Klyith wrote:I get wrist aches once a week or so, but I really don't like the split keyboards. I'm not old enough to have to seriously worry about carpal syndrome, but I ain't getting any younger. I know a few people who have carpal or tendonitis, and that is something I don't what to have to deal with. My thought is that the faster and easier typing plus less reaching movements might help a lot.
First make sure your ergonomics basics are up to snuff:
Make sure your table is low enough (or your chair high enough) to allow:
1) your spine and your upper legs to be at an angle of around 90 degrees or more.
2) your elbow angle to be 90 degrees or more
If you don't have a palm rest for your keyboard a la:
http://www.mitsubishi-electric.com.au/P ... 01B_fs.jpg
...then get one.
Same goes for your mousemat. 3M make a decent one with gel-filled thingy. Others might too, for much cheaper than 3M charge. They really help keep the height of wrist at a more natural level, avoiding lots of strain.
Another thing to consider would be a Wacom Graphire3 (or Intuos3) graphics tablet, especially if you edit photos or do creative stuff like that which the mouse is just not suitable for.
I wish they would make mice in a more claw-like fashion (with the buttons facing the front, which your fingers naturally sit over in a claw-like fashion, and with a scroll wheel inside a concave area where your thumb rests, but nobody has bothered to make a mouse with basic ergonomics in mind unless you're talking
http://www.claw.com.au/ ), which isn't really a mouse...
Anyway, these are all things to consider before you make the switch to the (superior, but rare) dvorak keyboard layout, and IMO will make a far bigger difference than a different keyboard layout ever could.