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1. I m going to give it a rating of 93 since it fits what see as it s target audience but isn t 100 free of problems I m also going to award it the OCmelbourne com Editor s Choice award i UE f f u eee SS hat eel ite Fa 4 alan a w fi ae Interested in buying an EagleTouch MCK90 Keyboard as reviewed in this article They are available from Scorpion Technology for 65 at the time of publication and also from AusPCMarket This review was written by Clinton SileNceR Warburton You can contact him via E Mail silencer ocmelbourne com This text was adapted for print from the article located at http www ocmelbourne com reviews mck902. only use the left hand one anyway Where the right hand side Control and Windows keys normally preside the Context menu key has been shifted one key left and Insert and Delete have been added This makes for pressing CTRL ALT DEL easier for users having to login to Windows 2000 amp some installs of XP and is a must for anyone still using Windows 9x P While the keyboard offered NUMpad functions when the Fn key was pressed use of it was slightly dis orienting as the keys aren t aligned with one another vertically it also lacks the numpad vesion of Enter Everything else is there Basically the manufacturers have just cut down on any doubled up keys which while a good idea may take a little getting used to for the seasoned typist Suggestions As follows are some suggestions can make for the manufacturers of this product should they release a new version of this product e Add a Function key status indicator to the middle of the keyboard with the other LEDs there s plenty of room similar to on the Logitech Keyboards e Add some sort of option to the software allowing it to make a noise using the PC speaker when the Fn key is pressed Similar to Microsoft s Accessibility tool ToggleKeys for Numpad Scroll Lock and Capslock e Add an option to the software so that the user can decide which buttons on the keyboard take focus away from the window they are using e Add the ability to change the playback key functions further t
3. OR MEIBOUNE Bringing Melbourne up to speed Ortek Eagletouch MCK 90 Mini Silver USB Keyboard with USB Hub Review Date 1st August 2003 i Reviewer Clinton SileNceR Warburton Product Ortek Eagletouch MCK 90 Mini Silver USB Keyboard with USB Hub Rating 93 Manufacturer Ortek Purchased from Scorpion Technology Introduction For the majority of us using a keyboard is one of the main ways we interface with our computers Unless you re an avid fan of Voice Recognition Technology or some other weird and wonderful typing method The keyboard has been around forever it would seem especially the now standard QWERTY layout which was designed in 1868 by Christopher Sholes the inventor of the type writer to make it easier to type by spreading the more used keys around the keyboard An alternative to the standard QWERTY keyboard is Dvorak designed in the 1930 s in such a way that the most common keys are on the centre row of the keyboard Today however we re going to take a look at an 89 key QWERTY style mini keyboard from Ortek Functional smart stylish small and cool All these terms could be used to describe the Eagltetouch MCK90 But lets start at the beginning with a brief list of specifications Specifications 89 Key Layout with the Functionality of 104 keys Supports Multimedia and ACPI Functions High quality membrane switches for longer life Available as PS 2 or USB version Embedded Numeric Keyboard
4. e USB hub The two USB ports are well disguised under the edges of the keyboard in an extrusion that also forms the feet and holds the rather useless flip down extension feet Because of this the keyboard cannot be set flat and if higher elevation is required the flip down feet will only merit maybe a centimeter at best tested the USB ports with my Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer V3 0 and the result was as per expectations plug and play Features Multimedia Keys amp Software The layout of the top of the keyboard is as follows Back Forward WWW E Mail Mute Volume Down Volume Up Num Lock Indicator Caps Lock Indicator Scroll Lock Indicator Previous Track Stop Play Pause Next Track Wake Sleep Power The Num Caps and Scroll Lock Indicators are all green LED s which appear to have been sanded flat and diffused In my opinion this looks quite good however personal preference may differ to blue or red for the sake of matching other peripherals All the buttons from Back through to Next Track are supposed to be programmable using the software provided however discovered that only the first seven keys all those to the left of the Indication LEDs are truly programmable The playback controls can be used to control PowerDVD WinDVD or the software s built in media player however they cannot be pointed to external executables find this to be a bit of a pain as have a set of executables for Winamp 2
5. han just for use with the inbuilt media player or DVD programs e Look at reworking the keyboard circuits to allow for multiple keypresses like Up Left and Space to function correctly And to the end user if you find yourself pressing the Power button by accident you may wish to disable this in Windows Display properties Screensaver Power Options Overall Summary Overall provided you fit into one of the target categories and can handle having to use a tightly bunched keyboard this particular item should do exactly what you want exactly how you want to do it It s also worth remembering that it s available also as a PS 2 model the cable is colored the same as the keyboard and the keyboard is also available in Black or Beige See below ra i Black and beige version photos taken from manufacturers website Personally purchased this keyboard for temporary use with a few projects I ve got in progress my new testbed CarPC and HTPC are all at various stages of completeness As such because of the pain experienced through extended use won t be considering using one of these keyboards as my primary keyboard instead think I ll stick with my current IBM RAK III even if there isn t any software for it s multimedia buttons The size of the MCK90 allows it to be sat on top of even the most humble monitor used it here today sitting on top of one of my old 14 monitors after installing a CPU for an aquaintance
