The three best computer peripheral investments you can make are, in order, (1) a comfortable chair, (2) a good monitor (or two) and (3) a good keyboard. The three are related, too: get a comfy chair that sits at the right height so your monitor is at eye level and your keyboard is right where your hands naturally want to go. I've been known to put boxes under my monitors to get them up high enough and mod my chair with memory foam to get things just right. Fortunately, the chair and keyboard are both relatively inexpensive and, like the monitor, will very likely outlast your current computer. And you don't need to buy a fancy-pants Herman Miller Aeron chair or a super expensive keyboard either, you just need to find the right ones for you.

Das Keyboard ($129)

Das Keyboard is the keyboard I dream of in my sleep, except in a split-key version. Yea, I'm one of those guys, but hey: I'm a writer, so I really need comfort. Why Das Keyboard? Well, besides the geek chic of an almost totally black keyboard Zaphod would love and a really cool name, every key on Das Keyboard is old-school spring loaded. You remember, like the old IBM keyboards that went clickity clack. It's all about speed, fast tactile feedback and decisive keypresses. No more mushy modern keyboards. You can get it with or without lettering on the keys, too. Read a recent review here .

Optimus Maximus ($1,877)

The Optimus Maximus is the ultimate keyboard. Not only is it really, really (really!) good looking, but it is completely customizable. Unlike Das Keyboard's completely blank keys, the Optimus Maximus has individually customizable keys, each with a tiny 48x48 pixel OLED display on it, so you can change it to show whatever you want (one key shown below). Flip from QWERTY to Dvorak to Chinese to Rebus puzzles - anything at all. The keys can even dynamically update to whatever you want, changing with the weather or time of day. In some ways, this might be nice, for example, you could have the 'board switch to a layout with Final Cut Pro buttons when you edit. Of course, the price is a huge downside and, quite honestly: how often do you actually look at your keyboard when typing anyhow? Recent review here.

If you found yourself $1,600 short for the Optimus, you could always get the Luxeed U5 Dynamic Pixel keyboard for $129. Set it up with your keyboard shortcuts and you are good to go.

Logitech diNovoEdge ($180)

The Logitech diNovo Edge is what I use in my living room. It's a bit expensive, but it was really the ONLY keyboard I could find that was both wireless (Bluetooth) and had a touchpad. It is also very svelte and fits into a living room environment very well. I've had mine now for a year and it actually gets a couple of hours of work done on it every day. This isn't a touch typist's speed keyboard, but it does what it needs to do very capably. Oh, and it works with Macs now, too!

Apple Wireless Keyboard ($79)

Apple is not a company that is known for its peripherals, with a grand total of about five input devices you can buy, but the minimalist and tiny Apple Wireless Keyboard is gorgeous. Like the Logitech, it uses Bluetooth and would be almost the ideal living room keyboard, if it had a touchpad. Then again, where would you put a touchpad on this beauty without completely ruining the aesthetic?! Oh, and it works with Windows now, too!

Ergodex DX1 Input System ($149)

Bella Video Keyboards ($170)

Bella DV Keyboards are custom 'boards with color coded keycaps and icons that match your video editing application. Many models also have a jog/shuttle dial that gives you more of a sense of zipping back and forth on the timeline in a more "intuitive" way (I hate that word when used for editing and computer technology: none of this is "intuitive" ).

I have mixed feelings about these keyboards. They are fairly expensive and, in terms of the keyboard itself, they aren't any better/worse than any old generic keyboard you can get for $20. The jog/shuttle is nice and, while it isn't necessary (nothing you can't do with JKL and arrow keys on your keyboard right now), it does have a good feel. I use a Contour ShuttleXpress when editing, but I use it on the left side of my keyboard, which is something you can't do with the built-in Bella version. The one unequivocally reason to get a keyboard like this is educational: if you are NOT using JKL right now (or don't know what I'm talking about), you NEED to learn keyboard shortcuts. And, in my opinion, $170 for ongoing keyboard shortcut lessons is an excellent deal, even if you do eventually become an obsessive hands-on-keyboard professional editing jockey with your completely blank Das Keyboard some day and pass your Bella on to someone else who is just learning.  

There is one cheaper option too, which is to get sticker sets to apply to your current keyboard. There are a number of different kinds out there, but I happened to run across EditorsKeys first: USD$25 from the UK. Again, as learning tools, these are excellent. Even if you just learn where your razor tool is and how to toggle ripple editing on and off, the time you save during editing is worth the $25 lessons. You'll use these shortcuts over and over and over again for the rest of your editing life.

ShuttleXpress ($70)

As you can see on the Bella keyboard, the jog/shuttle device is a nice addition as well, but, like the custom keyboard, I have mixed feelings about the device. I own and use a ShuttleXpress when I edit, but it will actually discourage you from learning keyboard shortcuts, which, as I've just evangelized, is knowledge you will take with you into the professional world when you sit down at literally ANY edit bay anywhere on the planet. Literally: learn your shortcuts in Vegas and then sit down at an AVID Media Composer or a Final Cut Pro workstation and you will be able to start editing immediately if you know your shortcuts. Yes, there are many variations, but there are also standardized core similarities (e.g., JKL, arrow keys, cut/paste, "S" for scissors or slice or snip or razor blade(!)). So over the years, I've evolved from a hunt and peck typist and mouse-click-on-buttons editor to a fairly hardcore keyboard-only editor (really: look ma, no mouse!) to how I edit now, with my right hand on my mouse and my left hand on my ShuttleXpesss (with the five custom hotkeys) and I only need to hit the keyboard for text and titles. I'm not saying this is the right way to edit and some people HATE the addon jog/shuttles and there's nothing you can't do with your keyboard that you can do with this $70 device, which merely sends keyboard commands to your editing app anyhow, so it is strictly optional. But I do love my peripherals!

And if anyone wants to sign my petition to get Das Keyboard in a split-keyboard configuration, drop me a line.