Talk:Microsoft ergonomic keyboards

Untitled
I don't know if this belongs in the article or not, but: It was designed for Microsoft by Ziba Design.

Somebody please include the picture!

= The 6 key =

I'm a touch typist and I always press 6 with my left hand (it's closer to the left hand). I did a search on Google Images for "split keyboard" and it seems most of them have the 6 key positioned to the left of the split. --193.111.68.74 (talk) 15:05, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Staggered keys
I'm a touch typist, and I notice that the Natural Keyboard has staggered keys. This particular feature is not ergonomic at all (you have to bend and stretch your fingers in unnatural, asymmetric ways). Maltron, Kinesis, and Datadesk (with the SmartBoard) all do a better job. I suggest adding a "criticism" section, where this is mentioned (but I don't have a source yet). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Loup.vaillant (talk • contribs) 14:04, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

I use the Microsoft Natural Elite and I don't find the fingering at all unnatural (touch typist for 40+ years). I don't think one can judge an ergonomic keyboard except by typing on it and what works best for one person may be terrible for another. I didn't like the Kinesis as well as the Natural Elite after typing on them for about 20 min. each in a store. I think one of the design goals for the Natural must have been that it not present any learning curve to someone used to a standard 101-key keyboard. Perhaps we can find a reference for the MS Natural design goals.Hbrackett (talk) 19:35, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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Multiple Revision of the Elite
I have 3 Elite Keyboards (no media keys, diamond arrow keys) and it appear that Microsoft has had at least 2 revisions of it. (considering it was produced for 15 years, probably more)

The oldest one (what I used back in the college in the late 90s, early 2000s) now has the oxidized plastic (probably could use a good dose of retr0bright), while the other 2 I bought for long term use and have been actively using them, but haven't oxidized much if at all (still very white).

The internals are fairly similar but there are some difference between the oldest one and the other 2. they both have basically the same desing, the mechanical keys that depress the rubberized coating that makes contact with the underlying plastic circuit board. The actual PCB in the older one is much larger than other 2. and the plastic keyboard circuit below the keys seems much more complicated (more layers).

In addition, the way the keys lock into place is different on the older one (and are much easier to pull out overall). The shift / enter keys use a plastic "evener" (unsure what to call it, makes sure the key depresses evenly no matter which side you press on) that are not easily removable (and until I realized I didn't have to remove them, broke a tab that held part of the shift key in plac while cleaning), while the space bar uses a metal one. on the other 2, they use a metal bar for all of them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.137.86.167 (talk) 18:20, 5 July 2020 (UTC)