Next month (November) marks the 2 year anniversary of “the switch”. It will be 2 years since I retired my PC, bought a Macbook Pro, and starting using OSX full time.
When I bought my original Macbook Pro two years ago I purchased the new sleek low profile Apple keyboard. I liked it so much I got one to use with my iMac at work.
slim and sexy
After two years of using Apple’s famous slim form keyboard, today I am retiring it. How can I part with such a slender and graceful piece of equipment you might be wondering? It all came down to ergonomics. I love that keyboard, I really do. However having one at home and at work, I was typing on it an easy 10 hour/day. This keyboard design is not accommodating to heavy usage – far from it. By mid day it was just not comfortable – my wrists ached and fingers were sore. I need keys with more resistance. I need a place to put my wrist.
About a week ago I had enough. Clearly Steve didn’t give a shit if his keyboard was made for people who actually use the computer for real work. Appearance over functionality! That is the Apple way isn’t it? Thus I started my quest to find a replacement. I quickly figured out why many people use that slim finger torturer Apple sells: the number of “mac” keyboards (command key, not windows key!) is few and far between.
Regardless of the small selection I was finally able to find a replacement that is working just fine. It’s not even comparable to Apple’s when it comes to comfort. To top it off, it’s a Microsoft keyboard. Did I mention it was dirt cheap? Oh, and it came with a mouse. Yes, really.
new hotness
So if you are looking for a solid ergonomic keyboard for your Mac look no further than the Microsoft Wireless Laser Keyboard (and Mouse). The whole combo is $25 bucks off of Amazon.
Hey, interesting post. I am making the switch to Mac right now actually. I’ve been using Linux for about 8 years now and itching to focus more on productivity.
How long have you used this keyboard? Any downsides to it? I’ll probably be purchasing this one shortly.
Ordering one now
@Steve – I’ve only been using this keyboard for a couple days, but I love it. I’ll note I’m pretty picky with my keyboards too.
There are only a few downsides. I read in the customer product reviews that the range isn’t all that great. This doesn’t affect me since I am always right in front of my keyboard – no big deal.
The other thing isn’t with the keyboard, but the mouse. It’s a laser mouse, so it’s picky about the surface. I bought the package for the keyboard and just kept the mouse I was using so again, no big deal for me.
I’m very happy so far. If you install the software with the keyboard you get a bunch of handy and programmable buttons.
Lastly you can always use your favorite Windows keyboard on your Mac – the Windows key will just be remapped as the command key. If you are just switching this might work for you. As for me, I’m used to the command key being right to the left of the space bar, which is why I looked for a mac specific one.