Keyboards are important — so important that many people won’t “work” on their iPads without real keys to type on. No one complained when desktop mice gave way to laptop trackpads, or when trackpads evolved into tablet touchscreens, but the switch from physical to virtual keyboards has been met with plenty of resistance specifically because virtual keyboards offer no resistance. There’s something about the responsive, up and down movement of actual keys, known as “travel,” that people clearly prefer over tapping on completely flat glass. I’ve tested a lot of keyboards, and since I rely upon them professionally every day, I have some strong opinions as to the best options for different types of Mac and iPad users. You might be surprised by my advice, as it bucks a couple of Apple’s trends (“smaller!” “thinner!”), but if you’re like me, you’ll be a much happier typist if you “think different” on this topic than the folks in Cupertino Are You Better Off With A Wired Or Wireless Keyboard? Over the past five years, wireless keyboards have become the default choice for both Mac and iPad users.

Apple’s 2010-vintage never took off, while third-party iPad Bluetooth keyboards flourished. On the Mac side, Apple made its $69 Bluetooth-based the standard pack-in for iMacs in late 2009, bringing its desktop computers and MacBook laptops into harmony with nearly identical designs. As you can see above, the Wireless and MacBook keyboards are so similar (except for key color) that you can move from one to the other without any effort. Whether you’re using an iPad or a Mac, the Apple Wireless Keyboard is a great keyboard. But it does have one major issue, which is particularly annoying if you’re using it all day long with your work computer. That’s battery life. The current version of the Wireless Keyboard requires two AA batteries, down from three in the original model.

But even if you’re using the official with Apple-branded rechargeable batteries, you can expect to see the “Keyboard Batteries Low” warning pop up on your screen often, becoming even more frequent as the batteries age. No third-party solution (including Mobee’s well-intentioned and ) truly fixes this problem; the best workaround I’ve found is Mobee’s (shown below), which lets you permanently connect a micro-USB cable to the Wireless Keyboard for power. It’s not ideal, but it worked for me for a while. My first piece of advice is to seriously consider how you plan to use your Mac’s or iPad’s keyboard. If it’s going to be sitting on the same desk all the time, and used with the same Apple device — particularly a Mac — you may well be better off with a wired keyboard that doesn’t require batteries and doesn’t compromise your typing comfort in any way. But if you plan to move your keyboard around a lot, or really hate having a wire connected to your Mac or iPad, a portable wireless keyboard will probably be a better option for you. Both types of keyboards are discussed below. Wired Mac Keyboards The Mac keyboard I personally use is something different: (above), which can currently be had for.

Although I removed it from my applications folder and made sure that I downloaded (and was installing) the correct version (I tried both Google Chrome 22.0.1229.91 (Beta) and then Google Chrome 20.0.1132.47 I kept getting a message telling me that the version I had installed was not compatible with my architecture. I found the links below, which seemed to indicate that there were lots of older versions to choose from. Hi karens I'm in the same boat - I'm running OSX 10.5.8 on an old G5 (intel based). (And I can confirm that the.app file I have in my Applications folder is 20.0.1132.47). However, I had a problem (mods, I hope that this doesn't constitute a thread hijack - if you feel it does, please split this off to a new thread) in that I had unthinkingly already downloaded the current version of Chrome and installed it. Mac os x download.

Made from a solid piece of aluminum with plastic keys, it’s obviously wider than the Wireless Keyboard, but not as deep, and uses USB 2.0 rather than Bluetooth to connect to your Mac. The main keys are in the same places as the Wireless Keyboard’s, but the wired version gives the arrow keys more breathing room while adding dedicated page up, page down, and other buttons, most notably a full numeric keypad. While I personally don’t use the extra keys all that often, the keypad is handy during tax season and for using the Mac’s Calculator app. The Wired Keyboard with Numeric Keypad is the only USB keyboard Apple currently makes. In 2009, it briefly introduced a version without the numeric keypad that was alternately called the or the (shown above).

A lot of cheap PC wireless keyboards and mice use special Windows only drives and are non-standard. But then some others come with USB dongles that emulate a usb k/b and mouse. All Apple wireless K/B and mice are Blue Tooth.

But it was oddly discontinued very quickly, disappearing from Apple’s lineup in late 2010, and is now only available online at a fairly steep premium. Apple’s Wired Keyboards hide a useful feature underneath their keys: twin USB ports. There’s one on each side, and they can be used to connect certain USB accessories as needed. Unfortunately, the ports don’t work properly with iPhones or iPads, which really should be plugged directly into your Mac for charging. It’s been years since I’ve relied upon keyboard-mounted USB ports for anything, but Apple’s wired keyboards have included them for wired mice, flash drives, and other low-power peripherals. This is how Apple previously implemented USB ports in its, which weighed around 2 pounds on its own. The company hasn’t sold a typing surface anywhere near as large or as heavy as this in many years, and is currently testing an even thinner keyboard with noticeably less key travel in the.