I purchased a new mouse a week or so ago; a Kensington wireless mouse (the exact model eludes my mind right now). It is one of the best mice I have ever used. After purchasing the mouse, I decided maybe it was time to look into purchasing a new keyboard, after all I have been using the same Compaq keyboard since 2003.
I didn't want to spend much money (the mouse was $35), and after browsing buy.com, I found that I could get $50 off a $51 purchase by signing up for the new Revolution credit card (which to me, there is nothing really revolutionary about it, besides the free $50 credit).
I ended up purchasing (or rather getting for free) the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Buy.com wanted $47 for it, so I added a Sandisk MP3 player that was $13 to meet the minimum purchase requirement (to get the free $50 credit).
I was really surprised that the order shipped the same day, and I actually received it the very next day. It was the fastest order I had ever received from buy.com (typically I have to wait 10 days, but the keyboard was shipped from a warehouse about 100 miles away).
Installing the Microsoft software was a huge pain. I only had a Microsoft keyboard, not a Microsoft mouse, yet the software insisted on installing the Intellipoint software. At the same time, M$ decided to uninstall my other mouse software (from Logitech, for my older mouse).
After I finally had the software installed, the next task was reprogramming some of the keys, specifically the zoom wheel into a scroll wheel. A couple of searches on Google, and my keys were reprogrammed. I used the keyboard for a couple of hours, and was finally getting used to the ergonomic design, and all the extra buttons.
Then, today, out of nowhere my "C" key does not work. I used the diagnostics program that came with the keyboard, and the key does not register when pressed. I reinstalled the drivers, etc, but the darn "C" key just wouldn't work.
I contacted Microsoft's support, and was told that I should 'set the keyboard upside down to let the liquid come out'. I wasn't sure of what liquid they were talking about, but apparently they assumed I spilled something on the keyboard in the 48 hours I have owned it.
I have a question for Microsoft. Why do all of your new products suck? I mean Vista is horrible, and this new keyboard shouldn't break after being used (very briefly) for only two days. It's not like the (what are now) old days of Windows XP and those Microsoft Optical Mouse I could throw against the wall and have them still function perfectly. You guys really need to get your act together. I don't plan on buying any more Microsoft keyboard / mouse / operating systems in the near future.
I didn't want to spend much for a new keyboard (I'm perfectly content with the five year old Compaq keyboard), and I don't want to waste money shipping the keyboard to Microsoft / Buydotcom. The keyboard was free, but I'm still pretty angry. I guess I would really be mad if I actually paid $50 for it.
I don't know what to do with it. I remapped the Windows key to function as the "C" key, but that's a worthless fix. It was a really nice keyboard for the whole three hours I used it. Who knows, maybe it will work tomorrow. If it does regain "C" key function, I will probably unload the thing on eBay and use the money towards a new LCD monitor.
