Chapter 18: Keyboards, Mice, and Pointing Devices^455
Windows Keyboards
The current standard for keyboard layout is the Windows keyboard that features 104 keys.
The three keys added to the 101-key design are the Windows and Context menu keys
discussed earlier in the chapter. Figure 18-13 shows the Windows keyboard.
Natural and Ergonomic Keyboards
Flat keyboards are easy to manufacture and package, but they can be hard on the user,
particularly if the user is entering data for extended periods. In an attempt to help relieve
some of the stress caused by the position a user’s hands and wrists must be in to use the
standard keyboard, and to prevent repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome,
newer keyboard designs reshape the keyboard and place their keys so that the user’s
hands are in a more natural, or ergonomic, position. Figure 18-14 shows a sample of these
natural keyboards.
Portable PC Keyboards
Notebook computers, by design and definition, must be smaller than normal keyboards.
Thus, some adjustments must be made in terms of key arrangement, layout, and even
functiontofitallofthekeysusersrequire.Typically,thenotebookPCisrunningthesame
software the user has on their deskto pcom puter. This means that the same keys used by
theapplicationsoftwaremustbeavailableonbothPCs,sothenotebookPCmanufacturer
is faced with a size and space problem. The result is that notebook PC keyboards are
small and cramped, the keys are more closely placed, and the arrangement of the keys,
Figure 18-13. The 104-key Windows keyboard