Windows keyboards don't always 'map' properly with OS X, nor do Apple keyboards with Windows. I know that doesn't help a whole lot, but it's why I never use anything but Mac keyboards with Macs and Windows keyboards with my PCs. Ergonomic keyboards are one area where there aren't many Mac options. According to some studies, ergonomic keyboard designs, such as the Microsoft Natural line, have been associated with significant reduction of carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. Rest your wrists against the plush palm rest in a relaxed, natural angle with this keyboard’s curved key bed, ergonomic arc, and reversed slope. Setting Up Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard on Mac (Sierra) Problem. OSX doesn’t recognize the Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard as a keyboard out of the box. It pairs, and you can type, but you can’t remap the command keys.

At Kinesis, we love our iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks. But we also recognize that Apple’s design philosophy prioritizes the look of the device over its ergonomic functionality.

Many Apple users look to Kinesis to provide professional-grade ergonomic keyboards that look great, but also work well with a wide array of Apple devices. We have keyboards designed specifically for Mac operating systems and keyboards that can be conveniently toggled to Mac mode.

Freestyle2 Blue for Mac

Our best-selling ergonomic keyboard for Mac users is the wireless Freestyle2 Blue for Mac. The Freestyle2 Blue for Mac takes our popular Freestyle split design and updates it specifically for Apple users.

Nine driverless hotkeys provide easy shortcuts for commonly used key combos like cut, copy, and paste. The top function row features all the handy shortcuts you would expect to find on the newest Apple keyboards: Esc/force quit, Brightness, Exposé, Dashboard, Play/Pause, Volume, Dock, Eject, and Off/Sleep. *

With our Multichannel Bluetooth technology, you can pair the Freestyle2 Blue for Mac with any Mac desktop system, Mac notebook, iPad, and iPhone, even your Apple Watch. Pair the keyboard with up to 3 Bluetooth-enabled devices (range of ~30 feet) and instantly switch between them with the touch of a button. The Freestyle2 Blue battery is designed to last 4-6 months on a single charge so it’s great at home, in the office, and on the road.

Enjoy all the ergonomic benefits from the Freestyle2 line with your Mac including splaying with the optional pivot tether, a choice of up to either 9” or 20” separation, and available tenting of 5, 10 or 15 degrees using the V3 or VIP3 lifter accessories. Add Palm Supports and cushioned Palm Pads for the ultimate in typing comfort.

Note: Software engineers and others who require regular access to the standard F keys may prefer the USB model because on the Bluetooth model the Fn key must be held down to access F1-F12.

Freestyle2 for Mac (USB)

The Freestyle2 for Mac USB keyboard features the same great ergonomic design and layout as the Bluetooth version but uses a 6 foot USB cable for connecting to most Mac desktops and laptops.

The USB version also includes an additional 2-port USB hub on the keyboard which is especially convenient for connecting a mouse or headphones if your Mac only has a single USB port.

Note: 2016 and newer MacBook Pro notebooks have a single USB-C port which requires an adapter to use with any conventional USB keyboard. Kinesis recommends the Freestyle2 Blue for Mac for individuals looking to use an external keyboard with a newer MacBook.

Advantage2

The Advantage2 is Kinesis’ flagship ergonomic keyboard. It features an incredible array of ergonomic features designed to address the major risk factors for repetitive strain injuries associated with typing. It also features the all-new SmartSet Programming Engine designed to let you build custom keyboard layouts by remapping keys and recording powerful macros.

Unlike the Freestyle2 family of keyboards, all Advantage2 keyboard models are universally compatible with both Mac and PC operating systems. For Mac users, the Advantage2 can be switched into the Mac Thumb Key Mode which enables the Command, Control and Alt Option key functions synonymous with Mac keyboards. We even include 4 extra Mac keycaps for your convenience.

