Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop Suite Overview
Hello, lovers of keyboard holivar! Today, under the cut, you have not only an interesting and unusual keyboard, but also a "pregnant" mouse from a giant with the letter M - come in!
Previously, the ergonomics of keyboards did not particularly reflect, the buttons for each other do not cling - and ok.
')
But when you need to press the buttons for 10-12 hours a day and 5 days a week (or even more), you involuntarily think about the input device to be comfortable. Well, or pain in the hands will help you think about it.
Microsoft Natural Keyboard is a series of ergonomic keyboards that first appeared in the company's arsenal in 1994. Most likely, many of you got to know her by the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (NEK) model, the predecessor of the keyboard from today's review.
Surely many of you had such a clave. Well, or she was among some of your friends, and you secretly dreamed about her, because of the faceless variety of conventional keyboards, she was something futuristic.
She was dearly loved by professional textile makers. This is one of the most popular and available in its time ergonomic keyboards, the creators of which thought about both the user's anatomy and the fact that people work with it for more than one week. The insane form and the different sizes of the buttons required getting used to it, but they caused severe dependence, and the sets themselves still serve some of them, even the characters have not been erased from the keys. But the kit went on sale in the "far" in 2005.
However, the set itself had a number of drawbacks that directly stemmed from the merits: huge sizes, both in “width” and in “length” of the keyboard - it did not fit on every table (especially if we are talking about a small off-the-shelf shelf in a typical home). table). High and noisy keys, collecting dirt, clogging wheel in the central part and so on. On the whole, the model is, roughly speaking, slightly outdated.
Then there was the Microsoft Natural Wireless Ergonomic Desktop 7000 suite, which is also a good kit, but it has new problems: a cross-country mouse, a lost wireless connection.
And in 2013, a new model of ergonomic kits appeared, in which the manufacturer tried to take into account the shortcomings of all previous devices. Meet - Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop (SED).
Photo from another review of this kit.
The package bundle is fairly standard for such kits: the keyboard itself, a mouse, a separate digital unit, a USB receiver, a set of batteries, and instructions.
The first thing that catches your eye is not a complex relief or an unusual form of a keyboard, but the fact that glossy plastic is used on its upper part. I don’t even know how to evaluate this act: it’s one thing when a TV is made from glossy plastic that hangs on the wall; quite another thing when it comes to the keyboard, which is in contact with the hands every day and for several hours. Thousands of facepalm-pictures and the image of the device designers, who utter “Oh, everything” in unison, appear in their thoughts involuntarily. In general, a strange decision - fingerprints do remain.
The form itself remained about the same - with differences, but recognizable. Only if before the keyboard was simply wavy and between the blocks of buttons (for each hand) was the average utility switch of the zoom (by default), then in the new version even this is not - this time there is only a cutout. And I didn’t find any functional application for him - except that it is convenient to cling to it with your finger in order to move the keyboard.
The remaining obvious innovations include the following changes:
- The keyboard got rid of a large number of additional buttons
- The digital unit has moved to a separate building
If on the previous ergonomic Microsoft keyboards, fast typing turned into an automatic chatter, then in this model this will not happen - we have an island keyboard with a scissor key design, the course of which is very small. The keys have rounded corners, there is a very comfortable gap between them, and barely noticeable indentations are used on the buttons themselves. Russian and English characters printed in different colors.
There is no indication of Caps Lock and NumLock, although in the previous version they were. How much would the LEDs affect the battery life of the wireless keyboard? I do not think that much.
The space is separate - it is easier to press it. When instead of him there is one big sleeper, especially such a “curved” form, it is difficult to push through, if you press from the edge, and not in the center, the only exception is mechanical keyboards, however, this is not our case, and the spaces are straight. The heroine of our review has a divided gap on the “scissor” suspension that is easily pressed even in the very corner with a well-defined effort - and this is cool.
Huge Backspace, both Shift, Enter keys - everything as I like :)
Even if you have mastered blind typing, and got used to the previous version of the keyboard, you have a new test - to master the new layout Delete, Insert, PgUp, PgDn, Home, End as well as a thin series of new Fn-keys. In principle, I once had a keyboard diNovo Edge, there were the same thin keys and I got used to them, but the combination of the CTRL + Esc type will not be easy the first time.
