Microsoft Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000

I've used my original Microsoft Natural Keyboard for 11 years. It still worked fine, although some letters were starting to wear out a bit. It did look old though.

I eventually decided to get a new keyboard, and being ergonomic was a major factor. I can use a regular keyboard, but it feels too crowded. I also have one of the rounded MS keyboards, but while better than a regular keyboard, it's still not as good.

I literally been looking around for years. Ergonomic keyboards are impossible to find in Brazil, unless you want the really cheap kind - one I bought (Teclado Ergonomico Leadership) had noticeably worse keys in 6 months of use! It used a ABNT layout too, which I really hate.

So eventually I decided to buy a Microsoft Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000. Well, I actually decided I wanted it - I couldn't figure out how to buy one - Amazon won't ship it to Brazil, and I couldn't find anyone else that would... Luckily I mentioned that to a friend which immediately suggested just getting it on eBay.

It ended up being a little cheaper AND including a Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000. About the mouse: I mostly like it, except for middle click which is horribly hard. If it doesn't eventually gets better, I guess I will have to buy another mouse... Given that it was in effect a bonus, I wouldn't mind that very much. It does look great with the keyboard, though.

Back to the keyboard, I certainly don't regret buying it - the layout is very similar to my old keyboard, it has a ton of extra keys, it feels great (although some might not like the soft touch, I really do) and it's smaller than the old one. The new wrist rest feels much better than the previous plastic one. It looks great, too!

It's not perfect, though. The keys are a bit smaller, which is enough to thrown me out a bit when typing. The left Control key is a lot smaller, so it's hard to use the side of your hand to press it when typing a shortcut. I find the extra text on the keys for shortcuts and F-commands very irritating, although that's a matter of personal taste.

The whole numeric key block and other extra keys are a bit more crowded, which bothers me a bit, but it's probably a better design - I just need to get used to it.

The space key is a lot noisier than the rest - this seems to bother some people, but as it is a lot quieter than the version in my old keyboard, I don't mind.

Overall, I think it's a great buy, specially for the price...

MMO's

Since I posted a comment to another blog, I might as well blog myself :-)

Lately I've taken an interest in MMOs, and have been playing Guild Wars and Tabula Rasa. I also tried a few freebies like Dungeon Keepers, Exteel and others, but they were not worth the time.


Guild Wars is quite beautiful, doesn't have much lag (being in Brazil, how it reacts to lag is a major issue) and have a number of convenient features - such as traveling instantaneously and bots available for quest. Plus, it's a one time payment. I seem to always be needing more space though.

I like the sci-fi theme of Tabula Rasa a lot more. However, the lag here is horrible, even when the server and areas are supposed to be low on users. It's almost like it has no predictive capabilities on the client and is only updating the screen after checking with the server.

I've checked the FPS info and it's not it - even when it's at 60FPS or more it's still very choppy.

Also, it has a per-month fee. I guess I'll see if it's a keeper later.