From Staggered to Ortholinear Keyboard: A Step-by-Step Guide

[@DygmaLab]

How was your experience transitioning to an ortholinear keyboard?

[@michaeltran1269]

it was difficult and I wanted to quit in the first 2 months, but my shoulders have never felt better! Typing way faster than I ever did on a staggered QWERTY keyboard

[@carlo388]

It was great. It took me a week to get accustomed to its feel, but sure will take longer to get used to my evolving layers.

[@rezmon5311]

While watching this video I received the mail that mine is ready to ship :D Looking so forward to learning this thing

[@DygmaLab]

That's exciting news! Can't wait to hear what you think about it :)

[@nico77]

Your jokes are always differents and unexpected every videos, but they always make me laugh. Thanks for that, and great job

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks a lot! This comment just put more pressure on the jokes deparment, we'll try to keep up 😂

[@Zivhayr]

I found that playing a typing game that didn't require anything other than letters to be very helpful for learning. In the beginning, as soon as I need to put punctuation, capital letters or even press space bar, I felt like I got completely lost! By just focusing on letters it let me learn the muscle memory for that first, and then eventually I was comfortable enough to start getting used to the thumb clusters and other changes.

[@DygmaLab]

That's great to hear! Games are good to learn, they remove some of the boredom of repetition, which is the end goal. However, if the game is too good it might be distracting 😅 good to know it was not your case.

[@PatrisDev]

I've found ortholinear to be more comfortable, especially during gaming. There's definitely a learning curve, but personally it was worth it.

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks for the input! You are one of the very few that prefer it, some people prefer bigger keys in the pinkie to be able to press them with less precirsion, but my guess is that the muscle memory is not retrained yet. Kudos on that!

[@blah80blah]

Epistory is really fun, i was already thinking this will make for fun ortho practice once the Defy arrives.

[@DygmaLab]

Prepare to be killed a couple times 😂😂 Jokes aside, glad to hear you already have a plan, you're going to enjoy!

[@LadyTink]

there should be a video showing how to make the dygma into a "stenography machine" as the layout of it kinda seems like it would work well with steno setup. I recommend trying plover with it, and see how it goes

[@DygmaLab]

We'd like to, but we're not proficient enough to give advice and we don't want to mislead people -😅 It's a great suggestion, though, thanks a lot for the idea!

[@soy_ari_gutierrez]

A third position when switching: I had both keyboards (ortho, a Planck clone, and standard, a Keychron K4) connected, and the standard just above the ortho; just in case I needed for reliable but tricky input, such as symbols or passwords, because I made some "muscle memory" to type them fast (including both numbers, symbols, capitals, etc); and also practicing (monkeytype mainly used). I had both keyboards connected something like 3 weeks; and in one moment, when I've started to the ortho to type passwords, maybe a bit slow, but at a reasonable pace and in "one shot", I've considered that was enough good for me to just having the ortho keeb on the desk... And never looked back.

[@DygmaLab]

Having a "backup keyboard" around is a great idea, as long as you don't "cheat" with it too much 😊

[@PierreJohnsonOnline]

Good advices! Especially from Space and thumbs keys on. Looking forward from my Dygma Defy!

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks! The space thing is very tricky, especially if you have large or small hands and the thumbs fall in a weird spot in the thumb cluster. Use colors to highlight it 😉

[@Alexandra-Rex]

I am very much looking forward to getting a columnar keyboard. Most likely it will be the Dygma Defy :) (I don't see any other that seems interesting, and it seems very good)

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks for the praises 😊 We'll be glad to help yoou if you have further questions, or even better, join our Discord and ask the current Defy users!

[@Red49er85]

oh no! i had no idea index-c was a no-no! well I guess I know what I gotta cleanup before my board gets here

[@DygmaLab]

Always learning! 🙌

[@tinykingcontractor1396]

پشماااممم چه کانال خوبیهه!!!!

[@richardwilliamsmusic]

Thank you. What do you think about the fact that with the ortholinear keyboard, some hands have the index finger longer than the ring finger, and for some the ring finger is longer than the index? It looks like you made the index and ring fingers the same vertical distance. Did you just do a middle ground by making the vertical distance the same? (Obviously you made the middle finger longer which is good). Any plans to make keyboards that have longer index or ring finger designs? My hand has the ring finger being longer which I imagine is pretty common instead of them being the same height.

[@DygmaLab]

In the past, we explored keyboards with adjustable columns (the user could slide them) but it was impossible to manufacture. In our tests, the keyboard adapts well to both people with longer and shorter index, so we don't see the need to create different versions with different staggers for index and ringer fingers.

[@ChrisHaupt]

She is the kutest keyboard kreator of all time 😍

[@diogoxp]

I would’ve liked to hear their experience with switching back and forth between staggered and columnar. As I spend most of my time at the desk, but like the freedom to simply grab my laptop and use it wherever I feel like.

[@synthdrummer]

I use Kinesis Advantage (3d columnar) at home and work, and I can easily use my regular laptop keyboard in meeting rooms, on the train, etc.

