On a laptop, I wouldn't see much use for the backlight because the display illuminates the keys but on a standard keyboard, I think it would be ok. On the other hand, it's not good to use your computer in the dark because it hurts your eyes so I tend to have the lights on anyway. But the choice is always welcome.
OK, I just bought a keyboard like this. It was an Advent keyboard (ADE-KBW100) with the scissor keys, aluminium look. I knew of possible issues beforehand such as the Windows key not being in the same place as the command key and I had considered the Kensington slim-type but I was in a store today and they had these for £20, so I just decided to get it. They are so light compared to the Apple Pro keyboards.
All the standard keyboard functions work out of the box as I'd expected but as I'd also suspected, some of the special keys don't work, like the media keys. It's weird because the stop key mute/unmutes the system volume and pause/break and the key beside it act as brightness increase/decrease.
So some of the media keys work, they just don't do what I want. I didn't really want to have to install drivers because they can be unstable but I use the volume controls quite often especially in programs that go fullscreen where it's otherwise quite tricky to change system volume and it would be nice if I could get these working.
I've looked at a few pieces of software and installed the drivers but none of them seem to work. Most seem to be designed for mice and don't offer options for just keys.
I don't understand why Apple don't have a keyboard mapping utility. I know they have that system pane but what I'd like is have a panel of unicode keyboard hex codes and whenever you press a key on whatever keyboard you have, it would highlight the keycode it represents. Then you choose a function to map to the key. There is a key layout mechanism built into OS X but it require writing an XML file manually. I found a program called Ukelele, which helps do this with a GUI but it only seems to do standard keyboard functions.
Even if I could bind the volume change keys to some of the function keys. I never use F1-F8 anyway.
The "Apple Pro Keyboard" is the old, black one which came together with the black Apple Pro Mouse with the iMac G3s etc.
Edit:Apparently there is a white variant of this one too. Did that one come with the iMac G4s?
The "Apple Keyboard" is the current white one.
Right?
Yep, I believe you've got the names right. The Apple Pro keyboard came in black or white and would sit flat on your desk with the option to raise the back if you wanted.
The newer white only Apple Keyboard sits like a (wide) wedge on your desk, raised in back, and is non-adjustable. It's the worst keyboard Apple has ever made, IMO, and right up there with the hocky puck mouse.
Yep, I believe you've got the names right. The Apple Pro keyboard came in black or white and would sit flat on your desk with the option to raise the back if you wanted.
The newer white only Apple Keyboard sits like a (wide) wedge on your desk, raised in back, and is non-adjustable. It's the worst keyboard Apple has ever made, IMO, and right up there with the hocky puck mouse.
Oh, great.
Actually, I much prefer the current keyboard to the Pro Keyboard. The Pro Keyboard feels so stiff and unsensitive. Actually, I do believe the current keyboard to be one of the best standard keyboard (non-laptop style) I've ever tried, though it has some few quirks, namely that you need a perfect keystroke to get the key down smoothly and that it doesn't react to the stroke until the key is at the absolute bottom. Irritating when you need to press the key for a long time, like in some games.
Actually, I much prefer the current keyboard to the Pro Keyboard. The Pro Keyboard feels so stiff and unsensitive. Actually, I do believe the current keyboard to be one of the best standard keyboard (non-laptop style) I've ever tried <snip>
It's interesting how peoples' tastes and preferences are different.
I've never been particularly sensitive to the way a keyboard feels, i.e. how hard or soft the keys are. What annoys me about the keyboard Apple currently ships with its desktops is that it's tilted toward you. This makes for uncomfortable typing (at least to me) and has been proven to cause wrist problems for those who type a lot and who are predisposed to wrist problems. If anything, the keyboard should be tilted away from you, or as I prefer, flat.
That said, I know a lot of people prefer their keyboards tilted toward them for some reason.
though it has some few quirks, namely that you need a perfect keystroke to get the key down smoothly and that it doesn't react to the stroke until the key is at the absolute bottom. Irritating when you need to press the key for a long time, like in some games.