The Fn-keys, apparently, have a different principle of operation of the pressing mechanism (not scissor), since they are pressed with a different force, sound and amplitude.
In addition to the functions of F1-F12, multimedia features and Windows UI navigation are assigned to these keys - all this can be hardware “activated” using the slide Fn switch located in the upper right corner of the keyboard.
The profile of the case is quite complicated, however, even with the strongest pressure on the corner buttons, there are no creaks and crunches. In the lower part there is an inset lining under the wrists of an unusual material: it is not skin, not rubber, and not even soft touch. But something rough and pleasant to the touch.
On the bottom of the keyboard there are no familiar legs for adjusting the height of the tilt, but the kit includes a stand that can adjust the height ... of that part of the keyboard that is under the wrist. This is unusual, but, it is necessary to recognize, it is rather convenient in practice.
Moreover, as an attachment, magnets are used, which also hold all the covers of the battery compartments on the keyboard and mouse. Great - no mechanical parts and fixtures, and this is a plus for durability.
The keyboard and mouse use different types of batteries. A small mouse uses large finger batteries (AA), and a large keyboard uses small pinky batteries (AAA) - everything is logical, everything is in the spirit of Microsoft. But at least the batteries in the kit, but they are inserted into the devices on one side, the contact terminals are quite elegant:
If in previous models the digital unit was built into the keyboard itself and made it obscenely huge, then Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop bundled it in a separate module. Thin and flat, does not play up to the bends of the main keyboard - as if it is from another set. And inside and at all the third type of batteries is used - the “tablet” CR2430. Although it would seem, what prevents to make a slight thickening of the digital unit and use an AAA battery inside, as in the main keyboard? But while there is what is: you have to connect for three different power sources.
A number of useful buttons were made on the digital unit module: to call up the calculator application, Clear to clear the entered one, Enter and even Backspace, but there was no place for the LEDs (at least NumLock).
This implementation of the digital unit will be appreciated by those who count a lot during work. Otherwise, it will most likely lie somewhere near the main keyboard and mouse. And I think that this is better than holding a huge piano of buttons on the table and trying to fit the mouse next to it, which will cause the hands to be in different directions.
Cobblestone? Bitten apple? There were many versions about the nature of the mouse, but almost all came to the conclusion that at the moment she is pregnant :)
It is not clear what motivated Microsoft when they made the main buttons of the device (and the working surface under the palm of the hand) from glossy plastic. Okay, they would use some kind of tricky surface, on which there would be no fingerprints ... but no, they appear here before you take the mouse in your hand.
The mouse is also sad because of the glossy plastic
So stock up on cloths or patience. Although in addition to the glossy plastic, there are also matte inserts along the entire perimeter, and a recess under the thumb is made from the most pleasant soft-touch.
Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse is not the best choice if you have a large palm, but the owners of the “average” palm will be quite comfortable: due to the high profile and the working surface shifted to the side of the case, the brush will comfortably lie on the device (the little finger will be on the table ) without any tension.
But even in this case, the mouse is not so uncomfortable as it is unusual for hand grip. It is clearly designed for finger hold and a good carpet: on other surfaces, the mouse is “heavy” in control. And yes, lefties, sorry, this mouse will not work for you. Completely :(
Two buttons with a pleasant click, between them - no less pleasant and a "stepped" wheel that supports horizontal scrolling. There are also two elastic buttons on the left side: a blue “Windows” and a “Back” under it.
Both the keyboard and the mouse work over the 2.4 GHz radio channel, via a USB receiver, which is initially stored inside the mouse. It is quite small and is located in a magnetic niche under the magnetic cover. There are also two AA-batteries for power.
I almost forgot the most important thing. As a sensor, a well-established Microsoft BlueTrack is used. Sensitivity of the sensor is 1000dpi - marketeers, of course, have long been told to everyone that “the more, the better”, but for everyday use this resolution is more than enough: for unhurried office work, playing some RPG, quest to go through, in the browser alternate balls sticky poke; but for dynamic toys anymore, first of all - due to the specificity of ergonomics. The relaxed position of the hand and the relatively low interrogation rate of the sensor do not contribute to this). But what this rodent can boast about is the excellent omnivorous nature of the surfaces on which it can work.