6. k Index Menu keys e Fn key is on off not hold while you use e Layout in general is very similar to my IBM RapidAccessKeyboard III placement of backspace enter e Keys make a distinct click and have a depressed feel to them even though they don t have a great amount of travel when pushed e Arrow keys are a reasonable location and size e No indicator light for Fn key status e No right hand side Control key this can cause problems for people in the habit of Shift Ctrl arrow key text selecting techniques with one hand e People used to pressing Shift Del with one hand may have issues as the PageUp key is where instinctively push on this keyboard for that action e Home amp End are difficult to find while not used to the keyboard e Left Arrow Up Arrow and Space cannot all be pushed at the same time which is annoying for racing and driving games like Need For Speed Colin Mcrae and Grand Theft Auto e The function key is half way between the normal left hand side control amp windows key location which can cause accidental activation of it e Some users may find themselves pressing scroll lock instead of backspace often Typing on the board isn t particularly hard but can take a while to get used to Touch typers will be happy the standard extrusions announcing the presence of home keys F and J are present Only having the one windows key on the board didn t bother me in the slightest as and suspect many others
7. lowing is a Summary of some uses can think up for such a keyboard e Laptop users who don t like having to go from a laptop size keyboard to a normal size keyboard and back every time they use their home PC e In the workplace where style and functionality have to mix anywhere where numerical input isn t a big thing I ll get to that soon e Gamers who need a portable small easy to use keyboard without lugging around a full size job every time they take their system away e Anyone else who needs a portable input device Car PC s corded HomeTheatre PC s people who don t like using a keyboard others have used for health reasons can t imagine that the average desktop PC will be suited to the use of one of these keyboards though funky it may be but for anyone with larger than average hands it hurts actually used to type this review until about the end of the packaging section then had to have a break as my hands were hurting from being cramped up in such a small space How It Performs As said in the last section personally experienced discomfort typing in such a small area The discomfort may also have something to do with the flat layout of the keyboard you may have noticed normal keyboards have a tiered approach to key layout I ve noticed several issues with use of the keyboard due to the layout of the keys and several pro s over the laptop keyboards I ve used see below Pros e Has Windows and Right Clic
8. with NUM Lock 100 USB Compliant with Spec 1 1 and Class Definition 1 1 HID USB Version Two additional bus powered ports for low power devices USB Hub version 11 programmable buttons including web sound and DVD controls e Available in silver white and black e OSD via software support e Weighs 564 grams All this from a keyboard measuring only 320mm by 145mm with only 30mm height at the highest point Packaging The keyboard arrives in a fairly cool retail package which just happens to have most of the specs listed on the front The keyboard comes with a relatively simple amount of inclusions the keyboard itself a short user manual and a CD ROM with the software for the Mini Media functions as they term the programmable multimedia buttons My keyboard arrived in perfect condition no scratches or any defects which is testement mainly to the packaging of Scorpion Technology from whom purchased this product no less than two different layers of bubble wrap were used to protect the keyboard Features USB Hub amp Feet The USB version of the keyboard features a two port USB hub The hub is powered via the system s USB port that the actual keyboard is plugged into note this has to be a powered port as the keyboard requires 100mA from a powered USB port to function Because of this some higher power devices requiring say the full 500mA available to a USB device may not function correctly using th
9. x that give these four options external from Winamp Because have a mouse with 5 buttons however don t need the Back Forward web buttons on the keyboard and hence bound those to back next track Using these keys causes the software to set focus away from the active program in this case my word processing software because of the way the software is written so that if you press for example the WWW key it doesn t just open up your Internet Browser of choice but it also brings it into focus This doesn t happen with the Volume Up Down buttons however the OSD may cause issues with games the OSD can be disabled in the software Software wise you don t actually need to DO anything for the MCK90 to function as a keyboard other than plugging it in It s HID 1 1 compatibility means that most versions of Windows should detect it automagically and allow you to begin typing within seconds If you want the OSD and your multimedia buttons to function you will however have to install the software Installation is simple affair just pop in the CD and it autoruns the installer key in the serial number from the front of the CD tell it where to install and does just that adding itself to your Startup folder in the process It also tells you to reboot which you don t actually have to if you re using Windows 2000 or XP Win9x Users may have to all you really need to do is just open the software from the Start Menu Target Audience The fol
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