Apple recently launched a new mouse and a new keyboard and I am considering the upgrade. I would like to know the opinion of those who already had the opportunity to use them. Are they a genuine improvement or is it more hype? Also, in terms of optical mouses, how does the Apple mouse compare to the Microsoft one which I believe is based on a similar technology but features a different ergonomy.
Thanks.

[WDL]

Look thru the various forums and read the news sites - four of the function keys on the new keyboards do not work with Mac's prior to July '00 - apparently Apple is working on a fix.

WDL

[simonjames]

I recently bought the M$ IntelliExplorer mouse and the M$ Natural Pro keyboard - as much as I dislike the Evil Empire the mouse is the best one I've ever used - I now can't imagine a mouse without a wheel.

I waited until I saw the new Apple devices and decided on the much cheaper, perhaps superior but no where near as good looking devices from M$.

good luck

[Zwilnik]

(also posted to News and advocacy)
I just checked with the Apple UK store (I've got a Pro Keyboard on order), the 'news' about the 4 keys not working on older machines is rubbish, as long as you are running 9.0.4, they work fine.

[wlonh]

"Using a Pro keyboard on an older Mac: Apple TIL article #58652 has been updated to state that the Apple Pro Keyboard requires either (1) iMac (Summer 2000), Power Mac G4 Cube, Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) or (2) an Apple computer with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port, Mac OS 9.0.4 or later, and a software update that enables the sound volume and disc eject keys (available at a later date)."

"While you are waiting for Apple to post this update, here is a work-around: Get a copy of the 1.4.3 version of USB Device Extension that comes with the new Macs (from someone who has one of these machines) and install it on your older Mac.

Adam Kay adds: "An alternative is to download Mac OS USB DDK v1.4.3f3 In fact, the newest version is 1.4.5, contained in the v1.4.5f4 DDK. The USB Device Extension should be in the Extensions-AppleBuilt folder."

(and i say in fact, you can get USB DDK 1.4.6b2 right here: ftp://ftp.apple.com/developer/Development_Kits/Mac_OS_USB/USB_DDK_1.4.6b2.img.sea.hqx)

"Friday Apple notified users who ordered the Apple Pro Keyboard in an email that "we have found in testing the keyboard with Macintosh systems shipped prior to the Macworld Convention on July 19th, that four keys are not functional on these older systems. Specifically, the affected new keys are the volume up, volume down, mute, and media eject keys. Support in the Mac OS for these new keys for use on older systems is not expected until early 2001." The email then offered a choice of canceling the order or accepting the keyboard with the caveat that the special keys will not work for quite some time. A third option not supported by Apple: install a copy of the USB Device Extension from one of the new Macs as we reported previously, above. According to more recent reader reports, the USB Device Extension workaround enables all the keys except media eject."

(all above info taken from MacFixit)


[This message has been edited by wlonh (edited 09-04-2000).]

[Zwilnik]

Except when I rang the Apple Store (UK) this morning to check if this was true. They said that it wasn't and it will work fine with my older USB equipped machines as long as I am running 9.0.4 and not to believe the 'rubbish that some of the rumour sites publish'.
Has anyone from MacNN actually rung Apple and checked the validity of any of these emails ?

[wlonh]

rumor sites??? hardly.

"[4:45p 9/3] Canceled Pro Keyboard Order Too Soon? Stephen Giles replied that he wasn't canceling his order because "I can live without the eject key for four months [and] I am more looking forward to having a forward delete key and three more function keys, not to mention bigger arrow keys." He wrote again and pointed out a claim on a MacCentral forum that using the "HID Library" extension from a G4 Cube allowed use of the new Apple Pro keyboard's volume and eject keys with his older Power Mac G4 Sawtooth. If that works, which I hope to confirm Tuesday, I wonder on which other Macs the HID Library switch works. This also raises the question as to why Apple couldn't simply provide the newer HID Library as a download after doing some appropriate testing. Surely that would be sooner than "early in 2001". [Update: This MacCentral forum contribution suggests all that is needed is the USB Device Extension 1.4.4.]

[4:00p 9/2] Canceled Apple Pro Keyboard Order: This morning I received an email from The Apple Store offering to cancel my order for 2 of the new keyboards. I had ordered them along with 2 new optical mice for use on my Power Mac G4/400(S) and B&W G3 despite knowing that there was no Power key as Macs Only! was the very first to publish. I had hoped that the new Eject key would function as a Power key with older Macs. However, when I got my G4 Cube three weeks ago I confirmed (there were lots of conflicting reports) that the key did nothing on older Macs, published the empirical observation and resolved to cancel my keyboard order.

