Apple Wired Keyboard Discontinued

[taugust04]

With the introduction of the new iMacs on Monday, Apple has removed all traces of its wired keyboard from the consumer and institutional/enterprise stores.

Is there anyone else out there managing labs and clusters using bluetooth keyboards and mice already? I'm looking for strategies besides hoarding old wired keyboards and mice, though that may be the solution in the short term.

Oddly they are still selling the wired mouse.

[donmontalvo]

Good for them. Their keyboards suck. Membrane crap.

Get a real keyboard. A mechanical keyboard. A DasKeyboard.

Once you go mechanical, you never go back.

http://www.daskeyboard.com/daskeyboard-4-professional-for-mac/

Some good videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVtjCbpW7as
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M45wB5g3t9Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OfUAQiIOWQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbPCqVsX-wQ

Keyboard switches:
http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/an-introduction-to-cherry-mx-mechanical-switches/

[taugust04]

@donmontalvo don't get me wrong, I love mechanical keyboards, and use one myself. However, I don't think the lab/cluster budget can afford another $175/ea per unit for a keyboard, especially considering we'll still be getting one from Apple for free.

Here's the one I have at my desk:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IHVN4GA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After doing some additional reading (of course I'll need to test or hear confirmation) the current Apple Magic Keyboard, will run over USB using the USB to Lightning cable thats included to charge it. However there's no USB port to plug the wired mouse into so that will need to plug in directly into the iMac.

[A_A]

Read it also,
At our school the keyboards and mouses are secured to the iMac's with a small padlock.

This way they stay at their place.

Wireless is a nightmare, we can't use them since especially the mouses will "walk away "

So i am afraid we have to start looking for an other brand to place with our lab Macs.

How is that done at other schools?

[strider_knh]

Thanks for the info.

I also just saw that the keyboard without the 10 key is only available in the British edition. I am in Kansas, not England. Unless that is just a bug on their side.

[nkuhl30]

I just checked the Apple EDU store. The wired keyboard is still an option for iMacs.

[petedogg]

I just checked the Apple EDU store. The wired keyboard is still an option for iMacs.

?

[gskibum]

I thought all of the Magic Keyboards were Bluetooth, and plug in to USB for battery charging.

Edit: I see above that they can be used via USB.

[gskibum]

What a strange coincidence. Last night during a spell of insomnia I decided to shop around for a mechanical keyboard for myself. Narrowed it down to the Das Keyboard Prime 13 and the Das Keyboard 4 Professional For Mac.

@donmontalvo Have you used the Das Keyboard Prime 13 on a Mac? I would really like a backlight keyboard since I work in the dark so much. However the better volume control of the Keyboard 4 for Mac has a big appeal.

@taugust04 For your labs check out the two Macally USB keyboards. I started buying them for KVM-attached systems, but I wound up liking them more than the Apple keyboards. They cost $15.00 and $25.00.

[mikeh]

The wired keyboard is not displayed under keyboard options until you select the wired mouse under mouse options.

[donmontalvo]

@taugust04 my apologies, I should have posted the recommendation for admins like us.

@gskibum I looked at the Das Keyboard 4 Professional For Mac because it has a built in USB 3 hub. Didn't look at the other models. I went with brown switches (quieter) and bought the 40A-L rings to soften the hit when pressing the keys all the way down. Typing accuracy went up 30% (based on online typing test sites). Membrane keyboards are horrible for accuracy.

[taugust04 · Accepted solution]

@nkuhl30 and @mikeh great catch thanks! Never had to select the wired mouse before to get the wired keyboard to display...

[donmontalvo]

Dang there goes my commission.

(jk)

[taugust04]

One thing to note is that wired keyboard and mice are only available in the institutional store going forward. The regular consumer site no longer offers either regardless of configuration.

[taugust04]

One thing to note is that wired keyboard and mice are only available in the institutional store going forward. The regular consumer site no longer offers either regardless of configuration.

[H3144-IT]

We are using for Business Centre & Reception Desks for a while now - Logitech B100 Mouse in white - which are about $8.50 (£6.50) with VAT per Unit.

For Keyboards, I use either the Logitech Wireless Solar Desktop Keyboard K750 for Mac - Silver, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005L38VRU/ - if I have a better Budget available (!)
OR go for Alternatives like: https://www.amazon.com/Macally-Wired-Keyboard-MKEYE-Shortcut/dp/B00A7Z0WQ0/ (@ ~$15)

[FeasiblePear]

Anybody found any 3rd party wired keyboards that don't suck? My clients need one with the Apple layout (CMD key). I've bought a bunch of Macally keyboards, but they are junk. So annoyed with Apple!

[bpavlov]

At the risk of suggesting the obvious, but the Apple Wireless keyboard does work with the USB Lightning cable plugged in. You don't have to use it in bluetooth mode only. Not ideal if you need to lock things down, but if that's not a concern then its still worth a look.

[jefff]

the Apple Wireless keyboard does work with the USB Lightning cable plugged in.

Our Apple Systems Engineer suggested super-gluing the lightning cable into the wireless keyboard as an anti-theft measure in lab environments.

[cwaldrip]

A good alternative is this from Metias... $59.
http://matias.ca/aluminum/mac/

It does have a silly analog "high precision" volume dial on the back, but not a big deal to ignore)

[janthenat]

FYI... Wired keyboard/mouse are available through the Apple ecommerce higher-ed site but only in conjunction with an iMac. No other systems offer them as a configuration option and they're not available separately as accessories. The end is near...

[macbrun]

Has anyone found a suitable wired USB replacement keyboard (with a command key) that isn't ridiculously expensive? We run seven labs with between 18 and 28 Macs in each, plus some of our MacBook users have docks with external keyboards. During the course of a year between 10 and 20 Apple keyboards fail, so we need replacements. Even prior to Apple dropping the ability to purchase a wired keyboard (without an iMac) I thought the price was too high. We can buy a Dell keyboard for $10 (and have tons of spares in stack), but the "command" key location is off and Mac users really dislike that. Yes, I'd love to just hand those out, but upper management coddles our users... don't get me started.

We purchased & tested the Matias keyboard and have a failure rate of 100% - not confidence inspiring. Other models (MacAlly and iHome) designed for Macs feel cheaper than the Dells and still cost more. For now we are buying the iHome Full Sized Mac Keyboard, we'll see how they last.

[mconners]

Hello @macbrun and all,

I had a conversation with our Apple rep yesterday and he confirmed, Apple is killing off the wired options for their keyboards and mice.

I am really upset with this because of one simple thing.

We have argued for years the Apple product line standing up to others is cost efficient due to a variety of factors. With the laptops, users have to in some case, carry around an arsenal of dongles, fobs, docks and more. Now, with the abandonment of the wired keyboards and mice, they are subjecting us to another add on cost just to keep our labs running and secure.

I would urge all of us to find a solid solution or lobby our Apple rep's managers and directors to forgo this stupid decision. Like @donmontalvo has said previously, the Apple keyboards and mice are not the greatest, but at least they are shipped WITH the computers and at no additional cost.

Something has to change.