Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 for Business - Wired

I've been typing with a split ergonomic keyboard since the 90's. I've had the good, the bad, and the so-so. I had an old 'clicky' style split keyboard in the mid-90's that reminded me of the trusty old IBM 'clickies' - heavy-duty and built like a tank. It took heavy finger pressure, but since I'm a bit of a keypounder, that was okay. Loved that keyboard. Too bad the kids got to it - juice boxes and PBJ's.This one is pretty good. I gave it a five-star rating because it's the best one available these days at a reasonable price. I log about a million words a year, give or take, and so keyboards are an important accessory for me.Pro's - nicely laid out, accommodates my large hands well, comfortable for long spells of typing, and I like the forward/backward buttons under the space bar.Con's - I've been through a few of these keyboards - I think four of them. The failures I've observed are mainly stuck keys and/or failure of the underlying switches. One other thing I've noticed is that unless I keep my nails well trimmed, I rub letters off like crazy. That's probably a peculiarity of my hands and typing style, so I don't necessarily blame the keyboard.After my third one failed, I started thinking a bit about how I might better preserve them, and to my credit, the keyboard I'm using right now is about 18 months old and has had no problems. My care routine for these keyboards involves covering them when not in use to keep dust off them - I use the plastic bag in which it was shipped. I also have a glass jar of desiccant packs by my desk and before I put the keyboard in the bag I spread a handful of desiccant packs onto the keyboard. I then slide the keyboard into the bag and use some mini-binder clipshttp://www.amazon.com/OfficemateOIC-Binder-Assorted-Colors-31024/dp/B00006IBA3/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436912473&sr=8-2&keywords=mini+binder+clipsto seal the bag up. I find that humidity really does a job on these keyboards.The other advice I'd give is to refrain from eating and drinking over your keyboard. I know, I know you say you're careful and you're not one of those people that drop or spill stuff...but if I'm being honest, yeah, I've spilled tea on keyboards. Not pretty. I've also had that sinking feeling as a cracker crumb falls from my lips, bouncing first on my hand, then on one key, then another, careening wildly, only to settle into the gap between two keys, wedged in, never to be seen again. Bad business, that.

I had bought this keyboard back in 2012 when I had tendonitis and needed to make my entire work set-up more ergonomic. This keyboard helped immensely! This keyboard comes with the extra bottom attachment to lift the keyboard, but I always found it more comfortable to use the keyboard without it (maybe just add a wrist-rest if needed). I type pretty often and very quickly, and it was easy to adjust to the split layout (only took a couple hours to remember which keys to hit with which hand...). The quality of this keyboard is pretty decent - I would still be using this keyboard to this day, but it had one-too-many liquid spills back in 2020 to the point that certain keys would not function, so that was that.I have used this keyboard for windows, linux, and mac (primarily mac) and can say that all the regular keyboard functions worked. All of the extras (i.e. 'media' buttons along the top and center) were inconsistent about working and depends on what system you are using. I didn't take too much time to force it into working, since I didn't really need those functions. I also travelled for work with this keyboard - although it's bulky, it does fit in the check-in bags, and the wired function is convenient since it doesn't require batteries.Although I loved this keyboard dearly, when it met it's untimely death, I looked for a replacement and I was surprised at the price this keyboard is currently at. It's definitely not something I would be able to afford back when I was working barely above minimum wage... I can't promise if it'll be worth the cost as there are other alternatives that could work just as well at a lower price. However, my experience of this keyboard was definitely excellent and met my ergonomic needs.

The ergonomics of this keyboard are very helpful. I've purchased this same keyboard many times over the years (they wear out). It takes some getting used to, but I love it. It's a more natural position. I'd like it better if there was more space between the two sections of keys, but I would assume they were trying to keep the footprint similar to a regular keyboard for space reasons.This made a big difference in my neck and shoulder pain and I don't experience any wrist pain like I do when using other keyboards.I don't know if they still make the wireless version, but I can't recommend that as it wears out even faster than the wired keyboard. And that leads me to the one real drawback - they wear out too quickly. Usually the letters on the keys wear off first, which usually isn't a big issue since I don't look at the keyboard much, but when I do, it's a pain that the keys no longer show the some of the letters. The keys themselves begin to wear out. It seems to me it happens faster than it did years ago. They used to last a few years before they keys stopped responding well (nothing happens when you hit the key and then suddenly you get a jumbled mess), but in recent years, it seems like I need a new keyboard every two years. I suppose that's one way to make sure your product continues to sell. Also, initially the keys are fairly quiet, but it doesn't take long before they're quite noisy.In comparison to other ergonomic keyboards, this one has the best design in the lower price range. Others with better designs run into the hundreds. I highly recommend this keyboard.