WinKey bindings

Useful hotkeys under MS Windows:

• WinKey + R = Opens Run
• WinKey + E = Opens Explorer
• WinKey + F = Opens Find
• WinKey + Pause = Opens System Properties
• WinKey + D = Maximize / Minimize all windows
• WinKey + M = Minimize all windows
• WinKey + Shift + M = Maximize all "WinKey + E" minimized windows
• WinKey + Tab = Flip between open apps in the taskbar

Review of IBM AT keyboard

In Short

Standard keyboard with clicky, tactile keys.

In Depth

The key click is real. The keys have a snap-action that provides a mechanical hysteresis effect. Reducing the key pressure, or wiggling a pressed key can't cause extra key closures. The key must travel upward to release the key closure, and then travel back down to make another key closure. The mechanical clicker is also the switch actuator. On any other keyboard, the tactile/audible click is mechanically separate from the switch actuator, and only coincidentally connected to key closure. The best of the rest are fakes. The IBM keys work right. Yeah, it's loud.

This is the standard 84-key keyboard layout. After using a 101-key standard keyboard on the job for two years, re-learning this layout was a snap. With the F keys on the left, only one hand is needed for any combination of Ctrl/Shift/Alt/F1-F10 while the right hand is free to run the mouse. The CapsLock doesn't get bumped accidently.

This layout is similar to the XT, minus the XT features that seemed radical relative to the IBM Selectric typewriter. This was a unique moment in computer history: a new version that actually had less useless crap than the previous version.

The original purpose of the 101-key layout was to make more room for the plastic cards fit over the F keys for MultiMate (the 'Microsoft Office' of the time). The extra key on the Win95 keyboard may eventually work like the apple key for ported Mac applications, if anyone still cares to do such things.

Price: Flea market Special

Review of the Zeos keyboard, made by Nan Tan Computer Co.

In Short

Standard keyboard with clicky, tactile keys.

In Depth

This is a clicky, tactile keyboard. Good resistance, with almost immediate buckling. This keyboard has a very nice feel, if a little to noisy for its own good. The layout is classic AT style keyboard with over sized enter key, and small backspace. There are no Windows 95 keys in the two I have, but the newer models may have them. These keyboards hold up well, I both that I own have lasted 4+ years with very few problems.

Review of the Focus Electronics FK-5001

In Short

Standard layout keyboard. Keys are clicky, tactile, and programmable. Has diagonal arrow and dual F keys.

In Depth

The keys are very clicky, but the keytravel is a little shorter than I like. Over all the keys are very nice and solid. It has a built in
calculator (the numeric keypad is used for input). Both horizontal and vertical sets of function keys are present, as well as 8 arrow keys - including diagonals! It also has a turbo button. You hit ctrl+turbo and then use an arrow key; the ctrl key is locked down (logically speaking) until you tap it again - so you can zoom around with the arrow keys with ctrl on without having to hold it down (same thing happens with shift or alt). The stickiness applies to all keys after turbo has been activated. I don't know, but I guess that this keyboard is fairly old

Review of the BTC 8110M

In Short

Ergonomic Win95 keyboard with soft touch keys.

In Depth

Best Damned Win95 ergonomic I have ever found. It has soft touch keys and an excellent configuration. The space bar is split in half, left side BackSpace, right side SpaceBar. It has arrow keys on both extreme edges, as well as win, context, alt, and ctrl keys on both sides. The feet on the bottom front and back are fully adjustable by as much 2" height in the back, and about 3/4" in the front. The whole overall design is very appealing; both modern and stylish. The keyboard plug-in is a standard type, (not PS/2)! This keyboard is not flimsy or light weight ...overall a most excellent design!

Review of the Focus FK7200

In Short

Standard keyboard with clicky, tactile keys. Includes Windows95 keys, and has a built in trackball.

In Depth

Keys

The keys are in the standard 101 enhanced key layout. Notably, the backspace is large, as is the enter key. The backslash key is to the right of the right shift key. Three Windows 95 keys are included, one windows key on the left, and a windows key and a context key on the right. Altho the control and alt keys are a reasonable size on the left side, they are each the size of an alphanumeric key on the right, due to the space taken up by the Windows95 keys. The most notable deviation from the norm is the oversized spacebar, which is rounded on the bottom. The keys have one other unusual feature; the status LEDs (caps lock, etc.) are set in the keys that change their status. Most of these features are going to appeal and distress people based on their personal tastes, but I think everybody will decry the small alt and control keys. They are so small that I have yet to learn to find them constantly with my hands without looking..

Key feel

The keys are slightly tactile, but in the over all feel as tho they are attached to non collapsing springs. In another words, they lack the highly marked change of position between pressing of the key, and the end of the key travel that marks a highly tactile keyboard. On the other hand, while the keys may not be tactile, they are noisy. I have heard worse, but for the level of tactlessness there is no excuse for the amount of noise. Further contributing to the cheap feel of the keyboard, some of the keys (most notably the space bar) do not feel very well attached, and rattle very noticeably when slight sideways pressure is applied.

