Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000

• Contour: it's familiar, yet modern - All the keys are the same size and in a familiar place, even with the contoured design.
• The slim, glossy design saves space and makes a statement on your desktop.
• Ergonomist-approved Comfort Curve design - The Microsoft Comfort Curve encourages natural wrist posture, plus it is easy to use.
• Contour key bed - Designed to provide more direct key strikes for less finger effort.
• Easy-access media keys Control your music and videos, and open the Calculator with the touch of a key.

I've used several Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 keyboards as well as the split Natural keyboard. I bought the 3000 to use for work at my programming job.

The first few days that I used the 3000, I wasn't sure if I going to like it. It was a little rough, but nowhere near the shock of getting used to the Natural keyboards. I spent the first couple of days mistyping somethings, but I'm used to it now.

A few points:

* Typing is very quiet. I work in an open area with others, so I like that I'm not making a lot of noise.

* There's not a lot of tactile feedback. Pretty much the opposite of the old IBM PS/2 keyboards. That took a little while to get used to, but the smoothness and quiet makes it worth it.

* The keyboard feels much more solid and the keys don't feel as cheap and unsure as they did on the 2000.

* My main complaint of the 2000 was the noisy, sloppy, piece of junk space bar. This is fixed in the 3000. The space bar is quiet and tight -it feels like all the other keys.

* It is a nice space saver.

* I really like the placement of the delete key.

* My beloved calculator key and volume keys are there, but this time they don't take up so much real estate!

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Was using an Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard MB110LL/A but turned out to be quite uncomfortable. Picked this as I was looking around and I remember the old Natural Keyboard being nice, if a little hefty.

The keyoard is compact, and light. The keys have a good feel and the curve and the bulge in the middle is very comfortable. Note that there is no gap between the arrow keys and the numeric keypad.

Really liking it.

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There are great key points already hit in the other four and five star reviews, but I would love to add one thing. "This has got to be the quietest keyboard I have ever used." I have a pet peeve with loud keyboards. They are like nails on a chalk board. I can type super fast without hearing one button click.

I do not use Windows, so I was happy to see all of the controls, such as the volume buttons, worked perfectly with Ubuntu 11.04 and Ubuntu 11.10.

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All in all, this is a well designed keyboard that helps my hand positions. I want to mention some details to supplement some of the other comments floating around.

The GOOD: Ergonomics and OSX Compatibility

The nice thing about the keyboard is that the curve on the Y and Z axis really seem to improve the positions of my wrists as opposed to the traditional keyboard. I used to have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard but that thing is particularly large. This is a good solution if size is of concern. It sits low on the desk and doesn't have the large wrist supporting frame like the Natural Keyboard. This works for me. I find that the profile of the keyboard and my wrists/arms on desk position are natural.

That said, ergonomics have a lot to do with not just the keyboard but the desk and chair you use. I am using an Ikea Galant desk that is height adjustable and a Herman Miller Mirra task chair. I have both adjusted so that my posture is planted pretty optimally, with my elbows 90 degrees to my sitting position, resting on the arm rests and the desk height level with my arm/hands. My arms are comfortably horizontal when approaching the keyboard. Before this, my desk was too high forcing my arms into a "snake ready to strike" / hook-like position which was starting to hurt. It's good to prevent RSI.

Mac OS X somewhat compatible: Most keyboards will work sans the extra functionality of special keys. I wasn't expecting the play, volume up and down buttons to work but they do! (The calculator button doesn't do much and the num lock doesn't seem to work, so I guess 3/5)

The BAD: Possibly key press feel, number pad or not to number pad

I just recently purchased this product and my opinion on this is still in the air. The main issue I have with this keyboard is the feel of the key press / tactile feedback. It is quite mushy. I come from both Mac, Dell, and Microsoft keyboards and this one has a very damp, muted key press feel rather than a crisp one. Imagine putting a piece of felt underneath your keys. That's the best way I can describe it. As a consequence, the keys feel heavy. It is quiet though. I'll have to give it a week or so of use to see if I can get used to it.

The second problem (that I can't solve) is the number pad or not number pad question. Actually it has less to do with the number pad and more to do with what is between the num pad and regular keys, the arrow keys. Since I use this for programming, I need to use the arrow keys a LOT to navigate my code. A full-sized arrow key set is nice. If you want full-sized arrow keys, usually this means a full sized keyboard. However, the inclusion of a num pad leaves little desk space immediately in front of me for my mouse and mouse pad. Thus my mouse is way off to the right and I have to shift the keyboard and mouse left when I want to use it naturally. With a chopped off keyboard like the Mac bluetooth keyboard, my mouse resides in that position that would otherwise be taken by the num pad. This is more natural and productive. But then I have to deal with a small arrow key pad.

You can't win at everything and I suppose you need to make compromises somewhere but these are some of the issues I've run into.

The OTHER:

Some people complimented that this keyboard is small. It's not that small. As a matter of fact it's a tad bigger than my non-ergonomic Dell keyboard which includes a numeric pad. Being a full featured keyboard with num pad, it is of course larger than keyboards without. If you're a gamer, like mentioned the WASD layout is out of whack. I use this mostly for programming and so for touch type it's pretty comfortable.

The bottom line is that as a heavy typer, this keyboard is designed pretty well. Certain issues like the key feel could make or break it for you but it's also something that you can probably get used to. For $13 purchase price, you can't go wrong and it's a cheap price to pay compared to treatment of RSI.

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Microsoft usually has made quality hardware products. The problems with this keyboard came as a surprise to me. I had picked it up for less than $20 at a local Radio Shack. Like other reviewers I had several keys that stopped responding after about a month. On my keyboard these were F, G and C. Using compressed air temporarily solved the problem but it would always return. Once this problem became permanent, this keyboard was sent to the recycle bin. I now have a no-fuss corded Logitech K120 keyboard. It has been without any problems and is recommended for a similar type of keyboard but with a better feel and without the mechanical problems of the Microsoft Comfort Curve 3000.