Product Review
January 2003

Microsoft Natural Multimedia keyboard

I admit it... I have techno-lust. When something new comes out, I have to try it. When I was in at CompuSmart this week looking at small mouses, I had to try the Microsoft Natural Multimedia keyboard. It shouldn't be any surprise to anyone who knows me that I ended up buying it.

For years I have favoured the Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard. I liked it's slightly smaller size, low profile, key placement and tactility. It took a while to get used to the new orientation of the home/end/up/down/insert/delete keys, but eventually I was able to hit them automatically. For my clients who tend to ulnar deviate (bend the wrist toward the little finger), I found it worked very well for small to medium sized hands. For larger hands I still recommend the original Natural keyboard.

Now I have a new toy. The MSNat Multimedia keyboard is nice. Very nice. A few things I like:

Tactility: although it seems slightly quieter than the Elite, it doesn't seem to require extra pressure on the keys.

Size: it is the same size as the Elite, so it will fit in most keyboard trays and still leave room for the mouse.

Profile: still has a slight hump in the middle so that the hands aren't in full pronation. The palm rest is not as deep and has a bit more lift closer to the keys. It still has legs that lift up at the back, but I suppose it would take a small miracle to get rid of them.

Key placement: as with the Elite, the keys seem slightly closer together than the Natural so it will be good for medium to smaller hands. Larger hands may feel a bit cramped. The only thing I am not sure about is that the angled section between the keys is .5" closer together. The angle is still maintained though to help straighten the wrist.

Shortcuts on alphanumeric keys: the most common shortcuts (i.e. Control C to cut, Control V to paste, etc.) are written on the keys. Hopefully this will encourage people to use keystrokes instead of the mouse.

Shortcuts on F keys: you can use the F keys the regular way, or as pre-programmed keys (new, open, close, send, reply, forward, spellchecker, save, etc.). Again, this might reduce reliance on the mouse, which (in my opinion) is possibly the biggest source of injury in the workplace.

Extra keys: several keys have been added at the top of the keyboard so that you can toggle to common files and programs (my documents file, email, web etc.)

Missing key: they finally got rid of the "insert" key. I have typed over the wrong stuff so many times. My Dad has a piece of paper wedged under his key so that he doesn't accidentally activate it! They didn't eliminate it entirely, it is just buried up with the print screen key that I never use anyway.

One thing that will take a bit of getting used to... with the glorious loss of the "insert" key, the delete key is now twice as large. (This is a good thing. I use it a lot.) But the side effect is that the placement of the keys in that section is different. And, the cursor keys are slightly to the left of where I am used to having them. It will take a while for it to be reprogrammed in my brain. That should only take a few days - I hope.

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