deskthority

My favorite input device.. the DataHand.

That look very interesting. I saw another video where the user complemented the fact that his stinky palm rests would put his coworkers off from using his datahand

I have Norwegian fingers; it's hard/impossible to move one finger without moving the other. With such light switches, would this significantly impair my efficiency with the datahand?

You can remove the palm rests and put them in the dishwasher.

Minskleip wrote:I have Norwegian fingers; it's hard/impossible to move one finger without moving the other.

Dude, that's racist!

Almost want to try one now after watching the video. Too bad it seems to take ages to adjust. I'm too lazy for that.

Minskleip wrote:I have Norwegian fingers; it's hard/impossible to move one finger without moving the other. With such light switches, would this significantly impair my efficiency with the datahand?

I thought I might have the same problem, but it is not. My other finger(s) can make slight movements without accidentally pressing keys.

webwit wrote:

Minskleip wrote:I have Norwegian fingers; it's hard/impossible to move one finger without moving the other. With such light switches, would this significantly impair my efficiency with the datahand?

I thought I might have the same problem, but it is not. My other finger(s) can make slight movements without accidentally pressing keys.

Great, that's good to know. It looks very interesting, but I couldn't buy such expensive equipment at this point. But when I'm rich..

keyboardlover wrote:

Minskleip wrote:I have Norwegian fingers; it's hard/impossible to move one finger without moving the other.

Dude, that's racist!

What's wrong with that?

Almost want to DIY one now after watching the video. Too bad it would take ages to refabricate an inferior copy from scratch. I'm too lazy for that.

What's the actual force required for those magnetic switches? 30g or less?

18 to 22g.

How long did you take to get used to it?
Get to type few sentences in reasonable speed...?

There are three different aspects in learning the DataHand.

The first, the initial learning curve is surprisingly simple. It may look alien, but in fact the layout feels very much like ordinary QWERTY (or Colemak in my case).

Consider the layout of the DataHand. The different rows are different layers accessed by shift/toggle modes on the thumb keys. Except the second row, which is my Colemak version of the first row. Check the first row. If you place your fingers on the Datahand, it's the same as placing your fingers on the homerow of a keyboard. If you want to hit R, for example, instead of moving your finger one row up, you move your fingertip to press the up key on the DataHand. This part is easy.
Then there's the part that this is not a keyboard you type on like an ordinary keyboard, but one where you wiggle your fingers and kindly tap the keys. You need to learn not to put force in this input device and just relax. Sounds a bit silly and I adjusted quickly, but your muscle memory is defined by normal keyboards.

Last part is the most difficult one, or better, the most time-consuming. Yes, it's easy to learn the layout, but then there's true muscle memory where everything goes naturally and you reach the same speed as with ordinary keyboards and beyond. This process takes at least half a year.

I'm probably going to have to try out a Datahand this year. For the investment, it sounds like the company (if it's still alive) offers great support. Keyboards have gotten boring; just rehashes of the same thing. The Poker looks pretty nice, and some of the Korean custom 'boards are nice, but otherwise, they're all about the same.

EDIT: This one showed up on eBay, but it looks abused. I might watch it, and snipe if it's cheap enough. I'm sure I can get parts to refurb it.

EDIT 2: Scratch that plan. Someone has a high max bid on it. I pushed the bidding up by over $100 and I was still out-bidded. Sucks for that guy. I would pay more for it, but it doesn't look like it's in good shape.

Are these still being manufactured today? I want one, but not used.

I think so. Their website is still active. I am probably going to buy a new one, too. I'm sure they could use the funds. The $995 price tag is a little tough to swallow, though.

Be careful with the ebay datahands. There are older versions on the market, and moreover some sellers are users who bought a new one to replace the old one. When do you replace your old car with a new one of the same kind?

Thanks for the clear explanation!
It interests me a lot except the high price tag.
But love to try this beauty though.

The high price tag is a problem, even if you can afford it, because this is the kind of keyboard, you can either adjust and get used to it and like it, or you can't and you don't like it, and there is no test drive. That is a big risk. Also, if this was the standard and Logitech would make a million of them, they would cost $150. The high price tag is because of the small quantities, unique parts and associated tooling/manufacturing costs, not because of new space age technology. If they are smart, they make an iPad app for that layout, you could place your fingers anywhere on the screen, and tapping and swiping in directions as in the Datahand layout would do the trick. Then sell it a million times. Then Apple buys your company for the IP, to make it their standard (which only they could pull off). And finally DataHand have their millions to retire.

I see you have it all figured out already.

Time to download the iPad SDK!

There is this new thing, but they haven't released the actual method yet.