9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Not up to quality I expected
Date of Review: Aug 25, 2009
The Bottom Line: It has great features ruined by the hidden funtion key labels. The feel is fine, especially for someone used to a laptop keyboard. The mouse is funtional.
There is a lot to like about this keyboard. I have the 3000-2 version and bought it because the home keys are finally back where they belong. Where they had been ever since IBM designed the layout for the PS2 many years ago. That enthused me, I like having the keys where I expect them to be and that stupid rearrangement Logitech came up with for wireless keyboards has bugged me the last several years.
All was well until, I needed to use the function keys. Looking down to find the F5 key, can you believe I had to get out my flashlight to read the F numbers in normal room lighting. That was when I realized that Microsoft had again screwed something simple up on a keyboard by putting their absolutely stupidest diagrams ever on the keys. If you want to actually press the F5 key, you have to first find a little blue key marked lock. You can then use the F keys as normal keys if you can find them. The printing on top of the keys in nice white is just garbage that some idiot felt might make their life easier. Obviously someone who was new to the PC and had never used function keys before. Maybe in some newer version of Word or someplace other than the Word 2003 I use they might serve a purpose. This would maybe have been helpful to someone else, but to me it represents a gigantic hindrance. I am using the board now, and am torn apart by my desire to have a keyboard with the home keys in the proper place and one with no labeling on the function keys, or to return it and get one with labeling on the function keys, but go back to illogical Logitech arrangements between the keypad and regular keys. A larger keyboard would be nicer. This is tiny, but I don't want to waste a lot of desk space on a keyboard...
OK that for the keyboard, now the mouse. It feels excellent in the hand, I like the way it slides on my desk. It has nice large Teflon pads on each end, so it might not get all sticky the way the glued on pads did on the Logitech. Used to the old mouse with rechargeable batteries and a charger cradle This little jewel requires batteries and has an on off switch on it's bottom. The instructions say I should unplug the little USB device and place it in the bottom of the mouse to preserve battery life. I dunno about that idea. It seems rather hokey to me. Sort of like not labeling the function keys.
I think I will keep it and see if I can get Microsoft to send me a replacement set of key caps for the function keys. The thing was on sale and cost $50 so it not that bad for that price.. I will most likely make up a template to put behind the function keys the way I did for Wordperfect and Lotus many years ago. I still can't get over the dip who decided putting pale blue labeling on a shiny black keyboard would ever be readable.
