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Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro

List Price: $74.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice
Review: I have had this keyboard for a couple of weeks now and overall I am happy with it. The primary reason why I gave up my old keyboard is that I spend an enormous amount of time on my computer (both at work and at home) and have started to develop pain in my hands and wrist. The feel of this keyboard thus far is very nice and I do not have nearly as much pain as I did before. I still have a normal keyboard at work and I like the idea of having a different layout at work at home so that I have some variability in how I use my hands. My favorite aspects in this keyboard is the raised middle and gentle curve of the palm wrest. I also like to play computer games using primarily my keyboard (Novalogic games, Thief, SpaceFlight sims, etc.) and do not really have any complaints. To me, the arrow keys are just fine. As far as the function keys are concerned, they are a complete stupid waste with the exception of maybe the volume controls. (It would be much nicer if they were all programmable or if at least they did something more useful then what they are hard coded to do.) Also, I have no use for the USB port and the software that came with the keyboard is also not too useful because I have the keyboard on a KVM constantly going back and forth between windows, Linux and Solaris - so really the only good thing about this keyboard is the feel to my hands but that in itself made the purchase worthwhile.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great keyboard!
Review: I love this keyboard! After reading reviews I decided to try this even though I am not a touch typist. I don't hunt and peck either, but this keyboard makes me a better and faster typist! The feel and response of the keys is the best! Soft, smooth and no clacking. Also very comfortable with no hand/arm fatigue. I am having trouble configuring the hot keys for some of the functions with the intellipoint software.
... I highly recommend this keyboard!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Could not ask for more
Review: I have had this keyboard for over a year and have dumped several glasses of pop and water into it. It is still working fine and the USB hub is very convienient if you have a digital camera, or IPaq, etc. No problems whatsoever!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: Let me first say I really like this keyboard. I have severe tendonitis, and it's a lifesaver. Both the layout of the keys and the key action (softer than normal) contribute to the increased comfort.

I am a "keyboard person" (as opposed to being a mouse user), and I use the cursor (arrow) keys a lot. I tried to use the Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard, but found its diamond arrangement and smaller-than-normal cursor keys impossible to get used to. This keyboard has the keys in the traditional inverted-T layout. If you EVER use the cursor keys, spend the extra money for this Pro model instead of the Elite!

I also really appreciate the Intellitype software that comes with the keyboard. It used to drive me crazy to accidentally hit the Caps Lock key. With the Intellitype software, you can disable the Caps Lock entirely (among many other customizations) -- problem solved!

So why didn't I give this product 5 stars? Two reasons: first, the function keys are smaller than normal. I would've preferred them to be full size. Second, the hot keys are dark blue with icons molded into them. The problem is that the icons are not easily visible at a glance. It would've been far better to paint the icons white for high contrast and easy legibility. As it is, it's annoying that i have to scan the buttons to find the one I want. Good idea, poor execution.

Still even with these minor flaws, I love this keyboard and heartily recommend it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: great, but excessive
Review: i purchased this keyboard and overall was extremely pleased. that is, until i upgraded to windows 2000 a few months ago. none of the shortcut keys, which is why i bought the keyboard, function anymore. most of the shortcut keys you will never use, anyways, like "HOME" for your homepage...i can't remember when i actuall used that. the ergonomic design is terrific, i love the keyboard, it is just that the features are excessive, incompatible, and you pay dearly for them.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A bit more than I needed
Review: After using this keyboard for several months, I have concluded that while it works pretty much as promised, sometimes a company can take an uncomplicated product like a keyboard and goose it up so much that it becomes too complicated for its purpose. That is the case with this product. My keyboard rests in a drawer and the buttons at the top of the b61-00002 keyboard sometimes hit the top of the drawer starting my email program etc. Plus, I could never get the 2 USB ports to work properly. Finally, I don't type any faster on the "natural" keyboard and when friends and relatives use it, they complain bitterly. I should have stuck with a simple keyboard with all of these bells and whistles. My mistake. Not Microsoft's. But think about this before you buy this product.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Keyboard
Review: The Natural Keyboard is a great if not the best egronomic keyboard out there. Its easy to use and get used to and once you get used to egronomic keyboards, regular keyboards are terrible to use. There are 19 completely programmable hotkeys, including 7 internet, 1 mail, 8 media and hotkeys for My COmputer, Calculator and Sleep. The Hotkeys are very easy to get used to and are fairly easy to set-up. As said before they are completely customizable so any hotkey will open up an program you wish.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nearly doubled my typing speed
Review: I found that I can type far faster on this keyboard than I can on a straight keyboard, which was a pleasant surprise. I expected it to be more comfortable to use (and it is), but the speed increase was a nice bonus. The keys have just the right amount of resistance for high speed typing.

