Ok, I went to PC world yesterday and picked up a copy of half life 2 [insert coin and press button 'B' to hear me rant about the copy protection on this, btw] and took a look at keyboard and mouse samples while I was there.

 

I'm not impressed. Not impressed at all. I'm currently typing this on a MS "Internet Keyboard Pro" keyboard which is one of the better keyboards I've used, and I've not found anything to even touch it since I started looking at what is out there. Last keyboard I used that felt this good was an old IBM 3270 terminal keyboard!

 

- The majority of keyboards and mice are wireless now, it seems, and that's all well and good except that I don't *need* wireless on this computer, the last keyboard (a MS one but I don't know the model) was as laggy as hell and did nothing to sell the idea to me, and since I've got better things to do with my wages than fund the vacation plans of the CEO of duracell, I don't want this unless I actually need it.

 

I did like the look of the Logitech diNovo for use with the media centre PC I'm currently building, so some redeeming points there. For a media centre it would obviously be nice to cut the wires, and its not like the lag is a big deal when kicking off a movie on the TV. Not sure I like the idea to the tune of £99.99 though.

 

My friend Lewis has just reminded me that the range of wireless kit has apparently decreased greatly in the newer stuff. One of the good things about wireless at work is that you could pass a keyboard and mouse set around a conference table or classroom and anyone could add something to the stuff on screen - now that's not a given with modern kit, which has a pathetic range... which kinda also negates my idea about using this stuff with media centre too doesn't it?

 

The Internet Keyboard Pro has a built in USB hub which works well for plugging in USB drives, the mouse, etc, and when I got that one it seemed several other keyboards from a few vendors had this feature. Right now, no dice.... the "wired" keyboards have all regressed to PS2 connections. I appreciate that this isn't everyone's cup of tea but its the one innovation I've seen in keyboard design that is easy to use if you want to but which causes no disruption at all to those people who don't want to know. That probably explains why it got dropped.

 

Ok, odd little secret time. I've spent so long doing this computer stuff that I can touch-type to some degree... not exactly like a professional secretary or typist or anything but I can still crank out the words at a fairly high rate while my head is turned to  hold a conversation with someone. Mess with my keyboard layout and you've caused me a lot of problems.

 

So why are so many keyboards changing the layout of the insert / home /delete / end / page up / page down block (the six keys above the arrow keys on typical, non messed up, keyboards)? I don't see the point of this at all; hunt-and-peck keyboarders will still need to hunt-and-peck on the new layout (more so if anything) and those of us who actually know how to type, thanks, will be pissed off with this layout. I don't get it.

 

Memo to all keyboard manufacturers: "It's a keyboard, stupid!" A KEYBOARD. You know, a board, with keys on it. If I wanted a fingerprint reader (which by the way Microsoft, is a useless toy, and you know it) then I'd buy one. If I wanted a fancy little lever to zoom in on pictures for me, I'd buy one. Or assign it to the mouse wheel. If I wanted a cute little LCD display that told me nothing I wanted to know then I'd buy a MSN spot watch or a 3G phone. If I wanted a little 'hot button' on the keyboard to take me to a website of the keyboard manufacturer's choosing then... I'd shoot myself.

 

In any case, I don't want those things on MY keyboard thanks. I buy keyboards to type words into my computer. That's all. That is what a keyboard needs to be good at. It needs to have keys in the right places, it needs to have a pleasant feel for both two fingered typing and for touch typists, and ideally it should be big enough to feel solid when pressing the keys but not so big that it takes over your desk. Moving the keyboard around to make room for some cute little feature that doesn't even belong on a keyboard anyway is very bad idea!

 

Is it too much to ask to be able to buy a keyboard that costs less than £90, isn't designed with creating millionaires out of battery manufacturers as its primary goal, and is actually usable for typing stuff? Is this really progress?