Customer Reviews

Microsoft Office Keyboard (E17-00111)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Good quality, cheap if you buy it right. Amazon's prices fluctuate wildly so make sure you're buying it right. For major office users, it is great. I have 2. For others, suggest looking at the multimedia or other makes.

I love the clipboard keys (cut, copy,& paste keys.) Use them all the time. My problem is that the right side shift key started to "stick" about a year after I bought it. Anyone else out there had the same problem?

Unusual positioning of home, delete, end, page up, & page down keys, but you will get used to them as long as you don't use another keyboards elsewhere. The placement of "insert" key is interesting. (It is above your number keys.) Keyboard is large. So check your space before you buy it.

I'm a computer tech and graphic designer. This is a great keyboard. I use my keyboard more than my mouse and I love the fact that some of the commands I use often are now one button commands instead of two or three key commands. I am left handed and love the left side extension that has the cut, copy, paste buttons as well as the application, scroll and forward and back keys. I agree with one of the other reviewers, this is a large keyboard. I had no problem fitting it into my keyboard area but you may want to check to see if it will fit yours before you purchase it. Right or left handed this is a wonderful keyboard whether you are more of a keyboard person or a mouse person. I highly recommend this item.

I have had this keyboard for 4.5 years and love it. However, it does not have the extended functionality with newer versions of the IntelliType software. I have had to use v.2.1 of IntelliType and currently, the IntelliType software is up to v.6+. Windows Vista correctly recognizes the keyboard, but IntelliType 2.1 will not install, so none of the non-standard keys which make this keyboard great are available/usable.

None of the available later versions of IntelliType list this keyboard as one of the supported keyboards. I am unsure why this keyboard never made it big, but I have enjoyed it immensely. I would have given it 5 stars if the newer software supported the keyboard's extensive and well-placed functional keys.

Now the process of finding a new keyboard so I can use Vista...

...I've ever used. There is perhaps one characteristic to this keyboard that makes it better than most: It is one of the few out there with a relatively firm tactile key response. With the exception of the old IBM PC keyboards from the 80s, I have never typed faster than with this MS Office keyboard.

Yes, I can relate to some of the complaints other reviewers have posted here, but they weren't so annoying to me. The left-hand scroll wheel and Fwd/Back buttons were particularly handy. I still have this keyboard, though I don't use it anymore because I needed something with audio control. I replaced it with the Microsoft Wireless Desktop Pro Elite, and while it's a good keyboard, it doesn't have quite the same tacticle feel that my old Office keyboard has. Seems the public likes mushy keyboards. Bring back the old "click" IBM keyboards, and I'd buy one tomorrow.

The other reviewer is correct; the Office Keyboard is no longer manufactured by MS and is thus why it's so inexpensive. But if you want a great typing keyboard with excellent control for Web browsing, etc., you won't go wrong spending the $20. Just don't expect all its other bells/whistles to be up with the latest and greatest.

Key features:

SCROLL WHEEL: Once you start using the scroll wheel (on the left side) you won't be able to work without it! It releaves alot of stress on the mouse hand for sure. My car-pool tunnel doesn't bother me anymore.

FORWARD/BACK KEYS: Browsing the internet is much easier with these keys. No more hunting for the back arrow with the mouse. Anytime I can do something without the mouse I like it.

OFFICE SHORTCUTS: Honestly, the one I use the most is Mail. I have the Mail key reprogrammed to create a new mail message. So I don't have to find the email program, then click new mail message. One button access to new email!

COMPLAINTS: My one complaint is the way they arranged the key group above the arrow keys (home, page up, page down, delate). This is a non-standard way to arrange the keys so it take a bit of getting used to. But now I have one at home and at work so I don't have to switch back and forth.

The Microsoft office keyboard is one of the nicest I have ever used. When I met and married my husband he already had a microsoft office keyboard on his computer and as soon as he bought me my own pc I told him I wanted that keyboard! He went to OfficeMax and bought me a brand new one for 30 dollars at the time and we never had the first problem or complaint with it. We had numerous spills, cigerette ashes and common dust get into it and my hubby would simply pop the keys out of it and take q-tips and a wash rag and some alcohol and clean them and the key tray about every six months and then put the keys back on and it would shine like new and never failed to function. About a year ago we lost both to a house fire and the first thing we did when we got the insurance check was to go onto Amazon where we found one for twenty five dollars and bought it and found a second one a week later on ebay for 22.00. But that was a long five days arguing which of us was going to get that first keyboard when it came in the mail! We had a real tug of war with it. Don't tell me the f keys don't function. Don't use the software. I can't believe that. There has never been a problem with these FOUR keyboards. Pre Fire or After Fire. In fact I didn't know it till just recently. My husband has since found six more cheap on ebay and they are in a box in the garage now. His explaination when I found them. "Their discontinued. I don't want us to not have one if and when we wear them out. So I'm buying em when I can to make sure we will always have them...." Sounds Good To Me.....

This is a great keyboard. Non-standard layout that some complain about is really an improvement for most of us (OK, maybe not the person looking for an equal sign on the Num Pad). But the left-handed cut-copy-paste and back-forward, and application switching buttons are positively addicting. The scroll wheel is nice, too, but many modern mice have a multifunctional wheel that does as well.

Driver problems? I am typing on this lkeyboard in March 2010 on Windows 7. Yes, the best features of this keyboard still work fine - except for the scroll wheel (more on that in a moment). Just download the free Microsoft IntelliType v7 driver, and choose the "Wireless Elite Desktop Keyboard". Everything works! And the new driver lets you reassign every special key, and save 'banks' of settings for rapid changing (e.g., word processing, gaming, spreadsheets). Really an improvement over the original driver that came with this keyboard way back when...

This old keyboard is now a highly sought classic! Discontinued by MS (why??), it now sells for more used than I paid new. Luckily I bought an extra and it's still new in the box, waiting for the day I wear out this one.

Oh, about the scroll wheel... If that is really important, there is a very nice AutoHotKey script that returns the functionality. But you must use a USB-to-PS/2 converter (one came with the keyboard) and plug into a PS/2 port for it to work. Details at [...]. You can find AutoHotKey easily at [...] - it's free!

Cheers!

Why in the name of God has Microsoft discontinued this thing? It's awesome!

If you spend 20 or more hours a week looking at Office Applications, especially data manipulation, this is the keyboard for you.

Good news : Great keyboard with an extensive range of fully customizable buttons (not your usual A, B or C options; you can really set buttons to do just about anything). Scroll wheel is a priceless feature; much more practical than the mouse one in most cases. Comfortable to use and, well, good looking.

Bad news : You can't buy this (at least, not new). For some reason I'm not informed of, Microsoft discontinued this product in mid XP days, not only leaving a good base of happy MS Office Keyboard users stuck with an old IntelliType driver version, but effectively cutting us out of using this keyboard at it's full potential in Vista.

A sad decision on Microsoft part, but many of us are still looking for a way to make this great keyboard work fully in Vista.