A Natural Addition to any PC
Written: May 29 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 2 USB ports.Hot keys. Good feel to the keys.Cheap Carpal Tunnel prevention!
Cons: Smaller than the original. Doesn't feel as sturdy.
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a new keyboard or buying a new PC, take a look at the MS-Natural Pro. Your wrists will love you for it!
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| rheaton's Full Review: Microsoft Natural Pro (B61-00002) Keyboard |
Ok. Who stole my aircraft carrier?
Several years ago Microsoft introduced a wonderful new keyboard. The Microsoft natural keyboard. According to the claims made at the time, not only would it make you type faster, and more comfortably, it was safer. My speed never improved much, but I did notice my wrists weren’t as sore. I never went back to the old keyboards. If work had an old style keyboard. I got them to pony up the cash ( then it was over $100) for a new one. Wasn’t always easy, but it’s amazing what you can get when the words ‘ might reduce workman’s comp claims” hit the boss’s ears.
Anyway. Old faithful died a while back. So off I went to get another Natural. The one thing I KNEW I didn’t want was the “elite” version of this keyboard. It’s tiny and flimsy and the functions keys are only half-size. No dice. I wanted another aircraft carrier. My old Natural was so large I had to re-arrange desk space for it to fit. Even poor typists had a chance because the keys were slightly over sized. Besides, this thing was like the Yorktown. You could drop it, drop stuff on it, submerge it and it still worked fine ( Submerging it meant a little Hair dryer action first, but it survived!).
So I grabbed a Natural Pro and headed home.
I was a little excited, hot keys were something I wanted desperately but wasn’t willing to give up my MS-Natural for them. I loved the idea of two USB ports within easy reach. No more crawling around under the desk to plug and unplug USB devices.
So I broke open the box pulled out the new keyboard and nearly broke down and cried. It was so SMALL.
In fact I held it up against my original keyboard and I was stunned. It was more than 25% smaller, and thinner! Yet they added over a dozen hot keys and two USB ports.
I have to admit, at first I wasn’t happy. I thought I’d been duped. This wasn’t a supped up Natural, it was a supped up Elite! But after a week of using it, I’ve come to realize that I can live with this new smaller version. All the things I liked about my old Natural are still here. The soft touch of the keys. The easy and very comfortable hand position that it forces you to adopt. Which might not FEEL natural to new users at first, but trust me. Buy it on a Friday and use it all weekend. Then go back to the office and feel how Unnatural your old keyboard feels. It’s really rather stunning.
One thing I miss is the way the old Natural used to flip BACKWARDs when you put the legs up. This forced you move your hands in a slightly different manner and was in my opinion much more comfortable than the new "normal" method. Of course, there were some drawbacks to the old system. Hunt and Peck typists were hopelessly confused by this because it canted the keyboard AWAY from you and hid some of the keys from view.
The addition of the two USB ports to the Natural Pro are a god send to anyone that is using a laptop at home, or those that have bought cut rate systems with only one USB port ( they’re out there!).You can even add a port to these and go USB crazy if you want.
A nice touch is that now you can do something I’ve always envied MAC users for. You can plug your mouse into your keyboard and not worry about the cord hanging down and providing resistance to your movements. You might think this is a trivial thing, but it’s AMAZING how much more precise you can be when the weight of the cord isn’t trying to pull your mouse in one direction when you are trying to move it in another ( Graphic designers that haven’t caved in and bought a tablet yet will know what I mean!).
Also, my ZIP250 USB just became a LOT more friendly! I just plug it into the keyboard and I’m running. Unplug it, stuff it in my bag and I’m off. No more crawling around under my desk ( Hooray!).
The Hot keys are definitely worth the extra money as well. One touch gets your mail. One touch pulls up the calculator. One touch pulls up your favorite search engine. And on and on. You can also program them if you wish with the included software. It’s great for those of us that find doing certain tasks via the mouse actually slows us down. Now your hands never have to leave the keyboard! Yippee!
Of course I still miss my old “Aircraft Carrier” model. It lasted longer than any keyboard I’d ever owned and I hope the new one lasts as long. Don’t get me wrong, I love the additional desk space I have now, and the Natural Pro is by no means a small item. It’s still noticeably larger than a regular keyboard. I guess maybe It’s like getting a new bike. The new one’s better. But the old one was kind of like a friend.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 64
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Epinions.com ID:
rheaton
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Location: Tobyhanna, PA
Reviews written: 82
Trusted by: 11 members
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