In the Windows operating system, the kit is detected immediately after turning on the power on the devices and installing the USB receiver into the computer. The Microsoft Control and Keyboard Control Center offers several basic settings.
In OS X, the kit also immediately earned, but there were even fewer settings.
For Linux users, a small warning: the adapter of the kit is seen as a joystick in the system, so in some cases (in some games, for example), there may be problems - you can use gamepads in parallel with this keyboard and the steering wheels are unlikely to work. But this problem has a solution .
On the one hand, ergonomics was developed by specialists. They probably did research, reworked the layout ten times, moved buttons to and fro a hundred hours in a row. Yes, yes, they did it for sure, I even found a video:
But in practice ... you take this miracle out of the box and you are terrified: and THAT do they call ergonomics? At first, you will rush between the two banks: “ the professionals did it, it’s ergonomic and I’m just not used to it, but I’ll get used to it soon ” and “ no, it’s impossible to get used to it, it’s not ergonomics - they just made it hard to understand torment me . ” Looking ahead - the first option is closer to the truth.
If you do not own a ten-finger typing method (it's time to say hello to Vladimir shahidjanyan Shahidzhanyan), then the first time you will be hard to blunt when typing.
Nightmare. If you know what I mean...
Especially hard will have the little finger of his right hand - he will have to reach for the Backspace, grope Enter and Ctrl, which surround the buttons of the arrows and the gang Ins-Del-Home-End-PgUp-PgDn.
Re-get pressed to some hotkeys. If I easily press CTRL + P through the left CTRL on a standard keyboard, then this will not work in the case of this keyboard. You will have to press with your right hand through the right CTRL (which you will first have to find among the adjacent buttons), and this is already a template break. And some of your usual combinations will completely “fall” into the keyboard cutout.
In general, be prepared for the fact that it will take time to get used to both the mouse and the keyboard. And this is the worst thing that has this set. But you must get used to it, and then you do not want to change to something else!
And now a spoon of honey. Once again I want to say about the extremely pleasant tactile sensations from printing. The key travel is not as big as before, but not as small as on many notebook keyboards. Pressings are also the golden mean, not easy, but not heavy. The sound is very quiet. Kayf!
+ Attractive appearance
+ Tactile pleasant keystroke
+ Excellent keyboard ergonomics, comfortable wrist lining
+ Availability of a number of multimedia buttons with Fn-switch
+ Lack of wires, bezglyuchny work on a radio channel,
+ Long battery life
+ Remote digital block
- Glossy keyboard and mouse body
- It will take time to adapt to the new layout
- Inconvenient F1-F12 keys and switch their actions
- There are no status LEDs from CapLock / NumLock
- Three different batteries in one set
- Not the most comfortable mouse, it is only for a small hand.
At the time of publication of the article, the cost of the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop suite at Yulmart was 4,780 rubles. Quite an average price tag for a quality mouse and keyboard - about the same amount (or slightly less) are ordinary, "non-ergonomic" sets.
Here are some kits still in our store.
Get the maximum benefit and evaluate the effectiveness of this keyboard will be those who own a blind printing method - you need exactly 10-finger skill, and not knowledge of the location of the buttons that you blindly press with two or three fingers. If you are one of the owners of this valuable skill and you have to work a lot with texts, then this keyboard is definitely for you. But even you will probably have some time to get used to the nuances of the location of some keys.
Other users will also like this keyboard, but the adaptation process will take longer - the first time the print speed will be lower than usual. But it is important to understand that the health of your body will pay for these flours; it spends every hour for buttons not an hour, not two or even not three. Once you get used to the shape of this keyboard, you simply do not want to change to the other.
This set definitely deserves attention, especially the keyboard - almost everything is great in it. However, there are also "children's sores" - surprisingly, Microsoft has allowed them in this revision of its ergonomic keyboards. Hopefully, the next bundle will accurately account for all errors.
»Articles about tunnel syndrome: one , two , three .
