I’m not sinistral; I use a mouse with my right hand. A standard keyboard has arrows keys to the right of the alphabetic keys, and a numeric keypad to the right of those. The result of this arrangement is that a mouse to be used by the right hand must be placed very far from the most commonly used keys. A keyboard with this awkward layout (for right-handers) may sometimes be referred to as a “right-handed” keyboard.
There is an alternative layout in which the arrows keys are placed to the left of the alphabetic keys, and the number pad to the left of those. Besides moving the mouse closer to the most commonly used keys, this also provides an enter key for both hands, and allows one to rapidly type numbers while continuing to use the mouse. A keyboard with this sensible layout (for right-handers) is referred to as a “left-handed” keyboard. The world is, in case you have not noticed, largely insane.
An ergonomic keyboard is one in which the keys are arranged in a curve rather than linearly, and usually have a gap between the left and right alphabetic keys. The intention is to allow the wrists to be kept at a more natural posture while typing. There may be some additional niceties, such as a pad for the wrists or heels of the hands.
Ergonomic keyboards are quite common these days, and a left-handed keyboard can also be had without much difficulty. Sadly it seems that these sets do not intersect, for it is nigh impossible to find an ergonomic left-handed keyboard (or, equivalently, a left-handed ergonomic keyboard). The closest ones I’ve been able to find are made by Fentek and Evoluent, neither of which particularly appeal to me. The good people at Evoluent seem to understand the absurdity of this problem; they even describe their keyboard as “mouse-friendly” rather than “left-handed”. If only the layout more closely matched the usual ergonomic style, such as in the keyboard I currently use made by Adesso or my previous Microsoft Natural Keyboard 4000 (which drowned in a tragic accident).
Actually even these ergonomic keyboards have various problems inherited from their primitive ancestors (truly, it’s like these things had evolved rather than been intelligently designed). I refer to the physical positioning of the keys rather than their logical labeling–a Dvorak layout still exhibits asymmetries that confound human hands. But it’s too much to expect all this tradition to be thrown out and an ideal keyboard produced from scratch. I would settle for an ergonomic keyboard with the arrows and numpad on the left.
In the meantime, I suppose I should learn to mouse with my left hand.