Pointing device

The high point of the FK7200, the built in trackball is well designed in may ways. It is located halfway into the oversized space bar, positioned so that your right, (or left, in some cases) thumb naturally rests on it. Nice and big, the trackball is high profile enough that you can rest your entire hand on it, and move it around, without dragging on the space bar overly much. On the other hand, you don't have as unimpeded access to the trackball as that needed to play a high energy game. You will not be playing quake with this keyboard (or at least I haven't managed it yet)!

The mouse buttons are located around the trackball, one each side, both extending in theory to the far edges of the space bar. In truth, pushing farther than a few centimeters away from the trackball does not offer enough leverage to toggle the button state. But when you do use the approved area, the buttons are quite easy to click. Clicking and dragging can be another story. Since each button is on the other side of the trackball, clicking and dragging envelopes both thumbs. If you are dual handed, fine, but for me, moving the trackball with my left thumb is quit difficult. A better design would have placed both buttons (or even better, three buttons) on both sides of the space bar, so that you could always use the same hand to manipulate the buttons, and always the other to move the ball.

Misc.

The keyboard comes with a detachable wrist rest (pictured above), which is great for me because I don't like such things and can discard it. For those of you that like wrist rests, a warning: the chunk of plastic only loosely attaches to the keyboard, and only stays put on a flat surface. With no solid support below the wrist rest will fall off.

One small, but really nice feature is the grove along the back of the keyboard, where you can tuck in the keyboard cable so that instead of coming out in the middle of the back it can exit either from the far right or left. Of course, without some tape to secure the cable in place it will fall out within a few hours.

While on the subject of cables, I must say the keyboard cable feels too short, especially since I have a tower case, which sits a few feet away from my desk. The mouse cable exits from the keyboard cable at the keyboard plug and is only about a foot long, so you may need to purchase a mouse cable extender if you already use a keyboard cable extender.

Closing

No, it is not perfect. There are many distressing problems, but in addition there are some really good design ideas that went into this keyboard. Given that it costs as little as $20 from the cheapest sources (+$10 shipping), I think anybody considering trying an integrated keyboard on cheap would be well advised to try one out. Be warned, however, that after a few months, you may be unwilling to give up the integrated style keyboard, but ready to junk the FK7200.

Review the of IBM 101-key

In Short

Highly tactile and noisy keyboard. Standard layout 101 keyboard, lacking windows95 keys.

In Depth

The best keyboard in the entire world has to be the IBM 101-key keyboard (which was actually manufactured by Lexmark for IBM). I am not saying this because "it's IBM" or "It's the original!" or anything lame like that-- it truly is a fantastic keyboard. The keys have excellent tactile and audible feedback -- when I switched to it (I specifically purchased mine from Best Buy when they still had them for $89), my typing speed sped up by about 10 wpm because I heard/felt when the key had registered instead of having to watch the screen constantly (now I watch my copy instead of the screen). It registers so nicely that my hands no longer cramp up during long hours of typing.

When most people think of "clicky" keyboards, they think of the original IBM 87- and 101- key keyboards, because yes, they do make a louder noise than most keyboards. But most people make the mistake of dismissing keys that click as *cheap* -- when, if there's a great tactile response from the key, the click is incidental and just adds to it registering in your head. The faster it registers, the faster you can process the information -- and the faster you type. With my old keyboards, I was pressing too hard on the keys because they didn't make a click (and their "give" was too soft). As a result, my hands started to cramp about 10-15 minutes into a long session and I had to rest for a while. I NEVER have to rest with an IBM keyboard.

They are HEAVY, too! This is greatly appreciated when you want to sit at a distance from the screen with the keyboard in your lap. The heavier it is, the less it slips around in your lap while you type. Its weight also contributes to its durability -- I've never had an IBM keyboard go bad on me. This is evidenced by the fact that my brother is still using our IBM 87-key keyboard from 1985.

I really don't get it when people talk about "that old, clunky, heavy, 'clicky' IBM keyboard" because if they would just sit down with it, they'd see they're missing the point completely. The click on cheap keyboards comes from a little peizo speaker that chirps when the key hits completes the circuit. The click on a IBM keyboard is 100% mechanical. The keycaps even come off nicely for quick and easy cleaning!

Just so we've got this nailed down, the keyboard I'm using right now is the most recent one I bought from Best Buy (they no longer have them, sadly) called simply "IBM" (in the top left corner). It's got a long ENTER key, and an even longer left and right shift key. There are no "Windows 95" keys to get in the way. On the back, it says:

Manufactured for IBM by Lexmark Copyright Lexmark, 1984 (odd, I bought it in 1995) Part No. 92G7483 ID # 0001299 Date: 5/26/95

BTW, I just ordered one of these from Tiger Direct-- Part number D55-1014, for only $29!!