(Part 3) Top products from r/microsoft

Hey guys, I posted this over at /r/mechanicalkeyboards but figured that some folks here might be interested too.

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Hey Reddit - I know this isn't a mechanical keyboard, but there seemed to be at least some interest in the Sculpt keyboard and I just got my hands on one so I figured I'd throw together a quick review.

Overview

If you aren't familiar with the keyboard in question, I'm reviewing the Microsoft Sculpt, the successor to the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and Natural Keyboard Pro. This is more or less Microsoft's flagship keyboard in the ergonomics line, featuring a bi-sectional layout with an actual split between the two sets of keys, unlike their curve line which is more like a traditional keyboard, just wavy.

I was first introduced to this type of keyboard back in 1995 when the original Natural Pro came out. I was working at Microsoft at the time and our management wanted everyone to switch over. Using that experience as a template, if you've never used a split keyboard before and you do a fair amount of typing, it'll probably take about a week to two weeks to get used to the layout (assuming you're already a touch typer). If you only type sparingly, probably closer to a month.

The Sculpt keyboard currently only comes in a set with a mouse and the keyboard cannot be purchased separately at this time. The keyboard is wireless, connecting via a small USB dongle. The dongle connects all three desktop components - the mouse, keyboard, and 10-key numpad. The set MSRP's for $129.95 in the US.

Details

The keyboard has chiclet style key caps with scissor switches on top of rubber domes. The key caps are pad printed.

The layout of the keyboard is similar to the old Microsoft Natural Elite keyboards, with the squashed six-key configuration. Delete, Home, End, Insert, PgUp, and PgDn are in a double-row set of keys to the right of the main key set. There is no spacing between the primary keys and the six keys. The arrow keys are left in the normal two row configuration, but the left arrow is set directly underneath the right shift key and shares the row with the bottom Ctrl key.

The numpad is a separate unit entirely - configured in a full-sized 10-key layout. The numpad has a few extra keys mimicking an old-fashioned calculator input. It has an app button which is mapped to calc.exe by default, as well as a backspace and clear button. For whatever reason, there is also a calc.exe button on the main keyboard.

There are no lights on the keyboard. When you hit any of the lock keys, there is no physical indication. However there is a software popup in Windows itself - a tiny window that comes up over your systray for two seconds that tells you NUMLOCK ON, or NUMLOCK OFF.

There are no separate media keys, instead they are bundled with the half-height function keys as alt-actions. In order to use the alt-action functionality, you must toggle a physical switch in the upper right-hand corner. If you leave your toggle to "white", the F1 key acts as the normal HELP button. Click to "blue" and it is now the Play/Pause media button. Want to pause your music and refresh your webpage? Click to blue to make F1 pause, click to white to have F5 refresh. It's a little weird.

The keyboard has a small amount of padding on the wrist rest area - if you've used the Natural 4000, it's about the same, maybe a tiny bit thinner. The rest is wrapped in a pleather'ish material.

The keyboard also comes with a riser which lifts the front of the keyboard (the side towards the user) up about an inch higher. The installation of the riser is actually sort of slick - they used embedded magnets and the whole thing just snaps into place. In fact, they do the same thing for the battery covers for the keyboard and mouse (not the numpad though - that has a screw).

Impressions

I was not a fan of the Natural 4000 because the keys felt too sluggish and heavy (the 4000 was just rubber dome). The flat, chiclet style keycaps as well as the scissor switch makes the Sculpt feel much more springy and I much prefer the action on this new keyboard. It's obviously not a replacement for my MX Blues, but it's actually not bad.

The layout is a bit annoying. I'm not sure why Microsoft decided to squish the six key configuration as they did. Seems if they were going to rip the ten key off, they would have left the six key alone. I've been a touch typer for years and it's irritating to have to hunt and peck to figure out where my Home key went to. Leaving the arrow config normal was a good call - I don't think anyone liked the diamond layout on the Elites.

Assuming you use the Sculpt mouse, the entire set uses five batteries. 2 AA's for the mouse, 2 AAA's for the keyboard, and a CR2430 for the numpad. That seems a bit excessive to me, although I think I read somewhere that Microsoft expects the batteries to last for over a year (can't find any solid sources on battery life).

Conclusion

I like the Sculpt keyboard better than the Natural 4000, but probably not enough to replace my Rosewill 9100 with MX Blues full time. However, I do find the natural styles more comfortable to type on for extended periods of time. So if you don't want to or can't shell out the money for something like a Kinesis or an Ergodox kit, the Sculpt is not a bad piece of hardware.

Is it worth picking up this $130 MSRP package for the mouse and keyboard when you can just get the Natural Keyboard 4000 right now for under $40? That's honestly a hard call - I really like the action on the Sculpt better than the 4000, but the new Sculpt mouse sucks (IMO) when compared to the old Natural Laser Mouse 6000 - plus for around the same price, you could pick up the Natural 4000 and a Evoluent VerticalMouse (assuming you wanted an ergo-mouse too).

One big gripe - everything is black gloss. Fingerprints and smudges everywhere. Who thought this was a good idea?

I am a Microsoft "orange badge," also known as a vendor or contractor. I am a huge Microsoft fan boy and have worked in enterprise level IT for 12+ years in Houston. I got my job with Microsoft out of the blue, a headhunter found me randomly on LinkedIn. Like HanumanCT, I too do not have a college degree.

