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When Bob Levitus effusively praised the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 at the MLMUG May meeting, indicating he had purchased three of them in case Microsoft discontinued producing the product, that was enough for me to take a look at the product. From what I could see online it looked great and since I was having some problems with my external keyboard, I figured why not try it. What I found was an extremely well designed ergonomic keyboard, comfortable to use, with a host of special buttons to accelerate your use of the keyboard and reduce hand movements.
I'm writing this review because I am so impressed with the 4000 that I wanted to share my experience with the group. But first, I have to mention something that I was totally unaware of, even after years of buying computer equipment. You can buy the OEM version of some products for a lot less than the normal price. I purchased the 4000 at Micro Center for about $30, which was about $20 less than the lowest online price. Why? The product comes in a brown cardboard box. It didn't contain the software disk or a manual. But that was no big deal because both items are available online. How do you tell it's the OEM version? The product will have OEM after its name. It's a good idea to ask your local retailer if they have any such products.
Getting back to the product, it's USB only, not wireless, a black design with silver edges and some silver keys; an aesthetically pleasing package.
The 4000 splits the keyboard in half at a 12-degree angle to reduce strain on your wrists. I read that it takes everyone, whether a touch typist or not, some time to get used to it, and I find that after a week or so of use, I am adapting to it. The center of the keyboard is raised. The two sections of the keyboard are separated and between them is a convenient zoom slider which allows you to increase or decrease the size of text or images. It works with all the applications I have used so far and is extremely handy. In addition, there are back and forward keys in front of the keyboard which are extremely useful when viewing a Web page.
The keyboard comes with a preinstalled front tilt plate which raises the front palm rest and makes the keyboard slant down to the back. The plate can be removed and there are feet that raise the back of the keyboard like a traditional keyboard. Ergonomists state that your wrists should be flat and not bent upwards. The front tilt plate promotes this position and although it was awkward at first, I find myself sitting more upright and my wrists and arms are in the right position.
Another great feature are five "My Favorites" keys which you can assign to folders, programs, files or images. I chose the Finder, one application, and three folders, all of which I use frequently. It's faster than using the Sidebar or Dock. There is even a Star key in front of the Favorites which lists them and which you can use to change the designation if you prefer.
To the left of the My Favorite keys are three keys which are preconfigured to access the Web, do a search page, and access your mail application. If you use keyboard shortcuts, you can achieve a similar quick movement, but these are a little faster. To the right of the My Favorite keys are volume control keys, a key to launch or pause iTunes or other media player, and a key to launch the calculator.
As with traditional keyboards there are 12 F-keys, but the 4000 has an "F-Lock" button which converts the F-keys into very handy keyboard shortcuts for Help, Undo, Redo, New, Open, Close, Reply, Forward, Send, Spell, Save, and Print. Not only are these extremely handy, but I find that several, including New, Save, and Print, are faster than a traditional keyboard shortcut.
The keyboard is a standard Windows keyboard, but using the downloaded software for a Mac, the Alt key functions as a Command key so that the functional layout is almost the same as a Mac keyboard. It adapted to this difference almost instantly.
The only disadvantage I can find with the 4000 is that it takes up a fair amount of space on the desktop — about 19 inches wide and 10 inches deep. That's a small price to pay for a very efficient, useful and comfortable keyboard.
Conclusion - The 4000 is an extremely well designed ergonomic keyboard, comfortable in use, with a host of special buttons to accelerate your use of the keyboard and reduce keystrokes, hand movements and movement to your mouse. I can see why Bob LeVitus recommends the 4000 and one reviewer says you'll never use another keyboard. I love it. In fact, I'll bring it to the July meeting and anyone can look at it or try it out.
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Reviewer: Mark Bazrod
Mark Bazrod has been involved in leasing computers since 1968 and has been active in the leasing industry as a board member, speaker, and committee chairman. His company was one of the first to lease computer software back in 1992. He bought his first Apple computer around 1978 and currently uses a PowerBook as his main computer, taking it everywhere. He was appointed to the Board of MLMUG in June 2004. |
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