Choose from one of the five models of Advantage2, or build your own with the new Signature Series program. The only differences are the key cap legends (QWERTY or QWERTY-DVORAK dual legend), the key switches (Cherry MX Quiet Red or Cherry MX Brown), and top case styling.

Aluminum MacBook and iMac users will want to check out the Advantage2 Silver which is designed to match the design cues of those stylish computers. All Advantage2 keyboards are USB so they require a Mac with an available USB port.

Savant Elite2 Foot Switches

Savant Elite2 USB foot switches are designed to work on both Mac and PC operating systems because they use a simple .txt configuration file to store the pedal’s programming commands. For Mac foot switch users, we have developed a Mac-specific SmartSet Programming App making programming custom actions for the foot pedal quick and easy from any Mac computer. Simply toggle the pedal to Program Mode using the switch on the underside of the foot pedal, and then launch the Mac version of the SmartSet App.

No installation or special drivers are required and all custom actions are saved directly to the pedal.

DXT2

Our popular “precision grip” DXT2 vertical mouse is compatible with Mac Operating Systems 10.4 and newer. Intuitive hand positioning (i.e. similar to holding a pen) allows the DXT2 to fit nearly any hand size (very small to very large) while providing a high degree of accuracy from a relaxed posture all with a feather-light touch.

Choose from a wired USB model or a wireless model that uses an RF dongle for connection to one of your Mac’s available full-size USB ports.

Evoluent

The Evoluent VerticalMouse 4 has a patented shape that supports your hand in a relaxed handshake position, yet requires no adaptation period. The Evoluent comes in two sizes, Regular and Small. The Evoluent is compatible with Mac Operating Systems but requires the installation of a downloadable driver to enable programming of the 6 programmable buttons on a Mac.

Choose from a wired USB model or a wireless model that uses an RF dongle to connect to one of your Mac’s available USB ports.

By David Röthlisberger. Comments welcome at david@rothlis.net.

Last updated 4 Oct 2011. This article is Creative Commons licensed.

The Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 doesn’t feel very “Mac-like”, at least not out-of-the-box. Read on for helpful settings to improve the experience, and a brief review of the keyboard at the end.

If your kernel panics, upgrade the drivers

OS X kernel panic

On Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), the IntelliType Pro 8.0 drivers caused me kernel panics at least once a day.

The recent 8.2 driversdon’t cause kernel panics on Lion (OS X 10.7). I haven’t tested them on Snow Leopard, but I assume it is the new drivers, rather than the new Operating System, that contain the fix. Readers have reported that the older 7.1 drivers work well with Snow Leopard (note that the 7.1 drivers say they are for the older Natural Keyboard Pro, but they also work for this newer keyboard). Let me know if you have tested other combinations of driver/OS versions.

Or don't use the Microsoft drivers at all

Ironically, the Microsoft drivers stop OS X from recognising the keyboard for what it is! Without the drivers, OS X reports “Natural® Ergonomic Keyboard 4000”; with the IntelliType drivers, it’s a mere “Keyboard”.

With IntelliType drivers

As the last straw, if you remap your Caps Lock key to Control via Apple’s Keyboard preference pane, with the Microsoft drivers installed the remapping will be lost every time you restart.

The following table should help you decide whether you want the Microsoft drivers. More detailed explanations follow.

How to uninstall the Microsoft drivers

The IntelliType UnInstaller is in the Utilities sub-folder of your Applications folder. (If you installed the IntelliPoint mouse drivers, which were bundled in the same installer, the corresponding UnInstaller is in the same location.)

If you don’t want to run the uninstallers, you can remove the following manually:

• /System/Library/Extensions/MicrosoftKeyboard.kext

• /System/Library/Extensions/MicrosoftMouse.kext (if you also installed the IntelliPoint drivers)

• /Library/Keyboard Layouts/Microsoft Keyboards.bundle

• and the Microsoft Keyboard preference pane (open System Preferences, and right-click the Microsoft Keyboard icon, or drag it off the window in a puff of smoke).

