Customized Keyboards ... VERY Cool Indeed
~~Linda F.
Johnson, Linda's Computer Stop
Do you get frustrated because every program has different keyboard
shortcuts and you can never remember them all?
Are there programs or websites that you use a lot and you would like
one button keyboard shortcuts that take you there instantly?
Are you using cardboard or plastic overlays on your keyboard that
show you which key does what in a particular program and those overlays
keep sliding all over the place?
Well, if your answer to ANY of these questions is "yes" have I found a
treat for YOU!!
About a month ago, a very nice man named Oren Kramer sent me an email and
asked if I would like to try out his Excel Keyboard. Well, I had
actually been looking at my beatup keyboard with the faded keys and was
thinking it was time to replace it, so I figured "why not?" So, Oren
sent me this REALLY cool keyboard. It is basically a plain black base
which has changeable keyboards that easily snap into place on top of it.
Oren sent me the base and the Excel snap-on, but there are many more for
different programs and games. If you have the Flash viewer installed on your computer,
click below to see a little
movie that shows how they snap on:
Besides Excel, there are keyboard snap-ons for programs like Word,
Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Flash, as well as keyboards for many popular
games like Age of Mythology and Neverwinter Nights, and even a Crossfire
keyboard that works with just about any action/shooting game.
When you buy
the base, it comes with the Windows/Internet Explorer snap-on, so you can
use it as-is, or order snap-ons for the particular programs you use most.
I've found that I can use the Excel snap-on even when I'm not in Excel.
As a matter of fact, I'm using it to type this article right now. When
using the snap-on within the program it was made for, every key on the
keyboard is clearly labelled to tell you what it does. When Excel is
not the active window, the keyboard just works like a regular keyboard.
Along with all the
special keys built into the snap-ons that are linked to keyboard shortcuts
within that program, you can use the options to customize all the F keys
across the top of your keyboard, and there are pre-programmed multimedia
keys for easy access to Windows media player ... and 10 special keys on the
base keyboard that you can
program to open any file, folder, program, or web page of your choice.
I can turn on my computer and have Outlook, my website inside FrontPage,
media player playing my favorite music, and my internet home page opened in
about five seconds.
And, I am so sick of having to replace my keyboard
every time one or two keys go bad. Now, if that should happen, I won't
EVER have to replace my keyboard ... I can simply get a new snap-on, if
needed. And the snap-on is so easy to clean...just remove it from the
base and shake all the dirt out of it.
I love my new Excel Keyboard. And, I'm patiently waiting for
my new Crossfire keyboard, which I purchased, since I can never remember which keys I have to
use to shoot, duck, jump, etc. when I'm playing action games, and therefore,
I always die :-(
Want more
info? Go to the Ideazon Web Store
and see what they have to offer.
Linda Johnson is a
college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office Programs, as well
as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also teaches online distance
learning classes in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word at
Eclectic Academy. She has worked helpdesk and teaches
and lectures at many local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support this
newsletter by checking out Linda's eBooks, MS Word MAGIC!, Book
I: Fonts, Fun & Formats and Book
II: Table Wizardry,
How
To Get Started As a Software Trainer, and
her newest series of MSOffice
eBook Tutorials and CD
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