netnomad’s blog & grill

I picked up a couple of interesting hardware items the other day at the local Best Buy store, but today I’m going to talk about the Logitech Media Keyboard.

I go through keyboards like water. No, I don’t wear them out. I try them - decide I hate them - shelf them - and go buy a new one. So far since the Dell Dimension 8100 arrived here several years ago I’ve had keyboards by (in no particular order) Microsoft, Mitsuko, Dell, Viewsonic, A-Open, and probably a few others I’m forgetting. I’d never had an actual Logitech keyboard until now because everytime I tried the older models in the store I found them flimsy. The key action was horrible and I knew I was going to hate it within a week of owning it. The new generation Logitech keyboards that were released in the last little while seem to have a totally different key mechanism about them, so when I saw this one in Best Buy for about $23 (a far cry from Logitech’s quoted price on the web site) I decided it was worth taking one for a spin.

THE GOOD

This thing weighs a ton for the size of it. Anybody who has been doing data entry on computers for any length of time who can type with any degree of speed and accuracy will tell you immediately that this is a very good thing. Although the base of this keyboard isn’t metal, you sure wouldn’t know if you didn’t look. So when you’re really flying at the keys, this one isn’t going to run away from you - especially if you use the included wrist rest which I actually like - I don’t like all of them but the angle on this one seems to be particularly well thought out and natural.

The action is smooth, tactile, but quiet. I had the cadavers from the last three keyboards laying around and did a comparative “test type” on all of them and then on the Logitech. The Logitech was a lot quieter - which is a blessing for those of us who have had the sound of our typing compared to the sound of a semi-automatic weapon.

One of the things that impressed me very much is how well the multimedia keys work with a variety of multimedia applications. The first time I pressed the Media button it loaded Windows Media 10 which caused me to spontaneously throw up. But after going into the setup of the keyboard I was able to not only select iTunes or Winamp, but the Next/Previous buttons actually work even if the media player isn’t at the front. That’s just sweet. A lot of the cheaper keyboards are not nearly that elegant.

THE SO-SO

I didn’t know whether to put this in “good” or “bad” so I’m sticking it in the middle. Logitech clearly tried to please everybody with the programmability of the function keys in this puppy. There are fifteen “grey” keys on the keyboard that control various Internet/Media functions. They’re all programmable. That’s where my happiness ends.

Logitech has - regrettably - taken it up the [bleep] from Microsoft yet again - which surprises me considering the number of areas in which they compete. Yes folks, I’m really sorry, the assmonkeys at Logitech have implemented “enhanced F Keys” just like the Microsoft keyboards, proving that the only thing worse than a horrible idea is a horrible idea that the creator shoves down everybody’s throat. This is where it gets interesting though - and a great deal more viscious. When I bought my keyboard on Sunday and installed the drivers on the CD, the keyboard “booted” in normal mode meaning that the “enhanced” F Keys were not enabled by default. However, I noticed this morning that the browser forward/backward buttons on the side of the keyboard were not working in Firefox, so I went to the Logitech website to see if there were newer drivers - which there were - and I downloaded and installed them. The Firefox problem was fixed, but now the F Keys boot the other way (the stupid Microsoft way) and the liars at Logitech state blazenly that there is no way around this, unless you buy a wireless keyboard. How convenient. I’m not sure if the registry hack I mentioned a long time ago for Microsoft keyboards works or not. I may have to try it.

THE UGLY

Apparently Microsoft has been successful in it’s attempt to persuade the world and Logitech that function keys are a leftover of the mainframe era and are going the way of the dinosaur and eight-track tape. Because not only have they made the keys function by default in the Microsoft-orchestrated braindead arrangement, they also decided to make them smaller and shorter throw than the rest of the keys. I wish I had the motivation to post a picture so you can see what I’m talking about. They’re small, round, poorly labelled, and difficult to touch-type.

THE VERDICT

The general alphanumeric keyboard layout and feel is excellent. The drivers are very well done and not-overbloated with crap as some of us who have owned Logitech mouse products might expect. The function keys suck in every possible regard having not done a single thing right - but - that’s something I guess I can deal with for getting such an otherwise awesome keyboard for $20.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 16th, 2005 at 8:18 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.