Apple brings back the PC jr keyboard to life (or the new iMac thread)

[Nostromo]

Not bad for average consumers, with beefed up specs.

* $1,199
* 20-inch, 1680 x 1050 LCD
* 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB RAM
* 250GB SATA
* 8x SuperDrive
* 128MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT


* $1,499
* 20-inch, 1680 x 1050 LCD
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB RAM
* 320GB SATA
* 8x SuperDrive
* 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro


* $1,799
* 24-inch, 1900 x 1200 LCD
* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB RAM
* 320GB SATA
* 8x SuperDrive
* 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro

Is the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro any good?

But the keyboard is absolutely dreadful. It looks OK, but typing stuff on it will not be a pleasant experience.

[Agathon]

But the keyboard is absolutely dreadful. It looks OK, but typing stuff on it will not be a pleasant experience.

It's the same as the MacBook keyboard, which is actually quite nice to type on.

And it remedies a problem with the old Apple Pro keyboard, which was too thick and required a wrist wrest to use comfortably for any length of time.

But if you don't like it, you can buy a mac compatible USB keyboard for next to nothing. I hear that a small Washington company with the preposterous name of "Microsoft" makes some good ones at reasonable prices.

[Agathon]

Here's a pic I took of the spreadsheet app.

It's not really an Excel replacement. It doesn't do some things that Excel does, but it does other things (primarily formatting and presentation) much much better.

[MarkG]

wired keyboard/mouse

[Agathon]

Originally posted by MarkG
wired keyboard/mouse

?

It comes in both wired and wireless versions.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Agathon


It's the same as the MacBook keyboard, which is actually quite nice to type on.

And it remedies a problem with the old Apple Pro keyboard, which was too thick and required a wrist wrest to use comfortably for any length of time.

But if you don't like it, you can buy a mac compatible USB keyboard for next to nothing. I hear that a small Washington company with the preposterous name of "Microsoft" makes some good ones at reasonable prices.

Due to size issues, you obviously have to compromize when designing laptop keyboards. That's why they're never great. The only laptop keyboards I really enjoy typing on are the ones on Thinkpads. They have amazing keyboards. The MacBook keyboards are nothing special, IMO. And the new iBook keyboards are awful.

That said, I don't see the point in putting a laptop keyboard on a desktop PC. No surprise here: Apple are not exactly known for the excellence of their keyboard an mice design.

I have a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard and its great. It has a nice, solid feel.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Agathon
It comes in both wired and wireless versions.

all the images on the imac pages are with the wired...

wireless should be default

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by MarkG
wired keyboard/mouse

I hate wireless keyboards and mice. They're a pain in the ass.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by MarkG
all the images on the imac pages are with the wired...

wireless should be default

I don't know. The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is great. The Bluetooth mouse, less so.

You'd be better off buying a wireless mouse from Kensington or someone else (anyone except Logitech, who install scumware on your machine without telling you).

[Nostromo]

The new wireless keyboard doesn't have a numeric keypad

[MarkG]

Originally posted by nostromo
Due to size issues, you obviously have to compromize when designing laptop keyboards. That's why they're never great. The only laptop keyboards I really enjoy typing on are the ones on Thinkpads. They have amazing keyboards. The MacBook keyboards are nothing special, IMO. And the new iBook keyboards are awful.

the macbook pro keyboard is fine

[MarkG]

Originally posted by nostromo
I hate wireless keyboards and mice. They're a pain in the ass.

"regular" wireless
bluetooth

[MarkG]

Originally posted by nostromo
The new wireless keyboard hasn't a numeric keypad

amazingly true

[Agathon]

Originally posted by nostromo
The new wireless keyboard doesn't have a numeric keypad

That's why I'm thinking of buying one. The only time I ever used it was when I had a World of Warcraft toolbar keymapped to it, and I no longer play that game.

I wish they would go back to the original mac style keyboard. No function keys, and a power switch. It irks me that I can no longer power on my computer from the keyboard.

[Jon Miller]

Isns't that just a bios setting?

JM