- Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000 Drivers For Mac Free
- Microsoft Entertainment Keyboard 7000 Driver
- Microsoft 7000 Keyboard Driver
Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000 Mouse and Keyboard Center drivers available for Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7. Home > Keyboard > Microsoft > Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000 Mouse and Keyboard Center. Try Microsoft Edge A fast and secure browser that's designed for Windows 10 No thanks Get started. Device downloads. For software and drivers, select your product from the list below. Mouse and Keyboard Center 2.3. Windows 7 (32-bit only) Mouse and Keyboard Center 2.3.
More 7 In a recent column on, I wrote, “Gear like mice and keyboards are intensely personal, not just because we make personal choices, but because some of them may physically work better for some people than others.” So now, of course, I’m writing a keyboard review. People tend to be less finicky about keyboards than about mice, but only marginally so. Which keyboard you use is still a personal statement, and everyone has differing feelings about issues like tactile feedback, audible clicking, stroke depth, and keyboard layout. What about keyboards designed for a specific purpose? Take, for example, keyboards aimed at users of home theater or Media Center PCs. These are wireless keyboards that try to cram a lot of extra functionality, such as specialized media playback control keys and built-in pointing devices.
They often make trade-offs for that functionality. The compact size and extra control keys mean you don’t have a numeric keypad, while the keyboards themselves are often annoying to type on.
Most of these keyboards, such as Microsoft’s original were more like glorified remote controls than real keyboards. Even Logitech’s latest DiNovo had some limitations as a keyboard. So, along comes Microsoft with yet another spin on the entertainment keyboard. Microsoft bundles the new keyboard with a Bluetooth mouse, and calls the whole $140 package the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000.
While it’s the best Media Center Keyboard we’ve used to date, it still lacks a few amenities we’d like to see. Let’s take it for a spin. Continued The clue to the real audience for this keyboard is the name of the package—the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000.
The keyboard is a better desktop keyboard than any dedicated Media Center keyboard we’ve used. The mouse and keyboard are both Bluetooth devices, and Microsoft includes a USB Bluetooth dongle in the box.
That big blue Vista logo at the bottom of the keyboard is also a functioning button: it’s the infamous “Windows” key, now moved to a much more sensible location. You’ll no longer accidentally press that key while hunting for the Ctrl or Alt key. That location on the keyboard has been subsumed by a Fn key, which behaves much like the function-switch button on laptop keyboards. Any other blue-labeled key has an alternate function if you press the Fn key simultaneously.
By the way, the Ins key, which changes the state of the cursor from insert to overwrite, is now only activated as an Fn key, so you’ll no longer accidentally alter the keyboard insert state. Let’s hope that little change is implemented in more keyboards in the future. Continued The left and right sides of the keyboard have several unique functions. That green Windows logo fires up Media Center. The “OK” button is actually two different devices.
It can either be a touch-pad pointing device or a right/left/up/down cursor control. The state is set by the switch just above it.
The keyboard requires four AA batteries, which are inserted in two separate compartments on the bottom. (Microsoft includes four AA alkaline batteries.) Also on the bottom is an actual on/off switch and the Bluetooth connection switch. Note there’s no way to elevate the keyboard: It always lies flat and is really intended for lap use. Continued Despite this supposedly being a Media Center keyboard to be used in your lap, with a 10-foot Media Center UI, Microsoft includes a Bluetooth mouse that uses a 1,000 DPI laser sensor. We fired up Windows Vista Ultimate Edition and installed the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000.
This involves attaching the Bluetooth dongle, pressing the connect buttons on the mouse and keyboard, and installing the drivers. It’s all pretty straightforward, though you may find it useful to have a corded keyboard attached until you get everything up and running. As far as Media Center keyboards go, this is the best one we’ve used for typing. The gentle curve isn’t quite like a true split keyboard, but it’s still pretty easy on the wrists.
We do miss having a dedicated numeric keypad, though you can enable an embedded one using the Fn key, like you can on most laptop keyboards. The keypress resembles that of the better laptop keyboards: It depresses a shorter distance than a typical desktop keyboard, and offers good (and non-noisy) tactile feedback. The touch buttons for the function keys took some adjustment time, and it’s easy to miss the touch area at first. We ran Media Center, and used the keyboard extensively there. If you use the touchpad rather than the mouse, the default acceleration and pointer speed is very low, so you’ll probably want to adjust it upward. The transport controls work well, and the location seems fine.
Pressing the “Play” button also starts Windows Media Player 11 if you happen to be at the Vista desktop, rather than in Media Center. The mouse is usable, and even works reasonably well with first-person shooter games, but it’s not really a great gaming mouse. There is an ever-so-slight lag in fast action games that may frustrate people who have very good action-game reflexes. This is one fine keyboard for Media Center and even everyday use, if you don’t need a dedicated numeric keypad. You could type on it comfortably, though you’ll have to get used to the touch sensor function keys. Note that this keyboard isn’t limited to Vista; it works just fine with Windows XP Media Center Edition and even ships with drivers for MacOS X. At around $140, it’s not a cheap combo, either.
Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000 Drivers For Mac Free
Microsoft Entertainment Keyboard 7000 Driver
But it does ship with a usable if rather utilitarian mouse and a Bluetooth dongle. Read about another media keyboard, the Logitech diNovo Edge. Microsoft is readying a higher-end version, the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000. That version will actually have a capacitive sensor under the keyboard that detects your hand’s proximity and lights up.
It will also feature a four-port USB hub. However, the rest of the functionality will be the same as the 7000. We think the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 is about as perfect as it gets for a Media Center keyboard, though we wish the mouse were a tad more responsive. If you’re looking for a great keyboard for your home-theater PC, particularly if it’s running Vista Home Premium or Ultimate Edition, then this may be just what you want. Product: Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 Company: Microsoft 9 Price: $140 Buy It Here Pros: Very good keyboard for typing; Bluetooth; good layout; MacOS X drivers as well as Windows support. Cons: No dedicated numeric keypad; average mouse.
Microsoft 7000 Keyboard Driver
Summary: If you’re looking for a wireless keyboard for your Windows Media Center PC, then this is an excellent choiceand will even work on Macs.