Database Underground | Sean McCown | InfoWorld | The Best Kept Secret | September 11, 2007 03:22 PM

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The Best Kept Secret

September 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)

The Best Kept Secret

For a year or more now I've been seeing promises of Microsoft's new wireless keyboard dubbed, the ultimate keyboard. You can find a couple sites with pics and a nice demo on MS's site, but I have yet to actually see the keyboard. There's next to no news online anywhere about it, and even on the official site, it doesn't say when it's supposed to hit. Originally it was supposed to be out last Feb. Then I heard July. Now, I actually assumed it had been out for some time now and I just went online to see what kind of reviews it's getting, and I'm not seeing anything out there that wasn't there a few months ago when I checked. So either the project is taking much longer than expected, or nobody is carrying it or even talking about it.
I'm not going to go over any specific features, but with the hefty pricetag of over $200 I'm very curious to see what it comes with. Personally, I've been trying to get a hold of one for quite some time now so I could get away from this piece of keyboard I use every day.

I also can't wait to see if they've put anything in especially to capture the programmer market. I think there are some keys that could be placed much better for programmers of all kinds and it would be nice to see a keyboard actually take those kinds of things into account for a change.

Anyway though, if I can ever get one I'll let you guys know if it's worth what they're asking. But for now, I guess I'll just wait to hear something because the only thing harder than finding the keyboard itself, is finding info on it.

OK, I just got off of the press site for this product, and it appears as though now they're saying that it'll be generally available sometime this month. The pricetag is now $299 for the keyboard/mouse combo. Man, I sure hope they can come to the table with something that makes it worth that much.

Posted by Sean McCown on September 11, 2007 03:22 PM

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Three hundred dollars and no integrated trackball?

Also I read a post there was no ten digit keypad. I know a number of users who depend on it.

Not my ultimate. My Toshiba Satellite Laptop keyboard does me very well.

Posted by: gostak at September 12, 2007 06:35 AM

I've been watching the progress of the keyboard for at least a year myself. I'm not sure that it will offer anything oriented towards a programmer as you seem to be hoping. The main selling points of the keyboard are its size, recharge ability, and backlight.

So, why is it so expensive? First, it is actually a keyboard/mouse combo. Both are rechargeable and are reported to have good battery life and distance from the receiver. They keyboard is supposed to be very thin and light. If it is anything like its little brother the â€œentertainment keyboard 7000â€, it will durable and sturdy as well as light and thin. Finally, it has proximity backlighting of keys built in (i.e. the keyboard lights when you place your hands over the keys). Much of this isn't of any benefit in a normal office setting. But, looking at the name "Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000" I would imagine its target is the living room as opposed to the office. I plan on purchasing one to use with my media center pc. I look forward to all of the listed features. And, if it works as advertised it will be well worth the price, IMHO.

That being said, I do not think I would ever use one in my office.

Posted by: Pierre LaFromboise at September 12, 2007 02:20 PM

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