Swap the Alt and Windows keys

Microsoft Natural modifier keys

The Windows key is automatically treated as Command (⌘), but on Apple keyboards the Command key is next to the spacebar, with Option (Alt) the next key out. On the Microsoft keyboard this is reversed, and the IntelliType drivers helpfully have a setting to reverse these two keys; luckily OS X also has this functionality built in.

It’s under the Modifier Keys button of the Keyboard System Preferences pane.

Simply map Option to Command, and vice-versa. These settings are per-keyboard, so you won’t mess up your MacBook’s built-in keyboard.

While you’re here you can also map your Caps Lock to Control, if you so wish.

Use the Application key as a Command or Option key

Application key

To the right of the spacebar, this keyboard has an “Application” (or Context Menu) key instead of a Windows key. The IntelliType drivers include a setting to treat this key as Command, but OS X has no such setting.

Apple’s customizable XML keylayouts only allow mapping key codes to output characters, but not changing or adding modifier keys. Graphical interfaces built on top of this mechanism, such as Ukelele, have the same limitations. You’ll need the open-source KeyRemap4MacBook.

In spite of its name, KeyRemap4MacBook works on any Mac (with OS X 10.4 or later). It doesn’t allow arbitrary key mappings, but, in the best open-source tradition, it does have zillions of settings. The one you want is under “For PC Users” » “Change PC Application Key” » “Application Key to Option_L” (i.e. left-option, not option+“L”). What you set here doesn’t seem to be affected by OS X’s own modifier keys remapping.

Media keys

The keyboard’s mute, volume and play/pause keys all work out of the box, no IntelliType required. There are no keys for previous/next song.

(Without the Microsoft drivers) None of the remaining media keys work (web/home, search, mail, calculator, “favorites” 1 through 5, back and forward, and the zoom slider).

Function keys

The Function keys (F1, etc) behave as such (as opposed to brightness, volume, etc), regardless of what you set in the Keyboard preference pane. If you press “F Lock” the F keys simply do nothing. Luckily the F Lock remembers its setting across reboots.

There is no Fn modifier key as on the Mac keyboards.

KeyRemap4MacBook allows you to map the F keys to the usual brightness, volume, etc. but then you’d lose the normal F keys.

Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down

On the Mac OS there is no such thing as an Insert/Overwrite toggle (even on Apple’s extended keyboard there is no Insert key). So unsurprisingly, the Insert key does nothing.

Delete works. Page-Up and -Down work. Home and End scroll to the top and bottom of the window instead of moving the cursor to the beginning or end of the line (but this is consistent with the behaviour of Apple keyboards) except in Microsoft Office, where Home and End behave as on the PC.

Numeric keypad

Num Lock doesn’t work, but fortunately it is stuck in the numeric mode.

Final thoughts

I initially liked this keyboard: The split and tenting angles provide a comfortable resting position, it has Command, Option and Control keys for both hands, and the price is quite reasonable.

But after several months, I have stopped using this keyboard. It’s just too large! Keys like Return, Backspace, and Escape are quite far away from the home position. I don’t really need a numeric keypad (it forces the mouse that much further away). The keys are loud (especially the clunky spacebar) and the key travel distance (and the force required to press them) is more than I’d like.

These are of course quite personal opinions, and this keyboard could be just perfect for someone else. As a computer programmer I do a lot of typing, so I try to optimise for ergonomics.

Best Wireless Keyboard For Mac

Kinesis Freestyle for Mac:
No right-hand Control key

Ergonomic Bluetooth Keyboard For Mac

I really like having all three modifiers (Command, Option and Control) available to my left and right hands, though this may not be so important for non-programmers. I don’t think I’d buy an ergonomic keyboard without this feature. The Kinesis keyboards, and Apple’s own keyboards (except the Apple external keyboard with numeric keypad), lack the right-hand Control.