When considering the specs for a new desktop computer people will carefully select the processor, amount of RAM, graphics card and storage options, and this is indeed important and should be adapted to the intended use of the machine. But the means through which the user communicates with the tool (the computer, just in case you are wondering!" are those peripherals to which most people don't give much thought, like the keyboard, mouse and monitor. That is how you will communicate with the computer and how the computer communicates with you.
Over the years I have used many different keyboards and my quest for the perfect keyboard is not yet over, but I have found quite a few good ones in that search, of which the last one is probably the best. But let me start with a less recent example. A few years ago I decided to try the dreaded ergonomic keyboard from Microsoft, the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, one of those with the split keys that forces you to use the right hand for the right side of the keyboard, or else your hands will get dizzy from switching sides all the time. After a period of adaptation, this was the best keyboard I had ever used. I just loved it. Unfortunately, an intense usage and time took its toll and most keys had lost their labels. Besides, this was a wired keyboard and that was not trendy anymore!
I then began searching for a replacement, and ended up getting a Logitech Cordless Media keyboard which, being OK, left me longing for my old one. When this one gave up the ghost (which I highly anticipated) I went for a similar but supposedly better model, and got the Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution Bluetooth. This was cordless, nice touch to the keys, and it was Bluetooth, which means I could save a USB port, since the computer had integrated Bluetooth. Oh, boy! If I only knew. You see, not only the keyboard was very similar to the previous one (the main difference was that it has a small LED screen) but the Bluetooth, every once in a while would lose contact which left me without a keyboard or mouse (it included a mouse as well) for about 30 seconds at a time. This was driving me nuts. I couldn't wait for it to go wrong, so I could get something simpler but more functional.
I started searching then for what would be the perfect keyboard, creating a list of features I would like it to have. One of them was that it should be wireless. The second, no Bluetooth! Third, the keyboard should be back lit, as I do a lot of typing in the evening and don't like the lights on. After looking at a bright screen in a dark room, try looking a a black keyboard and you will understand what I mean. Fourth, no more bells and whistles, with keys for zooming and media controls that I never use anyway. Finally, the battery should have a good life between charges. When the time came to get a new keyboard, I was more than ready, and I had made my decision.
I got a Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800, and it was all I wanted and a little more. The little more is the fact that being a wireless keyboard it is charged by a USB cable that allows me to use it uninterruptedly while it charges. The key travel is shorter than a desktop keyboard but still a little longer than a laptop keyboard, making it comfortable and practical. The touch is soft and the pressure is evenly distributed over the whole surface of the key, regardless of where your finger actually lands, due to a smart system of precision micro-scissors. The keys are laser-etched so the illumination is bright enough, with the light illuminating the key label, not the spaces between keys. Finally, it has a hand detection system, so the back light comes on before you actually press any key. This way you don't have to try to see where is a safe key to press just to have it illuminated. My experience with this keyboard has been great and I intend to keep it for a very long time.
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| Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800 |
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