Microsoft Natural Keyboard 4000 July 1, 2007

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…

Samsung 226BW (to LCD for real!) April 24, 2007

I had the intention of writing about this LCD and all the research I did before, but bitching about service and attitude seemed to rule that day…

I’ve had the Samsung now for around three weeks and I’m very happy with it. So far none of my dead-pixel fears, light-bleed fears or whatever else there was to fear, came true. It just proves that doing a lot of research before you buy something really does pay off in the end.

Like I’ve mentioned, I did a lot of reading all over the internet, in my opinion the marketing babble that we get thrown really is just that, marketing. I had to find a site, or a forum or a chatroom or whatever it took where I could read the opinions of people that had hands-on experience with this product and who believed in revealing the truth. So instead of re-iterating everything these people did before me, I will just list a couple of links that can point you in the right direction.

1. hardforum.com – This was most definately the most useful and I can see that it will continue to be useful in the future. With regards to the 226BW, look at this post. Yes, you will have to read a lot…
2. behardware.com – A comparison between LCD’s. (I think this link is listed at hardforum also)
3. Google – need I say more.

Sit down and think about what you want from your LCD such as view angles, games, photo editing, etc and then go and read these articles. When you have made that decision, a little common sense and fair reasoning is all you need.