Kinesis Advantage USB - Keyboard

As someone who learned to type on a typewriter and spent nearly a decade in IT, I have typed on many a keyboards. Whenever I begin a new job, I ditch the keyboard and mouse that's provided for me and replace it with my Kinesis contoured keyboard and Kensington trackball. I just hope motherboards continue to support PS/2 inputs a little while longer cuz that's how old my Kinesis is.

It took me about 2 weeks to get fully adjusted to using the Kinesis, but if you are patient, it will not only pay off with better ergonomics, but speed. I can probably type 5-10WPM faster with the Kinesis than with any other keyboard. Co-workers walking by my desk always thought I'd been over-caffeinated because the keys were going a million miles an hour. My only caution to you is if you have root privileges and are learning on a Unix or Linux system. A typo as root and well, trust me. The only bummer about my version is that it's not USB and doesn't have a Windows key. I personally don't use the macro's but it's extremely useful for developers. The new Kinesis Advantage is USB and includes a Windows key. Even with the minor drawbacks on my version, I still preferred it when having to work 8-10 hours/day. I got used to creating shortcuts for everything in Windows.

Another funny advantage to the Kinesis is it keeps other people from "driving" your computer. It's hilarious watching people look for the Enter and Backspace keys like they have never typed before in their lives. Tee hee! Seriously though, this is the best ergonomic keyboard on the market. Now all they need to do is add some multimedia keys, add backlighting, and drop the price by $200 and I'll update mine! Most IT guys and geeks I know like typing in dimly lit environments or in the dark so a backlight would be SO nice to have without having to buy a gaming keyboard.

For those who cannot or will not drop $300 for a keyboard, the Microsoft Ergo Keyboard 4000 is a great value. Just be sure to use the reverse slope attachment.
Kinesis Advantage USB - Keyboard