KINESIS Freestyle2 Ergonomic Keyboard w/ VIP3 Lifters for Mac (9" Separation)

This keyboard saves my back and wide shoulders for the hours I spend at it each day, I keep the halves 1' apart so my arms are straight out vs angled inward.

It seems I type all day, and have gone through keyboards, have broken keys, and have particular criteria I need in a keyboard, and specific things I don't want.Important to me: ergonomic is #1. And part of that includes NOT having a numeric keypad attached. It means I have to over-reach and take my hands off the keyboard to use my mouse which slows me down. I've used the Microsoft Sculpt and loved it -- that is, until the doggle (?, the USB thing you plug into your computer) stopped communicating to the keyboard. So I bought another one. Except the new one had the same problem the old one developed after several years of great use. So I returned it.And the search was one. I got another one which had the same problem (the lag time between hitting the keys and it typing was either terribly slow, or the keys I typed never showed up. And then I started reviewing the reviews much more thoroughly, and it seemed NONE of the reviews of the ergonomic keyboards without numeric keypads had unanimously positive reviews.Except 2: one of them was about $200 + an additional $150 or $200 for the lifters. Well, if this thing works best with the lifters (which all reviews say it does), why would that not be included? Plus, it had features I didn't like and didn't really want, including bright red, blue and green lights on the keys, and keys you could program (largely for programmers, which I am not).Another feature I want is for the caps lock key to be backlit so I can tell at a glance if it's on or not.And then a friend sent me the link to this keyboard. It had all the features I wanted, none of the features I didn't want . . . at a fraction of the price. And the reviews were ALL positive.It's still costs more than the average run-of-the mill keyboard. But, when my friend compared it to when he buys a guitar.... he doesn't mind spending the money on a Les Paul.Well, my keyboard is how I make music!, and so I decided to go for it. It's my Les Paul!It was instant plug-and-play, I have the lifters in the halfway position, and am totally in love with it.It took zero time to get used to. So what that it has a cord.This keyboard is a dream. I'm so grateful to have found it!!!!!! You won't be disappointed.Oh, one more little thing. I use the little bumps that remind my fingers when they're on the home keys (or not!). These little bumps were rather little, and hard to sense. So I just added a little thing (a textured tape) to make the bumps bigger, and now my fingers find the home keys without my having to look!

Anyone who sits at a computer all day should consider an ergonomic keyboard. Ideally you should try this BEFORE you start having pain in your wrists, or elbows, or outer forearm tendons, or shoulders, or lower back. It's amazing what a difference there is when you don't have to hold your entire upper body at an unnatural angle for hours on end. Over the past 15 years, I have used several different brands and models of ergonomic keyboards, and this one is in my top 3 favorites. It has many nice features, including:- soft quiet touch keys, very responsive (not stiff or sticky)- able to keep up with fast touch typing speed- tenting feet and wrist supports already installed in place when you open the box- ability to adjust left hand/right hand portions independently of each other (height, angle, position, proximity)- comfortable wrist rests- plug and play (no drivers or discs or installation of any sort needed)But since I'm a perfectionist, here are the things I WISH this keyboard had, which would get it a higher rating:- ability to tent at a higher angle (the choices are only 5, 10, and 15 degrees, and I prefer 30-40 at least);- THE NUMBER SIX SHOULD BE ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE KEYBOARD - THIS IS A HUGE FLAW FOR ME;- programmable (re-mappable) keys, so I could personalize it more & swap key locations & set up macros- longer cord so keyboard can be further away from PC- numeric keypad should come with the keyboard, for the price (instead of being sold separately for another $60 or so)- a 5-button configuration for home/end/delete/page up/page down, rather than spreading them over a vertical row on the right-hand edge of the keyboardBut making the switch from ANY keyboard to a new one is no fun during the transition period, so it's likely that some of my current "dislikes" will fade as I get more familiar with the new layout.[Except I will NEVER be able to type the number 6 in my left hand smoothly. It's amazing how automatically my right index finger taps the blank plastic space to the left of the letter "y".... Since I will next be ordering the separate numeric keypad, I'll just have to use that for numbers, I suppose.]UPDATE MAY 28, 2015:I upgraded my initial review from 3 stars to 4, because I have now been happily using this keyboard every day for two-and-a-half years, and can't imagine using something else for work. All the things I originally liked about it are still true. But all the "perfectionist" items I noted above still bother me. One more complaint: it takes up a TON of space, so I can just barely fit the keyboard, the numeric keypad, AND my Logitech T650 touchpad on my keyboard tray (even though I ordered the largest under-desk-mount keyboard tray I could find (the Humanscale 500 Big, which is 27" wide and 11" deep). Since I have to crowd all 3 of those items on the keyboard tray, I can't separate the 2 parts of this keyboard as much as I would otherwise do. But overall I can make it work - and I have not had ANY wrist, elbow, or forearm pain since I switched to these ergonomic items. Even if this particular keyboard ends up not working for you, I strongly recommend trying several other ergonomic keyboards - they are definitely the way to go.

Went to hand therapist for ways to keep my hands from hurting with Carpal Tunnel. Almost cried when I saw her "tented" keyboard. It is truly awesome and so helpful for the different positions which it goes into: higher so your hands are not stressed or stretched out. Has a resting pad on both left and write keyboards. Highly recommend.

I love, LOVE this new keyboard. About 15 years ago, I had my left wrist fused because of arthritic pain, which means that I can't rotate my had at all at the write, only the elbow. Therefore, flat keyboards are just terrible for me now, and as a result, I've tried about every "ergonomic" keyboard that I could find. This is by far the best ability I've had to adjust the keyboard to fit my needs -- tilt, splay, spread apart. It's fantastic.In addition, the keys have a very nice touch, firm but not stiff. I have also never had a keyboard with Windows hotkeys before, so having COPY, CUT, PASTE, DEL, and UNDO are a real bonus for me, saving the CTRL-(key) combos that these replace. Since all of those are on the lower left side of a normal keyboard, my frozen wrist makes it more difficult to do these than normal. I almost never use a keypad, so that's not at issue with me. I could not be happier!