The Apple Store email states that four keys do nothing on older Macs, the two Volume keys, the Mute key and, of course, the Eject key and this will not be resolved until early in 2001. Perhaps this means that the four keys will work with older Macs under the final version of Mac OS X or a future revision of Mac OS 9. The Apple Store provided a choice of canceling or continuing the order. Early 2001 is too long to wait for a fix so I canceled"

(all above info was taken from MacsOnly)

[This message has been edited by wlonh (edited 09-04-2000).]

Well in my humble opinion I think that the Apple Pro Keyboard is one of the best feeling and typing keyboards I've used in a long time. It may even rival the old Apple Extended that everyone loved so much. I like it better than the Microsoft Keyboard as I've used it as well. The microsoft one gives more bells and whistles but the mac keyboard is more simplistic. If you are using this with any other Mac than a brand new one, You need to know that you will use the powerbutton ( the way to turn the mac ON from the keyboard) so you will have to use the power button on your CPU. You will have to wait for a patch, or a New OS upgrade to take advantage of the new function keys. The way this keyboard feels however, it's worth the wait.

The Mouse is just good. Although you can get a Right handed mouse from Microsoft and one with bells and whistles, the Apple Mouse is supposed to have better dpi and I personally am ok with one button. Anything here is better than what Apple had. Again, this is all my humble opinion. If you use the Microsoft stuff and are happy with it, then that's good.

Sorry about the typo, You will Loose the Power Button is what I was trying to say in the pervious post. You will loose the Power button (for turning the mac ON from the keyboard). Apple has moved the power button to the monitor on all of it's new Mac's!

[simonjames]

I wish Apple would bring back / create a new 'natural' keyboard - once you use one you can't go back

[rambo47]

About a mouse.... I'm using the Logitech Scroll Wheel 2-Button mouse on my G3 Power Mac rev.1(OS9, 320MB RAM). It's not optical but it's so smooth I can barely notice. Plus, I'm using it on a glass table top. The best news is the price: $32 at CompUSA. I was about to order Apple's new pro mouse when this grabbed my eye. Talk about an improvement over the hockey puck!

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Peep my iDisk: rambo47
"There is no spoon."

[C-Eye]

After using the new pro keyboard and mouse on my Dual G4 500, I gotta say I love them both but...I'm so use to using a Intellimouse Explorer it's hard to get use to the one button mouse again, especially without a scroll wheel. The new mouse is so beautiful, I just can't replace it. Form vs function I guess...

The pro keyboard is very high quality, and will stay, even though I prefer a split-key ergonomic style. I wish it had a regular power button - I just can't see what Apple was thinking here.

If you're interested in having extra buttons and the invaluable scroll wheel on your mouse I'd definately recommend the Intellimouse Explorer even if it is from the "Micro$oft Evil Empire." - a good product is a good product after all - (IE5 for Mac vs. IE5 for Windoze.)

I know Apple wants to keep their products easy to use - thus only one button mice, but why don't they design a really killer multi-button mouse with a scroll wheel and offer it as an option on their systems or sell seperately?

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--
Two brains are better than none

[wlonh]

Despite Apple's claims the contrary - which resulted in the cancellation of non-US orders - a number of readers report that they have gotten all the keys on the new Apple Pro Keyboard to work with older Macs:

[Jan Kossowski] "Well, having read a note that someone in Holland fixed this by loading Apple's USB Device Extension version 1.4.4 (ships with the latest Macs), I decided to try it myself. And it works. I dropped this extension into the System Folder of 6 months old G4 tower (Mac OS 9.0.4) and after a restart all four new keys on the attached Apple Pro keyboard work as they should. You can even get shutdown dialog by pressing Control-Eject key combination.

"At home I have beige G3 desktop with Orange Micro's FireWire/USB PCI card. Apple Pro keyboard works on it, too, but the extra keys were defunct. After replacing OS 9's USB Device Extension version 1.4.1 with version 1.4.4, the keyboard and Apple's optical mouse stopped working. Luckily I kept the ADB keyboard and mouse! A trip to Orange Micro pointed me to Apple's USB Adapter Card Support 1.4.1. I downloaded and installed this software, and after a reboot I am now typing this message on fully functional Apple Pro keyboard and mouse. Mute, volume and eject buttons work just fine, thank you very much!"

(from MacInTouch today)

[Indigo Boy]

I placed a post on the iMac forum about the new keyboard. I just bought a new iMac, and, to be honest, I'm sort of ambivalent about the new keyboard (love the mouse, though). I'm sure it's an improvement over the old tiny keyboard, but as I mentioned in my other post: the action is very light compared to my old Performa's Apple Design keyboard and i keepp addingg extraa letterss to wordss as I type. My typing accuracy and speed are not yet what I used to achieve. Anyone else with this experience??