in the shape of a ball and the keys just popped out all the way around so you would take this thing and put your hand around it and type up and down and around and it was a very innovative design and very interesting and nobody wanted it so an ergonomic keyboard really is designed to make typing easier and safer and more comfortable for you."