Our previous reviews:
» LEGO Mindstorms EV3
» Digital Levenhuk USB Microscope DTX90
History lesson
Previously, the ergonomics of keyboards did not particularly reflect, the buttons for each other do not cling - and ok.
')
But when you need to press the buttons for 10-12 hours a day and 5 days a week (or even more), you involuntarily think about the input device to be comfortable. Well, or pain in the hands will help you think about it.
Microsoft Natural Keyboard is a series of ergonomic keyboards that first appeared in the company's arsenal in 1994. Most likely, many of you got to know her by the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (NEK) model, the predecessor of the keyboard from today's review.
Surely many of you had such a clave. Well, or she was among some of your friends, and you secretly dreamed about her, because of the faceless variety of conventional keyboards, she was something futuristic.
She was dearly loved by professional textile makers. This is one of the most popular and available in its time ergonomic keyboards, the creators of which thought about both the user's anatomy and the fact that people work with it for more than one week. The insane form and the different sizes of the buttons required getting used to it, but they caused severe dependence, and the sets themselves still serve some of them, even the characters have not been erased from the keys. But the kit went on sale in the "far" in 2005.
However, the set itself had a number of drawbacks that directly stemmed from the merits: huge sizes, both in “width” and in “length” of the keyboard - it did not fit on every table (especially if we are talking about a small off-the-shelf shelf in a typical home). table). High and noisy keys, collecting dirt, clogging wheel in the central part and so on. On the whole, the model is, roughly speaking, slightly outdated.
Then there was the Microsoft Natural Wireless Ergonomic Desktop 7000 suite, which is also a good kit, but it has new problems: a cross-country mouse, a lost wireless connection.
And in 2013, a new model of ergonomic kits appeared, in which the manufacturer tried to take into account the shortcomings of all previous devices. Meet - Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop (SED).
Photo from another review of this kit.
The package bundle is fairly standard for such kits: the keyboard itself, a mouse, a separate digital unit, a USB receiver, a set of batteries, and instructions.
Appearance
The first thing that catches your eye is not a complex relief or an unusual form of a keyboard, but the fact that glossy plastic is used on its upper part. I don’t even know how to evaluate this act: it’s one thing when a TV is made from glossy plastic that hangs on the wall; quite another thing when it comes to the keyboard, which is in contact with the hands every day and for several hours. Thousands of facepalm-pictures and the image of the device designers, who utter “Oh, everything” in unison, appear in their thoughts involuntarily. In general, a strange decision - fingerprints do remain.
The form itself remained about the same - with differences, but recognizable. Only if before the keyboard was simply wavy and between the blocks of buttons (for each hand) was the average utility switch of the zoom (by default), then in the new version even this is not - this time there is only a cutout. And I didn’t find any functional application for him - except that it is convenient to cling to it with your finger in order to move the keyboard.
The remaining obvious innovations include the following changes:
- The keyboard got rid of a large number of additional buttons
- The digital unit has moved to a separate building
If on the previous ergonomic Microsoft keyboards, fast typing turned into an automatic chatter, then in this model this will not happen - we have an island keyboard with a scissor key design, the course of which is very small. The keys have rounded corners, there is a very comfortable gap between them, and barely noticeable indentations are used on the buttons themselves. Russian and English characters printed in different colors.
There is no indication of Caps Lock and NumLock, although in the previous version they were. How much would the LEDs affect the battery life of the wireless keyboard? I do not think that much.
The space is separate - it is easier to press it. When instead of him there is one big sleeper, especially such a “curved” form, it is difficult to push through, if you press from the edge, and not in the center, the only exception is mechanical keyboards, however, this is not our case, and the spaces are straight. The heroine of our review has a divided gap on the “scissor” suspension that is easily pressed even in the very corner with a well-defined effort - and this is cool.
Huge Backspace, both Shift, Enter keys - everything as I like :)
Even if you have mastered blind typing, and got used to the previous version of the keyboard, you have a new test - to master the new layout Delete, Insert, PgUp, PgDn, Home, End as well as a thin series of new Fn-keys. In principle, I once had a keyboard diNovo Edge, there were the same thin keys and I got used to them, but the combination of the CTRL + Esc type will not be easy the first time.
