Ohh, I never got used to the split keyboards. I got one Microsoft keyboard (I believe it was called the ComfortCurve?) that was something between a regular keyboard and a split keyboard but wasn't split. It was fairly comfortable and cheap.
I find it impossible to type a lot of things I want to, not only because some of my fingers are slower than others, but also because I usually do keyboard shortcuts with one hand, even if it's ctrl+alt+del. It's not easy to do on keyboards like those :(
I've been using a QWERTZ Natural Keyboard Pro [1] since 2001, and I love it. I keep meaning to try a more effective keyboard layout such as Programmer Dvorak, but I'm finding it hard to find one that appeals to me. I don't want to lose the extra Umlaut and Accent keys so US Dvorak isn't really an option.
Likewise, but I'm using one of the newer ones (Natural Ergonomic 4000) and I like it. Been meaning to mod it ala tlb (http://tlb.org/keyboardchop.html) to get the mouse closer but I've never gotten around to it. Would love to have a trackball in between the keyboard sections to see if it works but never looked into it either.
The "new crappy ones" are the ones that I'm referring to in the OP - I got myself a 50 dollar MS keyboard, and my mistake ratio went up like crazy as a result of un-even tactile feedback that resulted in letters appearing out of order far too often. Stay away from them :)
This was one of the first keyboards I ever used. It was also the worst keyboard I have ever used. And because I learned to type on it, for about a year afterwards, I couldn't type properly on normal keyboards.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-det...
Not the new crappy ones, but the old ones (I've got about 4 and they are all turning a nice yellow patina).