That's the problem right there. I actually have the current Apple keyboard, which I presumed was called the Apple Pro Keyboard. It seems Apple's site just calls it the Apple keyboard but 3rd party ones call it the Apple Pro. I actually didn't mind the flat one all that much.
Anyway, I now have the thin silver keyboard above and I'd like to know if anyone has any info about getting media keys working. I actually managed to install USB Overdrive and I got the volume up and down working with my 4th and 5th mouse buttons so for the time being, I have all the functionality of the current Apple keyboard since holding f12 ejects discs too.
I never liked the eject key anyway because I kept pressing it accidentally so this is still better. I've never really been keen to use media keys to be honest but now that I have them, I can think of things they'd be quite useful for like controlling iTunes or 1-press screen capture.
I could of course use the function keys for this sort of thing if I knew of any good software to map those too. So does anyone have any recommendations?
for £8 and it recognises all the media keys. I can even attach Applescripts to each of the keys so I can launch programs from the media keys. The keyboard even has a power key, which I've been missing from the Apple keyboard for a long time.
for £8 and it recognises all the media keys. I can even attach Applescripts to each of the keys so I can launch programs from the media keys. The keyboard even has a power key, which I've been missing from the Apple keyboard for a long time.
Sounds great. Glad you got it worked out. It's a nice looking keyboard too.
Sounds great. Glad you got it worked out. It's a nice looking keyboard too.
Yeah, the brushed metal look goes with the Apple products quite well. Admittedly, it does feel a bit cheaply made but it's extremely light and with the low keys, it's quite comfortable. I'm actually going to like having the media keys. I've assigned 15 of them so far - 3 don't work yet, not sure why. But I have enough. I also have 3 Windows-type keys customized so that's 18 custom key functions on top of the 12 F-keys.
I have stop, play and track skipping assigned so I just hit play and itunes starts up in the background and I can control itunes at the touch of a button. I have buttons for sleep, shutdown, start screensaver, mail, spotlight and safari shortcuts and screen capture.
No USB ports unfortunately so I'll have to get a USB2 hub but I was going to get one anyway.
Why not a standalone Macbook Pro keyboard instead, I dig the backlighting.
I know, Apple should really make one. After using the Macbook one, I have to say I prefer it though. It would be good if they went the route of the super light, slim aluminium keyboard. I'd also like if they added media keys. A few people were annoyed that Apple stole their function keys for things like Dashboard, Expose, Volume, brightness etc. especially on laptops. What's the point of a function key if you have to press the fn key too?
They could have media keys that are by default assigned to those features with icons but customizable. What I don't get is why does Apple still not have a mechanism for assigning function keys built into the System prefs?
You can swap that setting. System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard -> Use the F1-F12 keys to control software features
Sure but then you have to use the fn key for Dashboard and Spotlight.
Quote:
Originally posted by Chucker
They do. System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> + -> Keyboard Shortcut:
You can put any F key there. Or combine an F key with something else.
I think you can only assign menu items to the keys though for custom apps and in global settings, it seems you can only allocate the actions Apple has defined. I would much rather have a set of Applescripts or whatever to allow full customization.
One major reason I had to buy 3rd party software was that I couldn't reassign my volume keys otherwise. Perhaps it's yet another ploy by Apple to get you to buy their proprietary jamming, uncomfortable keyboards with the notch cut out of the USB connector so you can't use their extension lead with anything else.
Comments
Originally posted by drnat
I use my backlite keyboad most days - work in bed at night & can turn the lights off so my wife can sleep whilst I sort through my many Emails etc
Yeah sure, checking e-mails while the wife's asleep
http://www.coolbuddy.com/videos/video_clip.asp?id=67
(you need flip4mac for that clip)
On a laptop, I wouldn't see much use for the backlight because the display illuminates the keys but on a standard keyboard, I think it would be ok. On the other hand, it's not good to use your computer in the dark because it hurts your eyes so I tend to have the lights on anyway. But the choice is always welcome.
The screen isn't good enough to light the keyboard...
