When I started writing full time, back in the mid-seventies, the only time you’d encounter the word ergonomics was in the crossword puzzle. Blissfully ignorant, I touched-typed my way to what was, by 1994, a life of pain. By then, it only took ten minutes at the keyboard before the pain would appear in my wrists, fly up my arms into my shoulders, and finally lodge in my neck. I was a wreck.
That same year, Microsoft introduced its first Natural Keyboard. It split the keys into two sections, each angled so that the fingers could be held perpendicular to the keys, without the need for a sideways bend at the wrist. Desperate for relief, I gave it a try and, as if by magic, the pain was gone.
Over the years, Microsoft offered variations on the original design, and a couple of weeks ago I installed a new one. Called the Wireless Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, it addresses some of the (minor) secondary key placement and behavior idiosyncracies that characterized earlier versions. The most significant of these is the return to the horizontal rectangle layout for the home/end key cluster. The new model also provides a wider range of positioning options than its predecessors. One of those options involves the installation of a stand that raises the front of the keyboard more than an inch. This results in a dramatic reduction of the wrist angle, and should help reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome. Mechanically, the keyboard somehow delivers the excellent tactile response of the much-loved original PC keyboard, but without that unit’s very audible clackety-clack. Wonderful. An array of secondary keys, arranged above the “F” keys, provide direct access to the web browser’s home and search pages, default e-mail application, calculator application, and volume up/down and mute functions. Another five buttons can be set to start any desired program or document (in its associated application).
The wireless aspect of the keyboard abandons the fairly sketchy infrared technology used by early examples of the genre. Instead, it uses technology similar to what you’ll find in wireless telephones and wi-fi networks. It communicates with the PC via a small adapter that plugs into a USB port. The same adapter communicates with the odd-shaped mouse that’s part of the package. Called the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 7000, it’s designed so that the hand is positioned diagonally, pretty much at the same angle you’d choose if the mouse wasn’t there. This is, in the long term, dramatically more comfortable than the horizontal position imposed by the mouse you’re probably using right now. Like the keyboard, the mouse can be programmed — too scary a word, really, given the ease with which it’s done — so that the buttons and scroll wheel do exactly what you wish. I set the wheel’s button function to act as a middle-click, and one of the thumb buttons to invoke the very nice magnifying glass feature.
The Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000 lists for $149.95, and is generally available for about $125. Both components can be had separately, but I’m inclined to recommend the total package. It seems real cheap, especially if you’ve priced carpal tunnel surgery.