Ergonomics 101

Zergotech Freedom

- Hoots the Owl

Some split ergonomic keyboards can be quite a nightmare to get used to. Not so the Zergotech Freedom, but I’ll have to admit that I’ve never before tried to use a split keyboard.

The QWER row has been pushed slightly to the right to achieve a more symmetrical reach, but the bottom two rows retain their usual positions. However, the shift to the right of the QWERTY row was one of the things I found the hardest to get used to, and I found that I would keep hitting, say “I”, when I really meant to hit “O” because I was accustomed to a more leftward position of the QWER row.

The other big change is the remapping of the Enter, Delete, and Backspace keys to the left half of the keyboard. Backspace now sits where you’d expect the Caps Lock key to be, and that has in turn been relegated to the right half. This new layout reduces the amount of distance your fingers have to travel to hit these commonly used keys – it’s now entirely possible to access the aforementioned three keys without taking your hand off their default positions. For instance, Backspace can be quickly pressed with your left pinky, while your thumb rests on Enter. Similarly, the Spacebar now sits under your right thumb.