Of course, the standard warning about this kind of keyboard is: ONLY BUY A "NATURAL" KEYBOARD IF YOU ARE A TOUCH TYPIST! If you hunt and peck, you will HATE this keyboard.

The multi-function keys are a really nice touch. Best of all, they work without you having to do a lot of setup. ;-)

This keyboard can be connected to your computer via the USB port, OR the PS2 port, OR both. That's really important, because all the information I could find on this keyboard never made this quite clear. For me, it was crucial that ONLY the USB connection be required for my laptop, because my laptop has no keyboard connector whatsoever. For my desktop, I have both USB and PS2, so I went ahead and plugged in both.

If you only have USB, you will not be able to use your keyboard until the machine has booted at least up to the Windows password prompt. If you have a BIOS password, and you are not using the PS2 connector, you will have to enter the password another way (like by using the irritating, mushy keyboard built into your laptop).

One complaint that I have is that it is very hard to use the CTRL keys. You have to get your hands pretty far out of home position to hit them, and it's awkward. I write software for a living, and I use CTRL characters all the time, so I find this a bit annoying.

However, overall I find the experience to be supperior to using a straight keyboard.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro: a GREAT product for the Mac
Review: OK, I admit it - I've only used this keyboard for one day but couldn't wait to write a review. First off, I can rightly claim to be an official Mac enthusiast/fanatic since buying my 1st computer (Blue & white G3, 350Mhz) in 1999 and understand some of the Mac community's loathing of Microsoft. But if a product works this terrifically for the Mac, even if it's a Microsoft product, then we should show our support for the Mac by buying the superior product. When Apple offers an equally fine split-keyboard I'll trade this one in for that, but at this time they don't have one.

I have experienced the superior stress-reducing ergonomics of the 'split' keyboard design for a couple of years now with the Adesso TruForm keyboard, which is also a fine keyboard, but this one from Microsoft is a cut above the rest. Note that I have also briefly tried the Datadesk 'SmartBoard' split-keyboard which was also a fine product but the keys on that board made very audible 'clicking' sounds - a real distraction when you're used to 'silent' keys. Fortunately, the Microsoft keyboard keys are very quiet.

The keyboard is indeed wide but not as wide as the Adesso Tru-form keyboard. The keys on this Microsoft board are soft to the touch, but with a responsiveness that I find perfect (not 'mushy' like the Apple Pro keyboard). Just plug in the USB cable and you're ready to go, though there is a CD included that contains some very useful software to allow you to reprogram many of the hot keys to your liking and to mirror those keys that are on the Mac keyboard, such as the command and option keys (all reprogramming was super easy and worked flawlessly for me). All the keys worked as advertised: the volume control keys, the internet hot-keys (they work with IE or Netscape), the reprogrammed Apple 'command' keys, and more. The comments about the product's plastics feeling cheap are totally unfounded - this is a solid product with thick plastic moldings throughout. The CD also installs informative HMTL help files on the subject of proper keyboard usage (posture, carpal-tunnel symptoms, etc.); this is really a complete package.

If you are someone that is about to embark on the blissful path of the split-keyboard then this is the keyboard to buy - it's the best one one out there for the Mac. You won't turn back.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Works for me
Review: I love this keyboard. Takes a bit of time to get used to, but so much less taxing on the hands.


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