Logitech keyboard rides the Wave Numb fingers, sore wrists, aching arms and painful fingertips are all just some of the problems that can be caused by our 21st century addiction to the keyboard. But, Logitech has taken these pain-points onboard and, with a little aquatic inspiration, created the Wave keyboard. It claims the keyboard, which is available in …
It looks nice, and I'm sure it'll cure cancer, or something, but why do keyboard manufactures these days seems to want to mess with the basic keyboard layout?
The 6 Keys of Insert/Delete/Home/End/PgUp/PgDown have been rearranged on this particular one, a massive bug-bear of mine being a developer and a high-frequency user of those keys.
They also appear to have gone with the perhaps even more annoying trait of replacing the Function-Keys with "Function"-Keys - replacing the different modes in The Sims 2 with Back/Forward/Stop/Refresh! Yes there's an "F-Lock", but that's off be default.
The last keyboard I bought was second-hand off of eBay because it seems impossible* to buy a normal keyboard anymore. *sigh*
* may not be true
...have Logitech decided that "ergonomic" means doubling the size of the delete button and shoving the insert key off to ghod knows where?. I don't think you can now buy a Logitech keyboard with the standard 101 key layout now.
Still, the actual reshaping of the qwerty keys themselves seems like a good idea. If it wasn't for the stupid delete key, I'd consider buying one of these...
This looks like a fantastic keyboard, I'd actually try it as opposed to those cleaved in two monstrosities. But that big fat delete key, and the page up/down keys in all the wrong places, I can't have that. Tried it, hated it. They should come out with 2 versions: normal, and mangled. At least they didn't make the F keys all skinny (and yes I frigging hate that f-lock crap too - there's ways to set up keyboard shortcuts with software so why in hell make that the default built in to your hardware?!?!?). Great idea, wish someone would try it out on a *normal* keyboard instead of trying to force the world into their "better" key layout & function.
What Logitech are attempting to do was covered some time ago by the Kinesis Ergo keyboard, which really _does_ help combat RSI for a lot of users. It uses a deep curve to suit the reach of fingers, but also separates the two halves of the keyboard to allow a more natural wrist placement, as arms are further apart.
It lets me hunch directly over the keyboard, with my forearms at 90 degrees to each other, tapping away in a semi-fetal position. much more comfortable for my wrists, although for some reason my lower back has been playing up....
this design doesnt appear to have an adequate angle between the two sides for me to be happy :(
Now I am all for Logitech doing some nice new keyboards, infact I am typing this on a very fine logitech keyboard (with the split and wrist support).
However, I was recently over lurking around there site looking for a new work/gaming setup as the cheap nasty keyboard I was using give me a terrible error rate, and the mouse, well its just shit.
So I was fancying one of the MX5000 range, although this keyboard looks better as a keyboard. However it turns out they have a gaming keyboard!! with flip down LCD's and such....... why?
Anyway, my grumble with logitech is not that there products do not do what they say on the tin, nor do I think there products are cheap and tacky. However I wish I could say it was easy to get what you want, "what do I want?" I hear you say, well I'll tell you....
1. I would like a Keyboard and Mouse that connects into a Bluetooth hub, I would like said hub to be the mouse's recharge port (so its on the desk for good reception, AND there is still only 1 extra thing on my desk, having built in USB port would not hurt mind u).
2. I would like to beable to buy a 'good' keyboard and an excellent gaming mouse to go with the hub. I would like it to be a shiny new laser mouse.
3. And this is where it gets tricky, I would like to know that if I go out and buy a logitech bluetooth head set or stereo headphones that it will all work together.
4. I would like Stereo headphones, via bluetooth with a good mic!!, is that to much to ask.
The though of buying all there new toys with out somebody having tried it, before I hand over my dirty lucra stays my hand.
You see, the wireless keyboard I have came with a mouse, the mouse is long in the bin, where as the keyboard was the best I had used (until recently sat on my a younger brother), which is hardly logitechs fault. However I like to play the odd game, and the mouse that came with the keyboard was really to poor to do the job. Now does all that lovely bandwidth on the bluetooth get eaten up if I start listening to musci (from the game) on it?, does strange laggs occurs when playing, and how does my keyboard 'make contact' with the bluetooth hub (ie could I also connect my phone to it should I feel like writing a novel on a very small screen ?
I know its a bit of a rant now, so I will stop before I run my keyboard battery's down, but still. Keyboard are not that exciting, but by god do you know when you have a crap one.
-sin
This keyboard is like a well designed office chair. Makes everything else feel like an upturned milk crate. It props up the front edge and slopes back slightly providing a nice wrist rest that allows typing with wrists rested and dead level. It's split and mounded in the middle like the old Microsoft Natural keyboard so hands fall straight onto the keys with no sideways twisting. The keys have good deep movement and feel. Standard American 101 layout with the \ key above the enter key. I love it and I'm a rabid Linux/MacOS/Anything-but-Windows user. This they did well.
For those sad gamers amongst us, this wave stuff is horrendous (as was the natural MS thing). You can't get to half the keys simply by moving your hand left and right, you have to look at the keys so you go up and down or all kinds of things happen. :(
....and I can't replace my logitech backlit super linking gaming keyboard that tells me stuff on it's LED.
"with flip down LCD's and such....... why?"
Personnaly I like having a clock on my keyboard (esp. when gaming!) I bought it because of the programmable G keys, which change automatically depending on application, and no f-lock, proper ins del pgup pgdn block!! Im a developer too.. and to be fair I havent written too many of my own applications for the lcd yet but the fact that it came with a sdk was impressive.. now I can keep track of rss feeds, email p2p rates, network bandwidth, server status, etc whatever i program, all on the keyboard no clicks required. its Ace!
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
