Why Aren’t Ergonomic Keyboards Ubiquitous?

I’ve done a lot of typing in the last few days and the thought occurred to me, “my wrists would be so much happier if I could rest them with the width of them perpendicular to the desk.” Note: I didn’t think in such specific terms, but if I don’t describe the image I was thinking, this opening paragraph will fall apart quite quickly. And so then I thought, “THAT would be a really cool keyboard.”

I made a note to write something about my “brilliant” idea and left it. When I came back to it, I thought I’d do a little bit of research and see if someone had already invented the ergonomic keyboard I was imagining. Turns out, they have: ErgoSplit Keyboard. I’ve included a picture of it to the left. At first, I was a little disappointed because I thought I’d come up with a great idea. Then, I was happy – someone already did it! Then, I was disappointed again. How come ergonomic keyboards are more prevalent?

I haven’t worked in an office in some time, but when I imagine a computer workstation or when I see pictures of computer workstations, rarely do I see an ergonomic keyboard. I would think with the research that OSHA (and others!) have done, there’d be a higher demand for ergonomic keyboards. And on that note, when most folks think of ergonomic keyboard, they think of the picture in the first paragraph (at least I do). How come there aren’t more people who are interested in ergonomic keyboards like the one in the second picture? When I imagine using it, it feels like it’s a more natural position than the “original” ergo keyboard and leaps and bounds more ergonomic than the plain keyboard.