As HanumanCT stated, knowing somebody gets you nowhere in Microsoft other than the fact that they get a referral bonus if you get hired. I have two friends who were hired on 6 and 4 months before me (as blue badges), they just applied at http://careers.microsoft.com. The only thing their employment gave me was a little insight in to the culture.

The beauty of Microsoft however is that it is a giant corporation, and they love to promote from within if you are worthy. So, just because you don't get hired as a marketing guru straight out of college doesn't mean you might not end up there. Also, many vendors/contractors are eventually hired on full-time so don't fear the orange badge. I do not feel like a vendor or contractor, and with the exception of some legal and additional training stuff I have all the rights of an FTE and am treated as such.

Starting out at one of their retail stores may be a fantastic opportunity for someone like yourself, submit your resume and see what happens. Also be proactive and visit the store and ask about openings if they don't respond, sometimes a little initiative goes a long way. Come up with some ideas or promotions for the store, or anything to get your foot in the door.

One thing I learned during my early days at Microsoft (I am an Active Directory Premier Field Engineer), is be prepared to be humbled daily. There are so many brilliant people working there, that even though you may be the smartest of your friends or the best employee at your previous jobs, it takes a lot of hard work to stand out at a company like Microsoft.

I felt overwhelmed in my first few months, and I had over a decade of experience in my field. Heck, a year later and I still feel frequently humbled any time I'm on a conference call with senior engineers.

EDIT - I see you're from Houston. If you want to meet up for a beer or coffee and talk about it one on one PM me. I'd be happy to help anyway I can. I also highly suggest Stephen Toulouse's book "A Microsoft Life." It is a great inside look at Microsoft the corporation.

There was the internally-released book "Inside-Out - Microsoft: In Our Own Words" but, to be perfectly honest, I never read it. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Out-Microsoft-In-Our-Words/dp/0446527394

>* Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000 (English & French) ($29) | Amazon

• Microsoft Wireless Desktop 2000 ($22) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 ($24) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard for iPad, iPhone, Android devices, and Windows tablets ($50) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard ($35) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse for PC, Microsoft Surface, and Windows Tablets ($40) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Bluetooth Mouse (H3S-00003) ($16) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Sculpt Touch Bluetooth Mouse for PC and Windows Tablets ($23) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 - Black ($12) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Halo Limited Edition: The Master Chief ($15) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000 (T3H-00011) ($19) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Wireless All-In-One Media Keyboard (N9Z-00001) ($18) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse (L6V-00001) ($23) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 - Loch Ness Gray ($12) | Amazon
  
• Microsoft Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows ($33) | Amazon
  
  all links have had affiliate tags taken out and just a direct link to respective sites

Looks like this keyboard they came out with in 2002. I don't buy that it's beneficial. I've been using a regular keyboard for nearly twenty years now and I haven't torn any ligaments. You don't see people clamoring for laptops with split keyboard layouts either.

>I can't and I probably won't ever own a surface until they include the keyboard

Ta-da! Amazon still has the variant with a bundled keyboard ;)

But seriously, seems like a strange argument to keep you from owning an awesome piece of hardware with the choice of what color you get.

I personally am holding out until I can get a green keyboard. I don't understand why they don't have a keyboard of each color of the Microsoft logo. Especially green for xbox or yellow to match the lumia 1020.

Pardon my ignorance but why not just buy from Amazon here http://www.amazon.com/Zune-Video-MP3-Player-Platinum/dp/B002JPITY8 is there a different model or something you're looking for? I never really used MP3 players much once my phone became an adequate substitute so not sure what is so speical about the Zune HD

looking at the specs, they don't seem to be very different at all, perhaps the newer one (which I assume is the more expensive one) has some minor improvements.

RVF-00001:
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Arc-Touch-Mouse-Black/dp/B003UT6C9G/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449816912&sr=1-4&keywords=arc+touch+mouse+bluetooth

RVF-00052: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009CP4PIW/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ps_1?pf_rd_p=1944687702&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B003UT6C9G&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13J54NP970CA8CSHQ5NY

You CAN do a clean install, it just won't activated after you install it.

Buy the upgrade disc on Amazon (or wherever you get a lower price) here:

• Standard
  
  
• Pro
  
  Once you obtain the upgrade disc and install Windows 8 (by these steps), download this file. Run the file you downloaded by right clicking, and running as administrator. Once you get a dialog box that says 'ok' on it, click that, and restart the computer.

It's $82 on Amazon: Microsoft Office 365 Home 1 Year | 5 PC or 5 Mac Key Card https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SPTUW2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_XOqIwbT9N3J7Q

Does nobody remember when Microsoft legitimately sold stuffed animals? $400 will get you one now.

Is it a Kin 1 or a Kin 2? I have one on a shelf in my office alongside a Zune, some Pocket PCs, a MS TV Photo Viewer (new in the box), and a foam mock up of the MS Ultimate TV.

Well, at less than a year old, it should be under warranty...? Send that fucker back! You did a full backup before the update, right? If not, you can pull the drive and slap it into a docking station and clone it over to an empty drive before you send it back. You won't want to just clone it back over when you get it back & you'll need to reinstall your software, but this will save your stuff.