PDA

View Full Version : Microsoft Wireles Comfort Edition 1.0A Keyboard


Firewalk
01-30-2008, 01:59 AM
Hi All, Has anybody got the media keys to work using this keyboard, ie the play rewind vol + vol -. my keyboard works fine but no media keys.

Thank you for any help

Firewalk

naquaada
01-30-2008, 02:06 AM
The only comfort of a Microsoft wireless comfort edition keyboard is that you don't have to plug a cable when you throw it out the window...
No, it won't work. I have a Logitech Keyboard and I could only have access to the additional keys if I use it on USB. But volume and mute works, that's enough.

Firewalk
01-30-2008, 02:15 AM
True tis a big bulky piece of ...., no biggie though. thanks for your help

Firewalk

Puttabong
01-30-2008, 02:19 AM
Firewalk, if you consider to buy an alternative keyboard, get the wired Apple Keyboard.
I have used many keyboards in the past, and this one is amazingly good.

It gives me the same feeling like using a real Mac, with it attached to my AMD Mac.
I have my Mighty Mouse attached to the right side of the Keyboard, as it has 2 USB Ports.
I use the left one for external harddrives, Nikon Camera, and purposes like that! :)

Also, I really like the special Keys of the Keyboard for a nice workflow.
I am typing very fast, and the flat keys of the Keyboard make me even more flexible.

It's thin, it doesn't take a lot of space, it has USB Ports and it has the flattest keys,
and it's by Apple, hence 100% compatibility with our beloved System. :)

The Design is gorgeous in my opinion.

Greetings

naquaada
01-30-2008, 02:20 AM
I could recommend the Logitech Internet Navigator. It also has the Apple Keys, it's not too big and has an optical mouse. Volume and mute were working out of the box. It costs about 20 Eur on ebay. I have 3 laying around here for spare.

Firewalk
01-30-2008, 02:34 AM
Hi Guys, Dont suppose the wired Apple keyboard works with xp and vista (i still use XP as my home theatre) i triple boot using easybcd so wouldn't want to keep swapping keyboards.
i imagine the logitech one will..thanks for your advice.
what about compatable tv cards DVB-T (i have two Lifeview DVB-T pci cards which i know wont be compatable) any that are or is it just eyetv..

kind regards

Firewalk

Puttabong
01-30-2008, 02:37 AM
Firewalk: It works perfectly with XP and Vista!

Puttabong
01-30-2008, 02:41 AM
Naquaada, I actually also still have one of these, but it's not in use anymore.

I had it a very long time ago, when I used Windows XP!
Actually, If I type on it now, my fingers really feel like having to grasp very deep inside of the Keys to make it type.
And it's huge on my table, I can't deal with that!

Here's a comparison Picture that I just made!

http://www.imagehut.eu/images/91301comparison.jpg

:D

Greetings

naquaada
01-30-2008, 02:41 AM
Firewalk: Are u using a Windows Media Center Remote with Windows? You can also use the Apple Remote with it, if it's a version with IR receiver.

Puttabong: Mine is slightly different, the blue stuff is silver and it's wireless of course. I was never a friend of the apple keyboard optics, especcially the ones from the Macbooks. Maybe if I could test one longer I would change my mind. Very important for me are volume and mute keys.

Firewalk
01-30-2008, 02:42 AM
Puttabong, Cool thanks for the heads up i shall add it to my birthday list..

Firewalk
01-30-2008, 02:43 AM
Hi naquaada, yes i have the mce remote (apple remote already on my birthday list). cheers though..

Firewalk
01-30-2008, 02:45 AM
Puutabong, That pick has made my mind up nice real nice..

naquaada
01-30-2008, 02:46 AM
you need the program Mira http://www.twistedmelon.com to use it. It's not too expensive, but you can control all MacOS programs with it, freely configurable.

Firewalk
01-30-2008, 03:04 AM
naquaada, yes i discovered the mira app already. i stupidly though i could actually use my mce remote. i soon realised it was just the reciever that works. all part of the learning curve having mainly used ms oses and a few linux distro's including ubuntu with beryl then fusion till i found this new toy to play with. Must say having the most fun with Leopard tis a nice system well worth a purchase.

