Home > Consumer Reviews > Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop for Mac-Silver ( 65U-00001 )

The mouse is great, very sensitive. It's nice to use in Photoshop. The five programable buttons work well and are easy to program.
The keyboard works fine. I like the zoom slide and calculator button. This keyboard has more features than I am likely to use, but I am a gadget junkie.
The only things I have a beef about are lack of a light on the caps lock key, (I often hunt and peck and I sometimes type all caps). I realize a cap lock indicator would be a battery drain. Occasionaly, a window pops up to tell me the mouse is out of range or low on power. When I check the mouse application, all is well. My last complaint is a matter of taste... I am tired of silver plastic. It's the fake woodgrain of the new century. It's about as tasteful as Courtney Love at the Pope's ordination.
The keys are worse than the silver board. They are a translucent grey. Roboturd grey? I am happy with the functionality of this keyboard but it makes me think of the ugly kid down the street.

This is an excellent keyboard and mouse combo. The keyboard has an ergonomic curved typing surface that is far easier to use than a straight across keyboard. The mouse tracks like a laser, because it is a laser mouse. I am more than pleased with this set. I am using it on a 20" Intel Duo iMac and it works great.

I just returned my purchase and here's why:

1. The CD could not be read by my Mac, or my PC or my linux machine. I had to download and install the software from Microsoft's site.
2. One of the rubber "feet" was missing so the keyboard slid as I typed.
3. Mouse clicks took seconds to register. I'd click on a dock icon and wait 2-3 seconds before the click was acknowledged and the application started. (Same for clicking on a hyperlink, menu, close button etc.)
4. Mouse signal strength fluctuated between 2-5 "bars" even though I placed the base unit right next to the mouse. When 2 bars, mouse movement was shakey. When moving the mouse across the screen, it would disappear only to show up a few inches away.
5. Vertical scrolling was inconsistent. There is no physical feedback from the wheel that would allow me to determine how fast to turn the wheel to achieve the desired scroll amount on the screen.

Keep the box, you'll need it when you decide to return it.

This is a flat keyboard with the keys angled so that the wrists are not bent at odd angles to the body. (I wanted the split keyboard with the arch to allow the hands to fall naturally, but that model is not 'keyed' for Mac.)
This is a compromise and the improvement in comfort is slight compared to the Mac's keyboard.
Most of the 'Mac specific' buttons actually do what they are supposed to. Exceptions: Zoom only magnifies text and only in some programs, where the Mac's zoom magnifies the entire screen, I miss that feature. (Mac's zoom is availed by pressing a combo of three keys, that combo does not achieve the zoom on this keyboard) I was not able to get the 'expose' button to work on this mouse, and even if it did, it is in an uncomfortable position. Other than that, the mouse is comfortably arranged.
The issues with signal strength that others are having are present in this keyboard and mouse. The most annoying part is the frequent window telling me the signal strength is low....etc, etc. From day one, I have never had more than two bars out of five worth of signal strength, regardless of how close the keyboard/mouse is. Even though the signal strength indicates 'low', the keyboard and mouse function fairly well.
The convenience of wireless is outweighed by the signal issues and lack of USB ports. Next time I spill the coffee on the keyboard, I will get a wired one and probably stick with Apple's. Which reminds me, the software has to be installed before the keyboard is connected, and you need a keyboard to do that.... usually. Apple Care helped me around that.
Pros:
Keys arranged in a curve.
Padded palm rest
Extra keys to program in favorites
No wires
Cons:
Signal strength issues
Pop-up warning about signal strength
Inadequate zoom tool
One mouse button 99% useless for me
Silver colored plastic
No wires (it is a pro and a con)

This is Microsoft's revenge on Mac users.

There are so many things wrong with this keyboard and mouse.
1. The quality is bad. Really bad.
2. An alert to tell you the keyboard and mouse are out of range pops up, even when the receiver is resting on the keys themselves.
3. After 2 days all the extra buttons ceased working.
4. After 1 day the mouse stopped working alltogether.
5. There is no feedback from the scroll wheel. You can't tell how fast you're moving it.
6. The keys come already pre-stuck for you. Hit the side of the space bar and it won't depress.
7. The keys are rattly and very noisy. Like an old PC keyboard.
8. The enlarge and the eject keys do not work on a MacBook Pro.
9. Now after 5 days, the media buttons stopped working. A restart fixes it temporarily.
10. The Zoom slider has never done anything

Just rescued the box from the garbage. It's going back!