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The splashed on keys are a bit sticky, but if I were more committed I am sure I could easily look up how to remove/clean them online.Īlso, don't worry about this keyboard "not working" in Windows Vista/Windows 7. The keyboard took it like a champ, and has had absolutely no problems in function. Overall Review: A bit of coffee (with cream) splashed onto my keyboard about 4 months ago. It may be a problem with my setup as opposed to the keyboard, but this is the one I've got to test with. Occasionally when playing games it seems like not all of my key presses are sent (or like some of them stop sending a signal after 4 seconds or so). They work fine for USB memory sticks, wireless mouse adapters, and other small things, but don't expect to plug your external hard drive into one of them. The on-board USB ports are USB2.0, but do not have enough power to connect things like an iPod. (even after more than a year of ownership, it still pisses me off that they did this). The USB extension cable is 'keyed' so that absolutely no other USB device can be used with it without first modifying the female end to remove the key. The 'Num Lock' key is labeled Clear, the Scroll Lock key is remapped to F16 (immediately above 'clear'), etc. Maybe I won’t need to worry about controlling PandoraBoy much longer.Pros: Nice look, smooth key action (still moves and responds like new after more than a year of HEAVY use), quality materials, included USB extension cable, & 2 built-in (low power) USB ports.Ĭons: Some of the buttons Windows users are used to are mapped to different locations or are simply missing. But I’ll stick with Apple’s way for while, just to give it a fair trial. Hmmm… The last two paragraphs certainly make it sound like eventually I’ll to be checking that box in Keyboard & Mouse Preference Pane and remapping the function keys the way I want. The hardwired button just isn’t-and probably can’t be-that smart. I had already assigned an AppleScript to F13 that acts as a play/pause button for either iTunes or PandoraBoy, whichever one I’m listening to. Unfortunately, the play/pause button works only for iTunes.
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And since I’ve duplicated the Exposé “all windows” button, F3 is wasted on me, too. I never use Dashboard, for example, and can’t remember the last time I adjusted the brightness on my iMac, so that’s a waste of three keys.
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The downside of these “hardwired” buttons is that they don’t exactly match the way I use the computer. F16 is the Exposé “all windows” toggle (duplicating the function of F3), F17 is the Exposé “application windows” toggle, F18 is the Exposé “desktop” toggle, and F19 is the Spaces toggle. I’ve remapped all the Spaces and Exposé functions I use to the F16-F19 keys over the keypad. None of the apps I use regularly require the function keys 1, and I do like being able to control iTunes with just a single click. Oddly enough, although I’ve had this box checked for years on my iBook, I’m going to keep it unchecked for a while on my iMac, just to see how I like it. Laptop users have always had this option. If a combination keystroke like that is annoying, you can avoid the fn key by changing this checkbox setting in the Keyboard & Mouse Preference Pane: If you or the applications you use have any functions mapped to the function keys that have been taken over by audio/visual controls, you can get the old behavior by pressing the fn key along with the function key.
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The Help key is gone, replaced by a “fn” key in the home/end, page up/down cluster above the arrow keys. I don’t understand why the three volume controls were moved from above the numeric keypad they seemed easier to find there. The CD/DVD eject key is now above the Backspace/Delete key, rather than out at the upper right corner of the numeric keypad. There are now 19 of them spread out across the top of the keyboard, 10 of which have, by default, a audio or visual function: I’m not sure I’m thrilled with how low it is, but that’s easily remedied with a prop if I can’t get used to it.Īpart from the ergonomics of typing, the biggest change is the way the function keys work. The touch of the new keyboard is nice: it’s not exactly a click, but there’s a more definite “feel” when the keystroke is complete than there was with the old keyboard. Today the UPS man delivered my new Apple aluminum keyboard, a replacement for the standard (at the time) white/clear plastic keyboard that came with my iMac, whose keys were getting a bit sticky. Next post Previous post Apple aluminum keyboard