I never thought I’d ever fall in love with anything ever produced by the capitalist monopoly that is Microsoft. Times have changed. A few months ago some of the guys at work convinced me that the new Microsoft Natural Keyboard is so good they bought one for every computer they owned. I guess it was a hyped-up moment of weakness in my anti-consumerism shield that caused me to jump on the net and order the thing right there.
At first it was awkward and the size and placement of some keys threw me completely off balance, but it’s looks and comfy palm rests sure made up for that phase. I’m convinced my boss must’ve noticed a huge dip in my productivity that week. At the top you have 5 shortcut buttons that you can program to open your favorite programs; my biggest problem with these was that I kept on pressing the wrong button for the program I wanted. I guess my short term memory needs some time in the memory-gym. There’s a button for Web, mail and search. Search is smart enough to open a relevant search box based on the context; so in File Explorer it would open File Seach and in IE it would open web search. Mute, Volume up and down, play/pause which would also open your default player, and calculator shortcut. In the middle of the split is a zoom button that is also context sensitive; I think it just simulates Ctrl+MouseScroll. Also back and forward context sensitive buttons placed below the spacebar.
This keyboard is about more than fancy layout and shortcut keys. It’s about how it takes away the discomfort of typing with your hands held at unnatural positions. Imagine a marathon runner with the latest and lightest shoes; he has less weight to carry on his long run and compared to his old shoes, it feels to him like he’s running on air. Because of this he can make the most of his ability and he can run without even having to worry about his shoes holding him back. My productivity at work surely must’ve improved and made up for after I got used to this keyboard; I wonder if my wpm actually improved? Will have to check that.
At first I thought the price was a little steep. I mean, it’s just a keyboard, don’t be stupid Eugene! Then it hit me, as if an epiphany, and I just couldn’t live with my “normal” keyboard anymore, I was going nuts! I’ve just bought myself another for my computer at home. I had to get rid of the lead in my shoes…
