New Microsoft Keyboard

The next keyboard is out the door:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=028


Some of my favorite features:
a. Persistent F-Lock.
   Yes, the new receiver now remembers the state you left the flock across reboots. This should help to get in the bios or if you're a heavy user of the standard F-behavior.

b. Layout. Having the curved keys did look kind of funny at the begining, but after a little while I did get used to the curvature of it and feels good.

c. Mail key and My Favorites. At least for me it's easy to get to the apps I use often.

What do you think?


Carlos.

I think I must be stuck in the dark ages... what is F-Lock all about?  The website says "Perform common tasks, like opening documents and replying to e-mail with the touch of a button. Or toggle between standard and enhanced F-key commands for even more flexibility."  But I have no idea what "enhanced F-key commands" are.

That zoom thingy and mouse tilt-a-wheel seem really cool.

object88 wrote:

I think I must be stuck in the dark ages... what is F-Lock all about?  The website says "Perform common tasks, like opening documents and replying to e-mail with the touch of a button. Or toggle between standard and enhanced F-key commands for even more flexibility."  But I have no idea what "enhanced F-key commands" are.

That zoom thingy and mouse tilt-a-wheel seem really cool.

For the last 4 years MS keyboards have given the F1 - F12 keys dual functionality.

They either work like regular F# keys, or they have special functions like undo, redo, new, open, close, reply, fwd, send, spell, save, print.

There is an extra key called f-lock that is used to toggle between functionality (kind of like a caps lock key)

Older keyboards defaulted the F-lock state to use the new functionality after each reboot. This made it less than ideal for people or tasks who prefered the original F# functionality.

Starting with this keyboard the state of the Flock is preserved to be whatever it was before you rebooted.

Carlos

Too bad the mouse isnt' bloody well DOCKABLE! The only mouse I'm ever going to buy again is a dockable wireless optical mouse. I'll likely replace my keyboard too. Come out with a version with a dockable mouse, and I'll buy this one, hands down

Jeremy W. wrote:

Too bad the mouse isnt' bloody well DOCKABLE! The only mouse I'm ever going to buy again is a dockable wireless optical mouse. I'll likely replace my keyboard too. Come out with a version with a dockable mouse, and I'll buy this one, hands down

What do you mean dockable? Into the Keyboard? Or elsewhere? Why do you want it docked? to recharge? not to loose it?

Carlos.

Maybe I'm alone in this, but...
It shocks me to see input devices go wireless and optical etc... while we're still stuck with the same keyboard layout that the very first typewriters had!  I'd like to see some alternatives, like:
Keyboards with only five keys (operate with one hand without having to move your fingers)
Keyboards that operate as beams of IR light that you interrupt with your fingers
Keyboards that on the outside of a pen

Or at least put all the vowels in the home row or something.

There are (or were?) some neat keyboard variations on the market, but most had to do with ergonomics.

Of course, there's the classic dvorak keyboard.  Qwerty is laid out to slow down the typist, because old typewriters would jam if you typed too fast.  Dvorak is supposed to be laid out to improve typing speed.  Does it work?  Dunno, never tried one.

Beyond that, you have a hemi-sphere keyboard, where you put your hands inside a half-globe type thing, and the keys fit to the natural curve of your hands / fingers.  Unfortunately, I can't find a link to it; perhaps its discontinued.

This one just seems... weird.

I've also heard of this datahand keyboard, which isn't quite 5-key, but similar.

It looks like there are one-handed keyboards, too!  (Neat, I didn't know about these before...)

And here's a interesting no-pressure keyboard.  Not quote IR, but closer.

Carlos wrote:

Jeremy W. wrote: Too bad the mouse isnt' bloody well DOCKABLE! The only mouse I'm ever going to buy again is a dockable wireless optical mouse. I'll likely replace my keyboard too. Come out with a version with a dockable mouse, and I'll buy this one, hands down

What do you mean dockable? Into the Keyboard? Or elsewhere? Why do you want it docked? to recharge? not to loose it?

Carlos.

Dockable so it recharges. This is my biggest frustration with my last two mice. I don't mind replacing the batteries on my keyboard so much... But my mice batteries run out constantly. I'm in the market for a new keyboard / mouse combination and was really hoping this model would have it...

I couldn't see it. Maybe I'm missing it though?

