I've had to do lots of physical therapy for the problems developed from sitting in a chair at the computer. The kneeling chair has been a huge improvement.
I have a classic "Stokke" kneeling chair (now apparently called "Variable balans", http://www.varierfurniture.com/en_us/Movement-Chairs) and I like it, but only for temporary use, not as a full-time chair. Two reasons:
First, your back has to be in quite good shape to avoid dropping your posture after an hour or two. If you can't stay in good form, you need to strengthen your back and work up to it.
Second, the pressure on my kneecaps causes a certain amount of knee pain after using it for extended periods.
I've used a Stokke/Varier Wing Balans for about 15 years on and off. I find that it allows for a variety of sitting positions.
If you are experiencing knee pain, you may want to adjust so the top of your shin is against the pad, not the knee itself, and keep the majority of your weight through your core and seat.
I started using one when I bruised my coccyx (snowboarding accident) and found it to help with lower back pain YMMV
[edit] I prefer the Wing Balans because it is height adjustable with a gas ram, so it can be used in more positions, with a variety of desk heights. I would often use it very low in more of a kneeling position, or at the upper edge of its height range more like a stool
In the late 80's and early 90's kneeling chairs were all the rage as personal computing went main stream in the US. The big box office supply stores would have one as part of their basic $60 chair+desk computer furniture combos. I remember being confronted with them when trying to fix friends and family computers -- by 'confronted' I just mean that they never worked for me and that when sitting down to fix something it was not my first choice chair. I know they work for some people.
They seem to work for some people...I am not one of those people. But I've had a lot of conventional chairs become less comfortable after several hours, too.
I miss working in an environment like this. I was actually surprised to find so much negative feedback in the comments.
I think a detail getting glossed over is that the tone needs to be calibrated to the relationships between team members. If team members joke around with each other, send silly gifs, get lunch or coffee together, and are generally on good terms with one another...then it's known that you don't take PR comments personally, they're just feedback. And the more critical the feedback, the better developer you become.
I can tell you that this is the kind of environment I work in and the first thing I teach a new teammate is that the team is only concerned with consistent high quality code. I think it is a good lesson for most developers and software engineers to separate their personal feelings from their code. It can help you be less defensive of your approach and take in multiple viewpoints to find the best possible solution for the task at hand.
I hit a challenge that had me stumped, and I had to ask a coworker for help. It turned out to be legitimately difficult. Now we were both stumped.
We got some coffee, doubled down, and paired for a while. Eventually, a moment of brilliance was struck from our combined brainpower. Commits were made, tests passed, QA signed off, and a deployment pushed. High fives and Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" ensued.
I got a job in Santa Monica, while living in Long Beach. Commute was painful at 45-60 min, and I only had to be at work by 10:30.
I moved into a 1BR for $1500 in nearby Culver City, which cut my commute down to 20-25 minutes. Not so bad. I'm across the street from a little downtown area with bars, restaurants, a movie theatre, 3 yoga studios, and a grocery store. Fairly walkable.
The job market is pretty hot. The problem in my job search was lining up interviews to get as many offers as possible at once so I could have my pick of the litter.