The Fn-keys, apparently, have a different principle of operation of the pressing mechanism (not scissor), since they are pressed with a different force, sound and amplitude.
In addition to the functions of F1-F12, multimedia features and Windows UI navigation are assigned to these keys - all this can be hardware “activated” using the slide Fn switch located in the upper right corner of the keyboard.
The profile of the case is quite complicated, however, even with the strongest pressure on the corner buttons, there are no creaks and crunches. In the lower part there is an inset lining under the wrists of an unusual material: it is not skin, not rubber, and not even soft touch. But something rough and pleasant to the touch.
On the bottom of the keyboard there are no familiar legs for adjusting the height of the tilt, but the kit includes a stand that can adjust the height ... of that part of the keyboard that is under the wrist. This is unusual, but, it is necessary to recognize, it is rather convenient in practice.
Moreover, as an attachment, magnets are used, which also hold all the covers of the battery compartments on the keyboard and mouse. Great - no mechanical parts and fixtures, and this is a plus for durability.
The keyboard and mouse use different types of batteries. A small mouse uses large finger batteries (AA), and a large keyboard uses small pinky batteries (AAA) - everything is logical, everything is in the spirit of Microsoft. But at least the batteries in the kit, but they are inserted into the devices on one side, the contact terminals are quite elegant:
Digital block
If in previous models the digital unit was built into the keyboard itself and made it obscenely huge, then Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop bundled it in a separate module. Thin and flat, does not play up to the bends of the main keyboard - as if it is from another set. And inside and at all the third type of batteries is used - the “tablet” CR2430. Although it would seem, what prevents to make a slight thickening of the digital unit and use an AAA battery inside, as in the main keyboard? But while there is what is: you have to connect for three different power sources.
A number of useful buttons were made on the digital unit module: to call up the calculator application, Clear to clear the entered one, Enter and even Backspace, but there was no place for the LEDs (at least NumLock).
This implementation of the digital unit will be appreciated by those who count a lot during work. Otherwise, it will most likely lie somewhere near the main keyboard and mouse. And I think that this is better than holding a huge piano of buttons on the table and trying to fit the mouse next to it, which will cause the hands to be in different directions.
Mouse
Cobblestone? Bitten apple? There were many versions about the nature of the mouse, but almost all came to the conclusion that at the moment she is pregnant :)
It is not clear what motivated Microsoft when they made the main buttons of the device (and the working surface under the palm of the hand) from glossy plastic. Okay, they would use some kind of tricky surface, on which there would be no fingerprints ... but no, they appear here before you take the mouse in your hand.
The mouse is also sad because of the glossy plastic
So stock up on cloths or patience. Although in addition to the glossy plastic, there are also matte inserts along the entire perimeter, and a recess under the thumb is made from the most pleasant soft-touch.
Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse is not the best choice if you have a large palm, but the owners of the “average” palm will be quite comfortable: due to the high profile and the working surface shifted to the side of the case, the brush will comfortably lie on the device (the little finger will be on the table ) without any tension.
But even in this case, the mouse is not so uncomfortable as it is unusual for hand grip. It is clearly designed for finger hold and a good carpet: on other surfaces, the mouse is “heavy” in control. And yes, lefties, sorry, this mouse will not work for you. Completely :(
Two buttons with a pleasant click, between them - no less pleasant and a "stepped" wheel that supports horizontal scrolling. There are also two elastic buttons on the left side: a blue “Windows” and a “Back” under it.
Both the keyboard and the mouse work over the 2.4 GHz radio channel, via a USB receiver, which is initially stored inside the mouse. It is quite small and is located in a magnetic niche under the magnetic cover. There are also two AA-batteries for power.
I almost forgot the most important thing. As a sensor, a well-established Microsoft BlueTrack is used. Sensitivity of the sensor is 1000dpi - marketeers, of course, have long been told to everyone that “the more, the better”, but for everyday use this resolution is more than enough: for unhurried office work, playing some RPG, quest to go through, in the browser alternate balls sticky poke; but for dynamic toys anymore, first of all - due to the specificity of ergonomics. The relaxed position of the hand and the relatively low interrogation rate of the sensor do not contribute to this). But what this rodent can boast about is the excellent omnivorous nature of the surfaces on which it can work.