[@diogoxp]

@@synthdrummer Any awkwardness in the switch or slowness?

[@synthdrummer]

@@diogoxp No, I can switch without thinking about it. It just works. But if I use a staggered rubber dome keyboard all day, my fingers feel sore, which is why I use my Kinesis Advantages at my desks at home and work.

[@diogoxp]

@@synthdrummer Great, thanks for sharing your experience! :)

[@DygmaLab]

Hi! In my case, when I go back and forth between the Raise and the Defy, it takes me a few minutes to settle. But it's no biggie. Besides, the more I use the Defy, the least it bothers me. I also type with laptop now and then, and in that case, the only real issue is the lack of thumb keys, but the layout is not the problem. Hope it helps!

[@baksoBoy]

3:51 oh wow, I don't even do it with my middle finger... I do it with my index finger...

[@DygmaLab]

😅

[@senritsujumpsuit6021]

The bad habits part speaks to me dealing with a giant laptop keyboard blah

[@DygmaLab]

Typing on a laptop is even worse because either the screen is too low or the keyboard is too high 😅

[@senritsujumpsuit6021]

its a miracle my neck still functions somewhat like a human @@DygmaLab

[@eldelacajita]

Great. Now I can't unsee the waffle as something that was made by clamping it between two hot ortholinear keyboards.

[@DygmaLab]

Welcome to our life 🤣 We also suffer that weird branch of pareidolia*, we see keyboards and components everywhere 🤪 *That's when we recongize faces in things like houses, stones and that kind of stuff

[@em4me-Dan]

Glad to know my Dygma Defy will be on its way .... Yahoo!😀 I will dive right into it when I receive it, I am sure it will not be a problem. Oh, and Dominique please touch my keyboard before shipping it will make it truly unique👍. Muchas gracias! Thank you "Dygma Team" Kudos from NYC🗽. Sprechen sie Deutsch?

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks a lot for the support! Not sure if Dominique has time to do it, but what will make your keyboard special is what you'll make of it 😊 By the way, we have one German-speaking member in the team, in cas of need, we can ask him to translate the emails!

[@NemesisLex]

I use mine now for a week - Im a software developer. I have to admit, that I miss the dedicated arrows A LOT!

[@yaboirairai]

I was like this at first with Dygma Raise, but I switched to vim and vim style input on all IDEs and editors I can. My arrow keys are also a thumb key + hjkl

[@DygmaLab]

That's very common in the beginning. You can set a dedicated cluster in one of the corners, but the best advice is to use them in a different layer. We have content in that regards, if not, join our Discord, you'll get plenty of input 😉 P.S. Enter discord at your own risk 😱😱

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks for sharing the experience!

[@NemesisLex]

@@DygmaLab for sure i have it on an other layer now - but its weird to press a button first to get to the arrows ^^ And yet i couldnt remember where i put what function on what key 😂 need more training. For writing code, it could be that a split keyboard with less keys is not ideal. But I’ll try my best :) Switching between office with Defy, Home-Office with regular keyboard and/or directly on the Laptop could also be an issue over time.

[@DygmaLab]

One great thing to do when getting used to arrow layers is to turn off all the lights but the ones you have the arrows in. Then, if some arrows have a modifier, use different colors for those depending on the modifier 🙂

[@maurolimaok]

Nice video!

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks a lot! It took some experimentation on ourselves, but these advice are the key points of the adaptation process 😉

[@maurolimaok]

@@DygmaLab There's no perfect solution for all. The more options the better.

[@ghanahshyam9999]

Lovely 😍

[@michaelwinter5292]

Hahaha very well done! Laughing now before the swearing starts lol

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks a lot! We like to teach and entertain, not sure if we did the former, but we seem to have nailed the latter 😂

[@michaelwinter5292]

@@DygmaLab you have definitely done the former as well, some good tips for when mine arrives. The adjust phase is the only thing I am not looking forward too.

[@DygmaLab]

Thanks! Once you get past some initial frustration, it gives a great sense of accomplishment when you start to feel in control of the keyboard. One tip, for the first days, use space in a lot of places so you don't have to worry about missing it. Then, little by little, start removing them and adding extra functionalities.

[@michaelwinter5292]

THanks for that will definitely give it a go@@DygmaLab

[@bruhzzer]

the right one in the thumbnail is also staggered

[@DygmaLab]

The white one is columnar 😜

[@jumpman120]

Does dygma Defy is good for only use left for playing game like valorant or fortnite ?

[@DygmaLab]

Of course, you can do that with the Dygma Defy, and also with the Dygma Raise

[@Leyart86]

Do you think it's possible to get used to use both a raise and a defy at the same time?

[@DygmaLab]

Yes, the essential thing is having a good typing technique and use all the fingers. From that point, it's just a matter of getting used to the thumbkeys. Not going to lie, it might be tricky, but if you practice 10 mins with each keyboard a day, you'll be fine

[@Leyart86]

@@DygmaLab luckily my raise is used everyday, all day at work :) I will try to alternate days

[@DygmaLab]

That's a pretty good alternative 😊 Being familiar with split designs and thumb clusters also helps. I had both options for a while, what I did was wworking with the Defy for a whilke and then move to the Raise to get the job done 😅 Eventually, I kept expanding the time I used the Defy until I could replace the Raise completely.

