I BIT the bullet and bought a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 over the week-end. I walked in the computer store with the firm intention of buying the MS Compact Curve 2000, but came out with the Ergo 4000 when I found out that there was a promotion on it.
So far, I’m finding the keyboard to be quite good, especially when the reverse-tilt add-on is used to bring the hands hovering over the keys in a natural position. The keys are not that great, though; they have the same feel as those on the cheap DELL keyboards. The extra keys and the “zoom” slider (now configured for vertical scrolling) are very useful when re-programmed to my particular needs and help to offset the average keys.
However, there seems to be a design problem with the space-bar. Since it is such a large key on this model and the switch is activated by a pin moving down a plastic shaft in the middle of it, pressing the space-bar at any place other than close to its mid-point is quite irritating, as extra force needs to be applied. Fortunately, some plastic lubricant down the shaft (err, this sounds weird, I know) and re-training the space-bar thumb lessen the problem. But, for many others, the initial bad experience with the space-bar may be a complete turn-off.
Overall, I enjoy the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. In fact, I have already put a request to have one at the office.
MS Compact Curve 2000 is not the greatest keyboard to use. I tried it once, but did not like it.
Patrick,
What’s not so good with the Compact (Comfort?) Curve 2000?
— Eddy
Actually, it was not comfortable for me. I did not like the combination of a curved and flat keyboard.
I received the new keyboard at the office. Strangely, the problem with the space-bar is not so acute. In fact, the keyboard has a different feel altogether. Maybe they came from different factories!
– Eddy
Could well be. Or maybe you just dicovered the secret of keyboard DNA :-)
some plastic lubricant down the shaft :p that would be a p0rn0 keyboard!
I’m still on the lookout for the perfect keyboard, the clostest to perfect was my first keyboard, don’t even remember the model, but it was old.
especially when the reverse-tilt add-on is used to bring the hands hovering over the keys in a natural position.
I wonder what you meant by that.
+selven
How much was that keyboard? Just wondering..because I saw the same keyboard in an online shop in China.
Aline,
I got my personal one from PC World for about 35 GBP (with a 10 GBP discount). The IT administrator at the office ordered one from Amazon for 25 GBP, but delivery time was more than two weeks.
It takes some getting used to, but it’s very worth every penny.
–Eddy
I personally believe Microsoft makes some of the best computer peripherals on the market. I have always been a fan of their ergo keyboard although I have not used the 4000 model (some of colleagues do). I went back to a “regular keyboard” when I bought my first Mac ever–I have not seen an ergo keyboard for the Mac :-) I still have an ergo keyboard at work and on my home PC.
Aline, once you get used to an ergo keyboard, you might not want to use a regular keyboard again unless you really have to. Like Eddy said, it might take some getting used to at first.
I’ll think about it then. :) Ah.. the ones I saw on the Chinese online shop(something similar to ebay) are around 26 GBP. Any tips on how to differentiate between a fake and a real one?
@Patrick — You can use the MS keyboard with a Mac. It works.
@Aline — It’s China, after all. Anything can be faked ;-) You could see if the “Genuine Microsoft” holographic tag is present on the underside of the keyboard. (Seen straight down, the hologram will read “Genuine”; seen from an angle, it will read “Microsoft”). Otherwise, the old-school way of checking for a fake is by the quality: the one that I have has a solid, heavy feel to it, not plastic-y as I would suspect a fake to be.
–Eddy
Purchased the keyboard soon after its’ arrival to head off wrist pain from intensive use of notebook keyboard. Solution worked very well, however, developed bad habit of hitting the spacebar too hard with right thumb and now have very irritating pain in the wrist bone at the base of the thumb. Trying hard to retrain thumb for lesser impact.
Force yourself to press the space-bar fully instead of just tapping it. I did, and now I don’t even notice that it is sticky. Also, alternate between the left and right thumbs.
Good luck!
— Eddy
Have just bought a second keyboard, it has a problem with a space bar, while the first one is just fine, space bar is perfect. I’m curious, so I’ll try to fix it, since it is really irratating.
Hi,
I’m curious to know how you applied the lubricant without getting it all over the keyboard. Did you remove the spacebar first or did you apply it around it, and what kind of lubricant did you use?
I just got one recently and I’m finding this spacebar thing to be kind of annoying.
Cheers,
/F
Fred,
If you remove the spacebar, you can see small plastic protrusions that are meant to ensure a vertical downward motion when the key is pressed. But, the problem is, when you press on one side of the key instead of right in the middle of it, these protrusions have friction. I used a cotton swab to apply *plastic-safe* lubricant to them.
Good luck!
— Eddy
Thanks for your reply Eddy.
I applied some silicone oil around the friction points I could see around the spacebar, without actually removing the key since I recall that resetting the spring if the key is removed on some of the old MS Natural keyboards was a hassle (though your comment seems to imply that it’s not the case here…). Anyway, this seems to be working fine now. :)
Thanks again!
Cheers,
/F
You’re welcome, Fred.
I just bought a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and agree that the spacebar is horrible. It really slows down the typing and is extremely annoying. I wouldn’t recommend this keyboard to anyone looking to buy one.
@Joe – The spacebar works best if pressed with a light touch which, in hindsight, is better for the fingers. I still use mine, and I don’t fill the friction anymore.
Eddy.
I think the spacebar problem resolves itself over time as the parts wears smooth from friction. I own two Natural 4000s; one at work and one at home. I bought the one for work first, and eventually bought another one for home when I killed some keys on my older Natural Elite while trying to clean it. When I initially got the home keyboard, I ran into the stickiness problem with the space bar and I noticed that the unit at work didn’t have the same problem. Now, both have smooth space bar action. So, it’s a bit like the break in period for a new car engine: you have to be a bit more careful for the first little while until the rough edges get smoothed out.