Yesterday I received my Truly Ergonomic keyboard. At first, it feels really awkward. It’s like I have to learn how to type all over again. I am constantly looking at the keyboard to locate the keys.

I am a heavy emacs user, so I constantly use Ctrl. Therefore I had Caps Lock remapped to Ctrl. But now with the Truly Ergonomic it feels like the Ctrl & Shift are swapped. So I started to wonder “How to remap keys?”. Fortunately Truly Ergonomic provides an official firmware that will swap these keys.

This is something I was afraid for. The default location of Alt is all the way at the bottom corners. For an emacs user this is a disaster. So people suggested me to remap the left Space to Alt, and I’ve tried this for a while (in a later post I’ll share how). Result: Alt is easily accessible, but I can no longer type a Space with my left hand. And it will be hard to lose of this habit…

I work on 3 different operating systems: Mac (at home), Windows and Linux (at work). Meanwhile I’m already used to switching, so I like the Ctrl on the same location for all systems. That’s why I didn’t set toggle DIP switch #2. But this means the SuperKey, at the center of the keyboard, is the only ⌘ key. This key is located between the 5 and 6. And this does not feel right. But I’m not sure yet how to fix this problem?

It would take so me time to learn their location, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get used to these quickly.

It also will require some practice, more than expected. I’ve noticed it is important to use the correct finger for each key (so I’ll have to use my pinkies). But I’m sure it will pay of at the end.

The keys are great! The required pressure is good and the sound they make is gentle but provides a decent feedback.

I try to use my keyboard for everything, but at the moment I’m grabbing my mouse faster than before. I hope that feeling changes soon…