14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced its plan to release a wireless mouse and keyboard specifically designed to work with Apple Macs. This keyboard and mouse are expected to ship as a package this summer for around $99.95.
This is the first time that the company ships any non-software product especially designed for the Mac, and it only serves to further confound Microsoft's position on Apple's computers. While they have promised to keep supporting the Mac version of Office, they are slowly pulling the plug from all other Microsoft Mac software except MSN Messenger, and thinning down their Macintosh Business Unit department.
Because they could not obtain permission to use the Apple logo on the Command key that is heavily used for the vast majority of keyboard shortcuts on a Mac, the Microsoft keyboard will instead use a clover. Other than the aesthetic differences, the key will perform the same functions.
It would seem that the reason for coming out with this keyboard is the lack of certain features that are found on Apple keyboards but on Microsoft's keyboards that are cross-compatible on both platforms, such as an 'Eject' key. While true that the eject key is missing from such keyboards, holding the F12 on any USB keyboard will eject the CD or DVD currently in the drive, a function that has been present in OS X for many, many years now. Furthermore, the software that comes with Microsoft keyboards allows the remapping of any of the multimedia buttons to the 'Eject' function.
Design-wise, the keyboard will feature a curvy ergonomic design that is intended to be a more natural fit for the hand, and the mouse will feature Microsoft's 'high-definition laser technology" which the company claims is more accurate than other competing products.