Thanks for the info, everyone!
The first split keyboard I used was the MS Natural. I didn’t like it nearly as well as the one I’ve got now. Since the MS 4000 is just a newer version, I suspect I wouldn’t be thrilled with it either.
I really don’t care about the various extra function buttons. I’ve got a whole row at the top of my keyboard now that I never use. Ever so often I look through and go, wow, I forgot that was there! But I never remember it again, so it’s useless.
I do type both a lot of things with alpha-numeric combos (hence the issue with the wrong split on the top numeral set), and a lot of number-only entry (hence the desire for a keypad).
Silver Tyger Girl, you rock! I’d tried Froogling and hadn’t come up with anything! Thanks!
Superfluous Parentheses, thanks for the geekhack site. I’ve been looking for reviews but hadn’t found much besides the MS stuff.
Yeh, I’ve seen those Goldtouch keyboards. It’d be more like $180 to get it with the keypad. I’m just not willing to spring that much for something I don’t know if I’ll like. I’ll have to look around the forum at the used ones. It would be kinda neat to have a separate keypad - I’m actually ambidextrous on a keypad, so a mobile pad would be handy [heh].
That uTRON looks pretty cool. I really like the look of the vertical keyboards. But again, way too much dinero for something I can’t try out first.
PunditLisa, thanks, I’ll take a look at that one. Does it have the [6] key on the left or right side of the split? (Over the [T] or the [Y]?) In the pic, it looks like it’s on the left, but I can’t tell for sure.
BigT, it’s not the entire set of keys split wrong, just the numerals above the letters.
I do not know why they split the numerals wrong. Surely in typing/computer classes, they still teach typing the [6] with the right forefinger? Most of the boards I’ve seen, they extend the [7] key to make up the space where the [6] should be. It’s just stupid.