More Microsoft Fingers In Hardware Pie
The Age
Wednesday September 7, 1994
San Francisco.
MAKING its second foray into the computer hardware business, Microsoft Corp. will begin shipping a keyboard this week with a suggested retail price of $US99.
Microsoft said the keyboard would be broadly available through computer retailers in the United States in early October.
The software giant already sells a mouse, which was initially a frequently needed add-on to run its Windows program; now most personal computers come with a mouse. Microsoft said the new keyboard was the result of 18 months of ergonomic and ``usability" testing.
Microsoft's keyboard requires Windows software, and it will not work with Apple Computer Inc's Macintosh, which can only run Windows using a special program.
The Microsoft `Natural Keyboard' has 104 keys, three more than standard personal computer keyboards, and will provide short cuts to Microsoft's Windows software.
The move reflects Microsoft's desire to expand into other areas of the computer business, and it encourages customers to use those products that take advantage of the keyboard's features, especially Windows software.
While the keyboard market has been fiercely competitive, with thin profit margins reflecting the commodity-like nature of the product, concerns about ergonomics and repetitive stress injury are prompting companies to come out with different types of products.
The ability to offer short-cut keys that tap into its operating systems and applications gives Microsoft an advantage, as does its powerful brand name and influence with distributors and retailers of computer products.
Two of the Microsoft keyboard's keys work with Task Manager, a feature of the coming version of Windows, code-named Chicago (see page 26).
One key brings up the Task Manager, which offers icons and descriptions of active applications under the new Windows software, while the second key lets users switch to any active application.
The third key is intended to work with short cuts planned for future applications like word processors and spreadsheets.
The Microsoft keyboard's keypads are split and rotated outward to encourage a straight wrist position, while the width and angle of the keyboard also help users keep their shoulders straight and arms relaxed while typing, the company said.
The keyboard has a front edge that can be adjusted to accommodate a variety of desk and chair heights and a built-in palm rest.
Microsoft collaborated with Key Tronic Corp, the largest independent maker of keyboards, to manufacture the new keyboard.
``This collaboration brings our manufacturing expertise together with Microsoft's industrial design and ergonomic experience," said Stanley Hiller, Key Tronic's chief executive.
Several leading computer manufacturers, including Dell Computer Corp.
and Zenith Data Systems Corp., will offer the Microsoft keyboard with their machines this autumn, he said. -- New York Times
© 1994 The Age