I just called Apple and because I need the number pad I will have to
go with the wired aluminum keyboard. At least it saves me $30 bucks
but I have to deal with a cord. Thanks for your input.
On Jan 4, 2008, at 10:37 AM, Cheryl Homiak wrote:
I have the new aluminum bluetooth keyboard. I like it very much but
there are a couple of things I should probably mention.
1. It does not have function keys 13-16 so if you have anything
you've assigned to those keys you will have to reassign. I spent
forever on the phone with Apple about this yesterday because they
kept trying to tell me how to adjust brightness, which apparently
was a function of the f13-14 keys on the old keyboards, when what I
wanted to know was whether there was a way to use those function
keys not whether there was a work-around for certain functions Apple
had assigned to them. We finally determined that f13-16 just plain
aren't doable on these keyboards.
2. There is no numeric keypad so you have to use the fn key. I'm
trying to decide whether this means one shouldn't bother programming
the numerickeypad for voiceover, since you end up having to use both
hands just as you would with vokeys. Of course the keyboard is a lot
smaller so maybe you could do more with one hand but I haven't tried
to develop this yet. I'd be interested in what other people with the
aluminum keyboard are doing about this.
3. I had initial trouble pairing and I don't know why. It seems
there must be some kind of trick as to where you are with the
cursors on the original keyboard when you do your entry with the
bluetooth keyboard; I just know it took me a lot more trials to pair
with the aluminum than with the older bluetooth keyboards.
All that having been said, I like the touch and I like the size and
I like the lighter weight and i like not having that huge battery
compartment.