[@rosendo3219]

when is the honest review on kinesis advantage 360?

[@DygmaLab]

We're working on it! 😅

[@johnnanavati3350]

Hi. What’s the link for macros and superkeys?

[@johnnanavati3350]

Found them Superkeys: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHLdYWiVjtFpd7csi=uiL8mYgAebubTZ90

[@johnnanavati3350]

Macros: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5e3hql8p61_qacsi=WQ2K9iu0z64FN5TS

[@DygmaLab]

Hello! Glad you asked! The link should be there at 07:50! If not, if you click the ...more in the description, you'll see the playlist "How to use Bazecor" :)

[@Daniel_WR_Hart]

That intro was me after I no-life'd Tetris for a week

[@DygmaLab]

😂

[@dportalesr]

"Let's say you've just received the new columnar keyboard you've waited for a lifetime" 🙄

[@DygmaLab]

Touche 😅 But the date is finally upon us, here's to hope you receive it soon!

[@beanwithbacon]

Dreaming of a Dngma with an F row...

[@Z.DeAllen]

that's what layers are for

[@beanwithbacon]

@@Z.DeAllen I'll never grasp the modern design concept of "lets remove standard features in order to make ones workflow more convoluted"...

[@babybloc]

I guess the idea of removing the F row is limiting the need to reach for keys further from the home row. One person’s ergonomic feature is absolutely another’s removal of a feature. If a user isn’t a touch typist and they are spatially-oriented so it helps them to have keys visible rather than hidden in layers, than having physical keys are totally an ergonomic feature for that user. That’s what ergonomics means: designing systems to make each user more productive at work. No one feature is better for everybody. That idea is bad ergonomics 😊

[@DygmaLab]

Hi! We opted to remove them for two reasons: - They are two rows away from the home row, which might cause unnecessary stretches. - Most people have no use for them. Adding to those reasons, the layers to overcome the lack of the keys, decided against them. Designing always means making a compromise, and this is the one we made in this case. Sorry, it's not what you'd like, but those are the reasons why they are not there!

[@zigrakudo4092]

staggered keyboards are just columnar keyboards but sideways. we've been using staggered keyboards wrong. instead of typing from the front, we should type from the sides, like you're hugging waffles to protect them from the person in front trying to steal them from you. ⌨ 🙌 ❌ 👉⌨👈 ✅

[@DygmaLab]

😂 😂 😂 😂

[@victorzhang4030]

i loveeeee the humour lmaooooo

[@DygmaLab]

Thank you very much! We'll try to live up to the expectations!

[@Z.DeAllen]

Nailed that German accent lol

[@DygmaLab]

Hahaha, thank you very much! Dominique is a woman of many talents 😅

[@jumpman120]

Columnar are not better ever ?

[@DygmaLab]

For many, columnar is regarded as more comfortable, as the fingers has less distance to travel to each key 😊

[@ksoonsoon]

Dropping an F bomb on a waffle?

[@dportalesr]

I thought the same xDDD

[@DygmaLab]

He was just dropping some fudge on the waffle, what's wrong with that 🤣🤣🤣 P.S. We reshot that a couple times, you can guess why 😉

[@CreachterZ]

I am a keyboard junkie. I will never go ortholineal. I can’t help but imagine that there will be MANY returns due to customers not understanding what they are getting into. They just see new and wireless. Hooray for choice!!!

[@dportalesr]

I'm looking forward to try ortholinear specifically (beside other ergonomic features). It made sense to me that it would involve less effort when typing. Let see how it goes!

[@CreachterZ]

@@dportalesr You, sir, are an informed customer. I hope you love it!

[@babybloc]

I have wondered about this as a grand columnar test case. Then remembered the Moonlander has been going for a while. This however will be one big group of more than a thousand subjects. But the users have had more than a year and a half of “consent form” time while waiting so I think most have prepared for the challenge

[@DygmaLab]

Well, good for them we have a good return policy 😂 We know that not everyone will like it, but that's also fine. I mean, it requires putting time and effort to get used to it, and some won't be able to jump the hurdle, but we count on that. The risk with new products is always there, but that's part of the fun!

[@mog86uk]

My main hesitation when I was buying my Raise was that it still has staggered rows. I've never had either an ortho or a columnar keyboard, but I just couldn't see how staggered made any sense on a split keyboard. When I have my Raise split at shoulder-width apart, the right-hand half has never felt at all right for me due to the staggered rows. The stagger seems to fight against the new straightforwards direction of your right arm when it's split at shoulder-width. I find myself having to keep the right-hand half rotated outward (clockwise) 30-40 degrees to cancel out the stagger! I've had my Raise nearly three years and constantly kept thinking it would have been essentially perfect if only it were a columnar design. The Defy looks like it'll be everything I've always wished my Raise was, and more! I very much doubt columnar will be all that hard to adjust to from staggered rows. I'm already using half of my Raise columnarly in a more awkward way. 😅