Originally posted by Ireland
OK, I just bought a keyboard like this. It was an Advent keyboard (ADE-KBW100) with the scissor keys, aluminium look. I knew of possible issues beforehand such as the Windows key not being in the same place as the command key and I had considered the Kensington slim-type but I was in a store today and they had these for £20, so I just decided to get it. They are so light compared to the Apple Pro keyboards.
All the standard keyboard functions work out of the box as I'd expected but as I'd also suspected, some of the special keys don't work, like the media keys. It's weird because the stop key mute/unmutes the system volume and pause/break and the key beside it act as brightness increase/decrease.
So some of the media keys work, they just don't do what I want. I didn't really want to have to install drivers because they can be unstable but I use the volume controls quite often especially in programs that go fullscreen where it's otherwise quite tricky to change system volume and it would be nice if I could get these working.
I've looked at a few pieces of software and installed the drivers but none of them seem to work. Most seem to be designed for mice and don't offer options for just keys.
I don't understand why Apple don't have a keyboard mapping utility. I know they have that system pane but what I'd like is have a panel of unicode keyboard hex codes and whenever you press a key on whatever keyboard you have, it would highlight the keycode it represents. Then you choose a function to map to the key. There is a key layout mechanism built into OS X but it require writing an XML file manually. I found a program called Ukelele, which helps do this with a GUI but it only seems to do standard keyboard functions.
Even if I could bind the volume change keys to some of the function keys. I never use F1-F8 anyway.
The "Apple Pro Keyboard" is the old, black one which came together with the black Apple Pro Mouse with the iMac G3s etc.
Edit:Apparently there is a white variant of this one too. Did that one come with the iMac G4s?
The "Apple Keyboard" is the current white one.
Right?
Originally posted by Zandros
The "Apple Pro Keyboard" is the old, black one which came together with the black Apple Pro Mouse with the iMac G3s etc.
Edit:Apparently there is a white variant of this one too. Did that one come with the iMac G4s?
The "Apple Keyboard" is the current white one.
Right?
Yep, I believe you've got the names right. The Apple Pro keyboard came in black or white and would sit flat on your desk with the option to raise the back if you wanted.
The newer white only Apple Keyboard sits like a (wide) wedge on your desk, raised in back, and is non-adjustable. It's the worst keyboard Apple has ever made, IMO, and right up there with the hocky puck mouse.
Originally posted by iDave
Yep, I believe you've got the names right. The Apple Pro keyboard came in black or white and would sit flat on your desk with the option to raise the back if you wanted.
The newer white only Apple Keyboard sits like a (wide) wedge on your desk, raised in back, and is non-adjustable. It's the worst keyboard Apple has ever made, IMO, and right up there with the hocky puck mouse.
Oh, great.
Actually, I much prefer the current keyboard to the Pro Keyboard. The Pro Keyboard feels so stiff and unsensitive. Actually, I do believe the current keyboard to be one of the best standard keyboard (non-laptop style) I've ever tried, though it has some few quirks, namely that you need a perfect keystroke to get the key down smoothly and that it doesn't react to the stroke until the key is at the absolute bottom. Irritating when you need to press the key for a long time, like in some games.
Originally posted by Zandros
Oh, great.
Actually, I much prefer the current keyboard to the Pro Keyboard. The Pro Keyboard feels so stiff and unsensitive. Actually, I do believe the current keyboard to be one of the best standard keyboard (non-laptop style) I've ever tried <snip>
It's interesting how peoples' tastes and preferences are different.
I've never been particularly sensitive to the way a keyboard feels, i.e. how hard or soft the keys are. What annoys me about the keyboard Apple currently ships with its desktops is that it's tilted toward you. This makes for uncomfortable typing (at least to me) and has been proven to cause wrist problems for those who type a lot and who are predisposed to wrist problems. If anything, the keyboard should be tilted away from you, or as I prefer, flat.
That said, I know a lot of people prefer their keyboards tilted toward them for some reason.