Quick question ? i am mainly a htpc geek (meedio,mediaportal) What is the best htpc app for leopard bar the rather nice Front Row.. i have looked at media central are there any others.

thank you in advance

Firewalk

naquaada
01-30-2008, 04:16 AM
Media Central, that's all what I know... I have a cr*cked version ;) I prefer FrontRow 1.3 from Tiger, have it working on Leo.
I really could recommend you the Apple Remote. It has only 6 keys, you can use it blind. On all other remotes you need several second to find the key you need.

Firewalk
01-31-2008, 08:38 AM
naquaada, Why not just use Front Row thats with Leopard, is the tiger version better?.

laxattack
01-31-2008, 09:41 AM
hey firewalk i have that exact keyboard and i have gotten the media keys and every other extra key to work fine on this keyboard, just use the microsoft drivers for it, then you have to set up what u want those keys to go to, ie. mine is set up for itunes

naquaada
01-31-2008, 03:42 PM
@ Firewalk:

I like FrontRow 1.3 better 'cause it only has 4 options, it's much easier to control. And it looks better in my opinion. Already the startup sequence looks better (see screenshots). The importantst feature is during watching movies: FrontRow 1.3 remembers the last position you stopped a movie. If you start it later, you can select if want to continue or start it from beginning. FrontRow 2.0 starts always from beginning, and it's very annoying to fast forward an two-hour movie if you have only the left 20 minutes to watch. I'm always using FrontRow watching movies, so this function is absolutely neccessary for me.

http://naquaada.na.funpic.de/naq/osx86/pub/shots/frontrow/frontrow1.jpg
http://naquaada.na.funpic.de/naq/osx86/pub/shots/frontrow/frontrow2.jpg
http://naquaada.na.funpic.de/naq/osx86/pub/shots/frontrow/frontrow3.jpg
http://naquaada.na.funpic.de/naq/osx86/pub/shots/frontrow/frontrow4.jpg

A little tip to FrontRow: Problematic is maybe that it uses only uses the 'Movies' folder on your home directory, but I have my movies (nearly 100GB) on my second hard disk. This is simple: Uses Aliases. But you can do more with this: If you have movie files (avi/divx/mpg) you don't need so often that you won't have them on HD, you can burn 'em on DVD, sure. Problematic is, you can't use them with FrontRow from there. So I'm using for every movie DVD always the name 'Media DVD'. You now can also create an Alias to 'Media DVD' and put it into your Movies folder. If there's an DVD with this name in the drive you can access the files with FrontRow, if not the name isn't even listed in it. Works great.

Firewalk
01-31-2008, 09:22 PM
Hi all, thanks for all the advice, im just gonna trash my microsoft k/b and get the mac one Puttabong suggested..

naquaada, with regards to front row, i see,yes your right the startup is much better in 1.3, in theory could i just replace leopard version with tiger or would i need to use my jas 10.4.8 install..thanks for the info on aliases, i am very new to the mac scene so i know very little bar getting it running on my system. i did run the deadmoo image in vmware a few years ago but it wasnt really useable on the system i had then, so i didnt get chance to learn much. i am slowly getting upto speed..

anyway thanks again all

Firewalk

naquaada
02-01-2008, 02:06 AM
you need the other FrontRow version and a little extension called IRKeyboardEmu.kext. That's all.

riangeli
02-01-2008, 03:33 AM
Firewalk:
i downloaded my Microsoft wireless driver for here:

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/DownloadResult.aspx?prod=k_wck&os=mac_mk&lang=en&driverVersion=IntelliType%20Pro%206.2%20for%20Mac

btw: i buy my microsoft wireless USB keyb and mice just for using mac! (full mac compatible)

Firewalk
02-04-2008, 04:01 AM
Hi riangeli, Thank you, i didn't get your first post. installed intellipoint software now all buttons work (nice)..

once again cheers

Firewalk

laxattack
02-04-2008, 12:34 PM
there ya go, sorry i meant to say go to microsoft before to get the drivers since we have the same keyboard

Firewalk
02-05-2008, 12:50 AM
Got the mac keyboard now.. It takes a bit of getting used to, but its real nice..

laxattack
02-05-2008, 04:02 AM
almost got one last night and had to resist

superspud9
02-05-2008, 09:31 AM
i have a saitek eclipse (the first version) and the volume up/down and mute buttons work perefectly

Firewalk
02-07-2008, 02:30 AM
Apple Remote arrived today £7.00 of Ebay brand new with £2.00 postage. i must say its real nice (totally changes the front row experience). i would recommend anybody with MCE remote and IR to give this a go. You also need a copy of Mira to pair the MCE IR rec and apple remote.

Firewalk