I bought this keyboard and it lasted 5 minutes.  I use a Natural keyboard b/c I like the split and the curve - I was hopeful that this one would be curved enough and have a smaller footprint but it was bad... the curve is OK but they shrunk down the Ctrl/Win/Alt keys to make them almost un-usable.  At least that's my 2 cents on it.

However, that the controller toggles the FLock across reboots is interesting... I'll have to hook it up again and see if my wireless natural pro works with it!

Maurits. I'm not sure the world is ready for such a shattering change... I'm thinking the qwerty keyboard is pretty much here to stay

Jeremy. Check out some of the latest mice we got. They advertise the '3x' battery life. We think that most people will get more than 6 months battery life with a couple of good brand batteries. You should end up changing your batteries for both mouse and keyboard every 6 months or so...

RandyRants. You're going the wrong way . If you're already an ergo user then this may feel a bit weird. I had the same feeling for a while but did get used to it eventually...

If you have one of the older wireless ergo keyboards then just use the receiver that came with the new one and you'll be on your way (flock persistence and all).

Carlos.

I recently got one of the new Natural Keyboard Multimedia to replace a Natural Keyboard Pro (with the USB ports).  I've used it for over a month and I still can't get used to the new Home/Delete/End key arrangement.  I note that this keyboard has the same.

Can anyone explain to me why everyone (not just MS) keeps fiddling with key layouts?  Touch typing + muscle memory + new layout = frustration!

Jeremy - take a look at the Logitech MX700.  I've got this one at home and I love it.  Even good for twitch gaming.  The charging/receiver base doesn't need to be plugged in to work as a receiver which is great for LAN gaming since that's one less cord to carry along and plug in.  I have yet to find an MS moust that will make me switch.

No, see, Carlos: I don't EVER want to have to change the batteries in my mouse. See, I have an MS mouse now. About 6 months ago it stopped going into "quiet" mode, and so sucks the battery down in 5 days. So, 3 times battery life will still give me 15 days. Not a whole hell of a lot.

Which is why I'm in the market for a new mouse. My keyboard's also getting narfy, so that'd be good too. I'm not saying this isn't a nice mouse, and I'm not saying the innovations which brought "3x" battery life aren't great. Just that they'd be a hell of a lot better (for me, maybe not for everyone) if I could dock it to recharge instead.

I love some of the other doodads, but I don't ever want to replace my mouse batteries again. Hell, I'd love it if my keyboard could dock too: all the freedom of wireless without the hassle of batteries.

All I can say is: you can take my "MS Natural Keyboard Pro" when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. I HATE the new key arrangements. I'm going to buy a few before they are completely gone and stuff them in a closet for future use.

theseanster wrote:

All I can say is: you can take my "MS Natural Keyboard Pro" when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. I HATE the new key arrangements. I'm going to buy a few before they are completely gone and stuff them in a closet for future use.

Now that's a hardware strategy plan I can get behind.

theseanster wrote:

All I can say is: you can take my "MS Natural Keyboard Pro" when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. I HATE the new key arrangements. I'm going to buy a few before they are completely gone and stuff them in a closet for future use.

Lol! Yes sir... I understand, personally I agree that the NKP was one of the best kbs ever made. If you plan to stock pile them: HURRY UP. It's been a long long time since we stopped making them.

Jeremy, If your tolerance is 0 then you probably should stick to a wired mouse
When you do try the rechargeables watch out for the 'oops, forgot to charge the batteries, now what?' gotcha 
Re the mouse that eats up batteries in a week. Which model is it? I'd be very curious if its one of the newer models (I've never seen one fail the way you describe). 
Regardless of which one is it, it's obviously not supposed to do that... may want to check your warranty...  

Carlos

I had a look at this wireless keyboard/mouse combo at Velocity up in Toronto, it’s nice: the best thing is the price!

 

   

Carlos: My tolerance for putting new batteries in "by design" is 0. If something's my fault, that's fine.

I love my wireless keyboard / mouse. If I couldn't get a dockable mouse, I'd get this keyboard / mouse. But I can, so I will

Carlos wrote:

Maurits. I'm not sure the world is ready for such a shattering change... I'm thinking the qwerty keyboard is pretty much here to stay

Try fitting a QWERTY keyboard on a mobile device.   If people can learn to  read Braille or play guitar they can learn a five-fingered keyboard.