thSoft

New keyboard from Microsoft

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Brand new, three-buttoned keyboard to be released by Microsoft

The recently shipped keyboard with only Ctrl, Alt and Delete buttons, though considered as innovative, did not have success throughout the whole hardware industry, so the world's leader IT company decided to refine the concept and surprise the users with the new version of the keyboard with three buttons, offering more ergonomical user experience.

„The input device was designed with respect to the requirements of the everyday user” – said Bill Gates on the preliminary product demonstration. „The total functionality of the new versions of Windows can be exploited with the help of a mouse solely, that's why we followed the tradition and – as a symbol of perfection – placed only three keys on the peripheral. The first key entitled Any has been expected by many users for a long time, its usefulness doesn't need to be clarified. The second button was installed on the keyboard for the favor of the most faithful customers of Windows: with the Reset key, our PC can be rebooted instantly and in a comfortable way, without the need to press difficult key combinations or to lean towards the computer. This button seems even more useful when using the wireless version of the keyboard. The third key proves the forethought of our engineers: its name is Reset #2; its function is identical to that of the middle button, however, because of its excessively frequent usage, we thought that a supplementary key would be practical, in order to increase the estimated lifetime of the keyboard.”

Unfortunately, the presentation was interrupted by a minor technical difficulty. After starting the computer, the following error message appeared on the screen: Keyboard not found. Press any key to continue. The Microsoft-employee tried to press each of the three keys and their possible combinations, but did not manage to fix the machine. The incident was commented by a smiling Gates: „Well, that's why we don't release the new, three-buttoned keyboard yet.”

Prototype of the hardware device. Note the different raggedness of the three keys