I bought this keyboard because they've been pushing pair programming at work and they want everybody's workstation to have 2 keyboards (whole different topic). Regardless, I took this as an opportunity to shop for a new keyboard to use at work. First, I ordered a Logitech Wave, what a miserable pile that was. I could not get over 90wpm on that keyboard. Now yes, I know, 90wpm is pretty good, but the keyboard kept frustrating me and I could not get in rhythm with it. So I went to Best Buy and got this. And I must say...WOW! I had a comfort 3000 already and loved it, but I did not expect this keyboard to feel so good. On my first try at [...] I hit 136wpm! The keyboard's keys are provide incredible feedback and feel amazing going at high speeds, it really is hard to describe. The rubberized palm rest makes the keyboard a joy to use for long hours at a time, and the curve the comfort's are known for makes sure that the extended reach keys (b,n, etc.) are elongated enough to make them easier to reach and unlike the split keyboards, the spacebar feels like a normal spacebar with no extra effort required.
The downsides:
I'm a professional software developer so having good sized function keys is an absolute must. On this keyboard, they are small and slightly recessed. There is also very little separation between the groups as is normal on most keyboards (1-4,5-8,9-12) which makes it hard to find the one you want without looking. This might also be a pain for gamers. The function keys also seem to go down deeper than the regular keys putting a small amount of extra strain on my wrists. My other complaint is about the mouse, while it is small than the average Microsoft mouse, it is still quite comfortable in your hands, but the scroll wheel is annoying. I personally prefer a scroll wheel that clicks, and this one is smooth with no clicking. Again, this might be my preference as a programmer as I like more predictability when scrolling as most development environments scroll by line instead of pixel, but it was an annoyance to me.
So overall, for typing, the keyboard is my absolute favorite keyboard of all time. For other things such as hitting F-keys and scrolling, I guess I'll have to get used to them. The Windows 7 function keys are nice I guess, but even though I do use Win7 (legal MSDN version of course), I find no use for them. The other little feature I like is that the usb dongle is a very small flash drive sized stick and not those long mouse looking things of the past. In the end, every person needs to make up their own opinion when it comes to keyboard preferences because keyboards are like chairs and mattresses, it is highly dependent on what you like.
In the end, with all the bitching and moaning I do with the F keys and mouse, I'm contemplating buying another one to use at home. Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 Keyboard and Mouse Set - Black
This keyboard has a great feel and the textured rubber wrist pad feels very nice. I love the curved key layout, I have been buying this shape of keboard for years.
The keys are quiet and give a great soft bounce feedback (not too soft).
The mouse also has a very nice textured rubber feel.
The optical tracking of the mouse works very well on any surfaces.
I bought this keyboard for the ergonomics and the windows 7 compatibility.
I like the taskbar keys buttons wich make accessing your pinned applications a snap. (Note: that in Windows 7 those keys will not only start the applications but once they are opened the keys will toggle between foreground, minimized state and application specific shortcut menu)
There is no led indicator of the keyboard state (num lock or caps lock) but the intellipoint software will display a tiny popup on the screen to show the state (Which I think is even better, since you don't have to look down from the screen). This "lack" of feature ultimately saves the battery life of the keyboard greatly.
I've been using a Microsoft Comfort keyboard for a while so the only thing I had to get used to is the ESC & Function keys being shorter. The keyboard itself is very solid feeling and the buttons are quiet and have a great feel. My previous keyboard was giving me fits as it would intermittently drop keys. I love the textured feel of the palm wrest and the rubberized feet on the bottom.
This set is by far the best I have had. I do have an issue with the scroll wheel on the mouse, but Microsoft is sending a new one to me soon. Dealing with technical support was quite painless and took only 20 minutes of my day.
I would have liked to rate this with 4.5 stars because of the shorter function keys, but I can get used to them.
I've owned several wireless keyboard/mouse systems over the years and this one is by far the best one. Not only do you get away from using your PS/2 ports on your computer you use only one USB port. The Wireless receiver is no bigger than your finger. The keyboard which doesn't use the split key format feels more comfortable. The range is pretty far, I took the keyboard 15 feet away from the receiver and it still worked. The keyboard feels nice and sturdy but still sleek at the same time. The adjustable/detachable keyboard legs are a nice feature. They can be used to raise it from the front or the back giving you the right positioning for any desk. The keys however are bit shorter than other keyboards so it's more like a lab top keyboard and takes some getting used to . The mouse with its Blue light technology is really sweet, it works on every surface. The one drawback is the side buttons which are really small. I really like the whole system overall. I like so much I'm trying to convince my work to replace our keyboards with one of these. A definite great buy. - Bluetrack - Wireless Mouse - Microsoft - Keyboard'
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