A decent affordable mechanical keyboard is a huge ergonomics upgrade. My partner needed a new more compact keyboard for her setup and it needed to not have an unpleasant sound (she’s never previously used a keyboard that is both comfortable to type on and listen to) so we got her a well reviewed £50 one (which for us was a big investment) with hotswappable MXred clone switches. It’s already great for her day to day use. Nice comfortable feel, quiet and pleasing sound, cool lights etc but it’s also a really affordable platform to modify into something more special and specialized if she feels she needs it (or just fancies doing so with Christmas money etc). I’ve been trying to ignore how much nicer it is than the alright membrane one that came with a Dell PC about 15 years ago but I’ve had to use both one after another today and it’s really striking just how much more pleasant one is than the other. I spent a long time trying to resist the urge to replace my “functional” keyboard with something actively pleasant to use but I think I may be asking for something that doesn’t feel actively unpleasant and fatiguing to use next-time someone wants to know what I might like for a birthday/Christmas.
I went back to a trackball maybe two years back and it is glorious. For whatever reason, my family had trackballs growing up and then I never had one as an adult.
I had a Microsoft thumb trackball growing up and it was so good. There’s a Logitech with a similar design, but it doesn’t have the same feel. At work, I’ve been using a Kensington Expert and loving it. I don’t know how people use regular mice.
A great keyboard, a good mouse, a laaaaaarge mouse pad.
I use those things throughout most of the day, why not make it enjoyable.
A decent affordable mechanical keyboard is a huge ergonomics upgrade. My partner needed a new more compact keyboard for her setup and it needed to not have an unpleasant sound (she’s never previously used a keyboard that is both comfortable to type on and listen to) so we got her a well reviewed £50 one (which for us was a big investment) with hotswappable MXred clone switches. It’s already great for her day to day use. Nice comfortable feel, quiet and pleasing sound, cool lights etc but it’s also a really affordable platform to modify into something more special and specialized if she feels she needs it (or just fancies doing so with Christmas money etc). I’ve been trying to ignore how much nicer it is than the alright membrane one that came with a Dell PC about 15 years ago but I’ve had to use both one after another today and it’s really striking just how much more pleasant one is than the other. I spent a long time trying to resist the urge to replace my “functional” keyboard with something actively pleasant to use but I think I may be asking for something that doesn’t feel actively unpleasant and fatiguing to use next-time someone wants to know what I might like for a birthday/Christmas.
I went back to a trackball maybe two years back and it is glorious. For whatever reason, my family had trackballs growing up and then I never had one as an adult.
I made the switch several years ago and never looked back. Trackballs are wonderful. I splurged on a Logitech MX Ergo Plus. So nice.
I had a Microsoft thumb trackball growing up and it was so good. There’s a Logitech with a similar design, but it doesn’t have the same feel. At work, I’ve been using a Kensington Expert and loving it. I don’t know how people use regular mice.