I've never been fond of the Macally product lines, as they've always looked *cheap* to me as I browse through the catalogs or wander down the aisles in various computer stores.

Then I had a chance to use the Macally iMediaKey on a friend's computer. After an hour or so of working with it, I felt it would make a reasonable replacement for the AppleDesign keyboard that came with my 8600/300.

The keys have a solid feel to them without the annoying "click" that I get on a number of the PS/2 keyboards that I've used at work.

In addition, there's an extra set of buttons across the top of the keyboard that can be scripted to control your CD-ROM player as well as launching various applications or scripts.

I'd always thought that the extra keys for Windows machines were kind of hokey - I mean, who really needs an extra button on your keyboard just to launch your e-mail? I still don't use those keys for much beyond controlling the CD-ROM, but my fiancee uses them for her e-mail and web browsing. I've tried, but my habits seem to be set in stone for how I work.

The included iMediaKey software is easy to install and use, and doesn't conflict with any of my other extensions.

I've heard some reports that various Macally keyboards get "lost" on the USB port, and must be unplugged then plugged back in to "wake them up." That hasn't happened to me.

Since I'm using a pre-G3 Macintosh with a USB PCI card in it, the USB keyboard doesn't always do what you'd expect - the power key doesn't work, and booting without extensions means that I need to plug in the old AppleDesign to get anything done.

For someone with a G3 or G4, this would make a nice replacement for the original USB keyboards included with the iMac and later Macs - those keyboards are simply too small to use with hands like mine. I haven't yet had a chance to play with the newest Apple keyboards, so I can't compare the iMediaKey to one of those.

Overall, this is simply the best USB keyboard that I've worked with.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 59