To stave off carpal tunnel syndrome, I'd like to buy an ergonomic
keyboard for my Mac G4 laptop. I know there are many choices out
there. Who makes the best model by dint of comfort and reliability?
(One concern is adjusting to it. I'd like the learning curve to be as 
short and shallow as possible.)

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 28 Apr 2005 19:25 PDT

Wonderfully helpful. Thanks. I don't know if any of you are official
Google researchers, but if you are, itsekurity-ga, I'd be pleased if
you posted your advice as an answer. If you are not, I'd pay you,
v1k1n6-ga.

Thanks to all three for your assistance.

mccook-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by nenna-ga on 23 May 2005 17:37 PDT

The only people who can answer a question are researchers, which can
be picked out from site users by the fact our names are hyperlinked.
Therefore, neither of the 2 people you mentioned can claim the reward
for an answer.

Nenna-GA

I have been using a Trust Ergo Track keyboard on my PCs for about 7
years. Not expensive. I have found it very natural to use and it took
no time to get used to. I found that using a mouse is worse for my
wrist than typing, so I suggest using keyboard shortcuts instead of
mousing wherever possible. Perhaps think about getting a tablet too.

Marketing professionals are quick to slap the "ergonomic" label on any
device with a unique industrial design, but few such products actually
reduce the causes of debilitating repetitive stress injuries such as
tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The Comfort Keyboard is a
notable exception because it is completely adjustable and demonstrably
superior to standard keyboards.

The Comfort Keyboard is available in either black or beige, with ADB
(Apple Desktop Bus) or USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports for old or new
Macs, respectively. The USB model reviewed here also works with Wintel
clones, and can be purchased with a built-in hub offering one or two
additional ports ($10 each) so other devices can be conveniently
plugged into the keyboard. Because the hub adheres to the emerging USB
2.0 standard, the Comfort Keyboard is likely to remain fully
compatible with Mac models which may adopt this new technology in the
future.

The Comfort Keyboard has a total of 105 full-size, full-stroke keys
divided into three sections which can be rearranged on the metal base
track (at six pounds, it's not too heavy for placing on your lap). By
sliding the sections apart to shoulder width, your wrists needn't bend
outwards to place your fingers on the home row, so ulnar deviation is
reduced. And since each section can be rotated 360 degrees around and
tilted up to 90 degrees vertically, your palms needn't be facing down,
so pronation is reduced. In essence, you can conform the keyboard to
your hands' most natural and neutral positions, rather than twist and
turn your wrists and scrunch your shoulders to use a standard
keyboard. Not only does your posture improve, but you no longer have
to stretch to reach "faraway" keys like the number 6 and Delete.

Even though the keyboard sections are fully-adjustable, all it takes
to secure one is a simple twist of the large sprocketed wheel
underneath. Then the section remains in place and can stand up to
rather forceful hunt and pecking, but you'll want to keep children
from pounding on the Comfort Keyboard or sticking their little fingers
into the metal brackets holding up each section.

You may also want to consider changing out your standard mouse for a
trackball mouse. It is a great tool, and I found that it helped my
repetative problems quite a bit. They work well for every situation
unless you require extremely repid movement on the mouse.