Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday and I am happy to report that I got exactly what I asked for! A brand new Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000! My old keyboard was a Microsoft Natural Elite and it was a good keyboard I liked it a great deal, but in the last month or so it has been sticking, keys have not been working when I pressed them etc etc, so I thought it was about time for a new one. I had the old one for five or six years, so it had a good life.

When I was at Staples one day I browsed through the keyboards there and was surprised that they do not have a lot of ergonomic keyboards. I spend a great deal of time typing and find I can type longer and faster with an ergonomic keyboard than a regular keyboard. I hooked the keyboard up this morning to my Ubuntu desktop and have been pleased to discover that most of the special keys on the keyboard work without me needing to go in and edit any files in Linux! That made my day! Forward and back buttons work in Nautilus and Firefox, volume controls work, calulator button works, favorites button works, home button. The only buttons that don’t work are the user defined ones since I have not set them up yet and the zoom button.

The keyboard itself has a nice feel to it. The wrist rest is a little softer and feels comfortable. The keys are easy to type on, although the space bar was a little stiff when I first started this morning, but it has loosed up and is quicker to respond. If you are looking for a new keyboard take a look at the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. In the hour or so I have been using it I have been very pleased. I think it will serve me well for many years to come. If I can get as many years out of it as my old keyboard it will be well worth the money. I know my wrists will be pleased with it!