Luckily, you can swap the locations using the Keyboard preference pane.Have a suggestion for the blog Perhaps a topic youd like us to write about If so, wed love to hear from you Fancy yourself a writer and have a tech tip, handy computer trick, or how to to share Let us know what youd like to contribute.This was the last keyboard Apple made that included the Apple logo alongside the cloverleaf image on the Command key.I didnt give up on Apple keyboards because of the missing logo; it was actually because the next generation of Apple keyboards went to the low-profile key design that is still in use today.
I like a keyboard with a bit more key travel, thus I made the move to Windows-based keyboards; Im currently using a Microsoft Digital Media Pro model. You may be coming to the Mac from a Windows environment and already have a favorite keyboard. Or you may like some of the more advanced Windows keyboards that offer more ergonomic choices, such as the Matias Tactile Pro, specialized keys, or unique keyboard layouts. Apple has supported USB-based keyboards since it abandoned the ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) interface as the primary means of connecting keyboards and mice. Microsoft Basic Keyboard 1.0A Free To PickOnce the USB interface had rolled out to all of the Mac models, users were free to pick just about any USB-based keyboard and use it with their Macs. Microsoft Basic Keyboard 1.0A Drivers Or SoftwareNo special drivers or software were required, although some keyboard manufacturers did make special software for assigning keys to specific Mac functions (more on that a bit later). Making a USB-based Windows keyboard compatible was a pretty simple process; they already were, at least electrically. You could plug in the Windows keyboard and it would, for the most part work, fine with your Mac. The only real issues were the names given to special keys, and where they were physically located on the keyboard layout. Some keyboard software became pretty sophisticated, able to remap keys globally as well as on a per application basis, which is very handy for remapping game controller settings on your favorite keyboard. Microsoft Basic Keyboard 1.0A Bluetooth Supported AcrossWith Bluetooth supported across the entire Mac lineup, Bluetooth wireless keyboards worked quite nicely with Macs; no special Bluetooth dongle was needed. Once again this issue was solved either through the manufacturers providing software to remap the keys, or by producing special Mac compatible versions of their keyboards. This style of keyboard uses a radio transmitter in the keyboard to talk to a receiver, usually located in a dongle that plugs into a USB port. The problem is in the RF dongle and whether the manufacturer has built the dongle to emulate a standard USB keyboard connection; if so, it should work fine with the Mac. If the dongle uses special driver software, youll need a Mac version of the driver software. If you must use an RF keyboard, track down the manufacturer and make sure they have a Mac version of the driver software. This simple remapping lets you correct one of the most common issues associated with using a Windows keyboard with a Mac, and that is the physical location of the Alt and Windows keys. As noted above, the Alt key is the same as the Option key on the Mac, while the Windows key is the same as the Command key. The problem is that on a Windows keyboard, these two keys are swapped in respect to their normal placement on the Mac keyboard. But if youre a long-time Mac user, you may find the location difference constantly trips you up.
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