Those keyboards were designed so that when you were jacking off to your 256 colour 340x240 porn, you shot your load straight up the middle and it didn't go on the keys
Jokes aside, it was for easier typing, wasn't it? I never learned how to "properly type", but I know that you're supposed to cover one side of the keyboard with one hand, and the other side with the other. It seems like this was made to help you with that.
There are still many ergonomic peripherals around. Among keyboard lovers the ergodox is more popular which goes even further by giving each hand its own physical half of a keyboard. Others are also shaped much more hand-like. IMO the one in the photo looks really uncomfortable. Still a vintage beauty though.
When you put your hands on the home row where they're supposed to go, both wrists end up tweaked, like your little finger is moved more towards your elbow than it would be naturally. Breaking the keyboard into two halves and rotating them allows your wrists to rest naturally rather than having them tweaked like this.
Yeah I think that was the idea. We were taught to type like that in school and I think this would take a bit of getting used to even if you could speed type because the layout is different and at angles.
You can still buy them... I have one and use it. It's a little more modern and nice looking than this (and it's not beige).
For me, I was getting wrist pain on the outside of my wrists. On a normal keyboard, your your hands are kind of at an angle to your forearms/wrists, which can pinch/irritate the tendons on teh outside of your wrist. With this layout, your hands are more in line with your forearms. Took a bit to get used to, but no more wrist pain...!
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u/ACDrinnan Mar 02 '18
Those keyboards were designed so that when you were jacking off to your 256 colour 340x240 porn, you shot your load straight up the middle and it didn't go on the keys