Originally posted by Zandros
though it has some few quirks, namely that you need a perfect keystroke to get the key down smoothly and that it doesn't react to the stroke until the key is at the absolute bottom. Irritating when you need to press the key for a long time, like in some games.
That's the problem right there. I actually have the current Apple keyboard, which I presumed was called the Apple Pro Keyboard. It seems Apple's site just calls it the Apple keyboard but 3rd party ones call it the Apple Pro. I actually didn't mind the flat one all that much.
Anyway, I now have the thin silver keyboard above and I'd like to know if anyone has any info about getting media keys working. I actually managed to install USB Overdrive and I got the volume up and down working with my 4th and 5th mouse buttons so for the time being, I have all the functionality of the current Apple keyboard since holding f12 ejects discs too.
I never liked the eject key anyway because I kept pressing it accidentally so this is still better. I've never really been keen to use media keys to be honest but now that I have them, I can think of things they'd be quite useful for like controlling iTunes or 1-press screen capture.
I could of course use the function keys for this sort of thing if I knew of any good software to map those too. So does anyone have any recommendations?
http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/
for £8 and it recognises all the media keys. I can even attach Applescripts to each of the keys so I can launch programs from the media keys. The keyboard even has a power key, which I've been missing from the Apple keyboard for a long time.
Originally posted by Marvin
for £8 and it recognises all the media keys. I can even attach Applescripts to each of the keys so I can launch programs from the media keys. The keyboard even has a power key, which I've been missing from the Apple keyboard for a long time.
Sounds great. Glad you got it worked out. It's a nice looking keyboard too.
Originally posted by iDave
Sounds great. Glad you got it worked out. It's a nice looking keyboard too.
Yeah, the brushed metal look goes with the Apple products quite well. Admittedly, it does feel a bit cheaply made but it's extremely light and with the low keys, it's quite comfortable. I'm actually going to like having the media keys. I've assigned 15 of them so far - 3 don't work yet, not sure why. But I have enough. I also have 3 Windows-type keys customized so that's 18 custom key functions on top of the 12 F-keys.
I have stop, play and track skipping assigned so I just hit play and itunes starts up in the background and I can control itunes at the touch of a button. I have buttons for sleep, shutdown, start screensaver, mail, spotlight and safari shortcuts and screen capture.
No USB ports unfortunately so I'll have to get a USB2 hub but I was going to get one anyway.
Originally posted by Placebo
Why not a standalone Macbook Pro keyboard instead, I dig the backlighting.
I know, Apple should really make one. After using the Macbook one, I have to say I prefer it though. It would be good if they went the route of the super light, slim aluminium keyboard. I'd also like if they added media keys. A few people were annoyed that Apple stole their function keys for things like Dashboard, Expose, Volume, brightness etc. especially on laptops. What's the point of a function key if you have to press the fn key too?
They could have media keys that are by default assigned to those features with icons but customizable. What I don't get is why does Apple still not have a mechanism for assigning function keys built into the System prefs?
Originally posted by Marvin
What's the point of a function key if you have to press the fn key too?
You can swap that setting. System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard -> Use the F1-F12 keys to control software features
What I don't get is why does Apple still not have a mechanism for assigning function keys built into the System prefs?
They do. System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> + -> Keyboard Shortcut:
You can put any F key there. Or combine an F key with something else.
Originally posted by Chucker
You can swap that setting. System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard -> Use the F1-F12 keys to control software features
Sure but then you have to use the fn key for Dashboard and Spotlight.
Originally posted by Chucker
They do. System Preferences -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> + -> Keyboard Shortcut:
You can put any F key there. Or combine an F key with something else.
I think you can only assign menu items to the keys though for custom apps and in global settings, it seems you can only allocate the actions Apple has defined. I would much rather have a set of Applescripts or whatever to allow full customization.
One major reason I had to buy 3rd party software was that I couldn't reassign my volume keys otherwise. Perhaps it's yet another ploy by Apple to get you to buy their proprietary jamming, uncomfortable keyboards with the notch cut out of the USB connector so you can't use their extension lead with anything else.