Soft
In the Windows operating system, the kit is detected immediately after turning on the power on the devices and installing the USB receiver into the computer. The Microsoft Control and Keyboard Control Center offers several basic settings.
In OS X, the kit also immediately earned, but there were even fewer settings.
For Linux users, a small warning: the adapter of the kit is seen as a joystick in the system, so in some cases (in some games, for example), there may be problems - you can use gamepads in parallel with this keyboard and the steering wheels are unlikely to work. But this problem has a solution .
Personal experience
On the one hand, ergonomics was developed by specialists. They probably did research, reworked the layout ten times, moved buttons to and fro a hundred hours in a row. Yes, yes, they did it for sure, I even found a video:
But in practice ... you take this miracle out of the box and you are terrified: and THAT do they call ergonomics? At first, you will rush between the two banks: “ the professionals did it, it’s ergonomic and I’m just not used to it, but I’ll get used to it soon ” and “ no, it’s impossible to get used to it, it’s not ergonomics - they just made it hard to understand torment me . ” Looking ahead - the first option is closer to the truth.
If you do not own a ten-finger typing method (it's time to say hello to Vladimir shahidjanyan Shahidzhanyan), then the first time you will be hard to blunt when typing.
Nightmare. If you know what I mean...
Especially hard will have the little finger of his right hand - he will have to reach for the Backspace, grope Enter and Ctrl, which surround the buttons of the arrows and the gang Ins-Del-Home-End-PgUp-PgDn.
Re-get pressed to some hotkeys. If I easily press CTRL + P through the left CTRL on a standard keyboard, then this will not work in the case of this keyboard. You will have to press with your right hand through the right CTRL (which you will first have to find among the adjacent buttons), and this is already a template break. And some of your usual combinations will completely “fall” into the keyboard cutout.
In general, be prepared for the fact that it will take time to get used to both the mouse and the keyboard. And this is the worst thing that has this set. But you must get used to it, and then you do not want to change to something else!
And now a spoon of honey. Once again I want to say about the extremely pleasant tactile sensations from printing. The key travel is not as big as before, but not as small as on many notebook keyboards. Pressings are also the golden mean, not easy, but not heavy. The sound is very quiet. Kayf!
Advantages and disadvantages
+ Attractive appearance
+ Tactile pleasant keystroke
+ Excellent keyboard ergonomics, comfortable wrist lining
+ Availability of a number of multimedia buttons with Fn-switch
+ Lack of wires, bezglyuchny work on a radio channel,
+ Long battery life
+ Remote digital block
- Glossy keyboard and mouse body
- It will take time to adapt to the new layout
- Inconvenient F1-F12 keys and switch their actions
- There are no status LEDs from CapLock / NumLock
- Three different batteries in one set
- Not the most comfortable mouse, it is only for a small hand.
At the time of publication of the article, the cost of the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop suite at Yulmart was 4,780 rubles. Quite an average price tag for a quality mouse and keyboard - about the same amount (or slightly less) are ordinary, "non-ergonomic" sets.
Here are some kits still in our store.
The end
Get the maximum benefit and evaluate the effectiveness of this keyboard will be those who own a blind printing method - you need exactly 10-finger skill, and not knowledge of the location of the buttons that you blindly press with two or three fingers. If you are one of the owners of this valuable skill and you have to work a lot with texts, then this keyboard is definitely for you. But even you will probably have some time to get used to the nuances of the location of some keys.
Other users will also like this keyboard, but the adaptation process will take longer - the first time the print speed will be lower than usual. But it is important to understand that the health of your body will pay for these flours; it spends every hour for buttons not an hour, not two or even not three. Once you get used to the shape of this keyboard, you simply do not want to change to the other.
This set definitely deserves attention, especially the keyboard - almost everything is great in it. However, there are also "children's sores" - surprisingly, Microsoft has allowed them in this revision of its ergonomic keyboards. Hopefully, the next bundle will accurately account for all errors.
»Articles about tunnel syndrome: one , two , three .
Our previous reviews:
» LEGO Mindstorms EV3
» Digital Levenhuk USB Microscope DTX90
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/364525/
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