Natural Keyboard Pro by Microsoft

The Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro is designed to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injury. The keys are arranged in two separate banks, with each half turned slightly up and outwards. This encourages the user to hold hands, wrists and forearms in a comfortable position.

The keys have a light springy feel with excellent tactile feedback. The keyboard is large, with a pair of USB ports and a built in wrist rest. You should only use this while at rest. When typing, lift your wrists clear of the rest and let your fingers float over the keys tapping lightly. Wrists straight. Use your arms to reach more distant keys rather than stretching your fingers.

This is the kind of advice given in the accompanying "Healthy Computing Guide", which also explains the importance of good posture, workstation layout, regular breaks and general health for preventing injury.

In addition to the Windows key, there are a row of nineteen function buttons across the top of the keyboard. These mostly relate to web browsing, email and multimedia applications. The choice of function keys is, as you would expect, heavily biased towards Microsoft software. However, to be fair, the seven web browsing buttons work equally well with Netscape Navigator as Internet Explorer.

Unfortunately only the two buttons that access My Computer and Calculator can be customised. The last button is marked, appropriately, "sleep".