Building customizable ergonomic keyboards (Interview)

The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Erez Zukerman shares the story of launching the ErgoDox EZ on Indiegogo (May 2015), what it takes to create customizable ergonomic keyboards, the benefits of split keyboards and custom key layouts, repairability and longevity, community engagement, and the attention to detail required in everything they create. We talk through their keyboard lineup, our personal experience with how we mouse and keyboard…we cover it all.

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Sponsors:

• Sentry – Code breaks, fix it faster. Don’t just observe. Take action. Sentry is the only app monitoring platform built for developers that gets to the root cause for every issue. 100,000+ growing teams use sentry to find problems fast. Use the code CHANGELOG when you sign up to get $100 OFF the team plan.
• Paragon – Ship native integrations to production in days with more than 130 pre-built connectors, or configure your own custom integrations. Built for product and engineering. Learn more at useparagon.com/changelog
• Coder.com – Instantly launch fully configured cloud development environments (CDE) and make your first commit in minutes. No need to traverse README files or await onboarding queues. Learn more at Coder.com
• Test Double – Find out more about Test Double’s software investment problem solvers at testdouble.com.

Featuring:

• Erez Zukerman – Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn
• Adam Stacoviak – Mastodon, Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn, Website
• Jerod Santo – Mastodon, Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn

Show Notes:

• ErgoDox EZ
• Changelog Interviews #582: We have a right to repair! with Kyle Wiens (iFixit)
• FairPhone
• ZSA.io
• DIY trackpad for the Voyager
• How to spray paint your keyboard
• ZSA cards
• Linus Tech Tips - Ergodox EZ Review
• Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard
• Pagat.com - A website dedicated to cards and card games.
• Ergodox EZ on Indiegogo

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

Chapters

1. This week on The Changelog (00:00:00)

2. Sponsor: Sentry (00:01:28)

https://sentry.io/

3. Start the show! (00:03:14)

4. Let's start with ergonomics (00:03:44)

5. Kickstarting was popular (00:11:24)

6. Could you "back to normal"? (00:16:19)

7. Why separate? (00:22:07)

8. What about hunt-and-peck folks? (00:26:16)

9. Print and try before you buy (00:28:59)

10. Sponsor: Paragon (00:29:52)

https://www.useparagon.com/changelog

11. Wires != tired (00:33:18)

12. The right to repair (00:37:48)

13. How thick are the margins? (00:41:48)

14. Do you make money from OGs? (00:42:56)

15. Getting reviewed on Linus Tech Tips (00:46:44)

16. Reading a funny YouTube comment (00:47:50)

17. Exploring the product line (00:49:05)

18. A paradox of choice (00:53:04)

19. Adam's setup = Wacom, keyboard, and trackpad (00:57:01)

20. Accounting for the mouse (01:03:17)

21. Sponsor: Coder.com (01:04:29)

https://coder.com/

22. Sponsor: Test Double (01:06:50)

https://link.testdouble.com/hnh

23. From POC to production (01:10:05)

24. Voiding warranties (01:15:07)

25. Erez's business practices (01:23:23)

26. ZSA cards (01:27:51)

27. This episode was requested (01:35:13)

28. What's next? (01:36:42)

29. Closing thoughts and stuff (01:37:08)