*wireless keyboards* - -KINGDOM OF JOGA-

*a ‘wireless keyboard’ is a ‘computer keyboard’ that allows the user to communicate with [‘computers’ / ‘tablets’ / ‘laptops’] with the help of ‘radio frequency’ (RF), such as ‘WiFi’ + ‘bluetooth’ or with ‘infra-red (IR) technology’*

It is common for wireless keyboards available these days to be accompanied by a ‘wireless mouse’

Wireless keyboards based on infrared technology use light waves to transmit signals to other infrared-enabled devices.

But, in case of radio frequency technology, a wireless keyboard communicates using signals which range from 27 MHz to up to 2.4 GHz.

Most wireless keyboards today work on 2.4 GHz radio frequency.[citation needed] Bluetooth is another technology that is being widely used by wireless keyboards.

These devices connect and communicate to their parent device via the bluetooth protocol.

A wireless keyboard can be connected using RF technology with the help of two parts, a transmitter and a receiver.

The radio transmitter is inside the wireless keyboard.

The radio receiver plugs into a keyboard port or USB port.

Once the receiver and transmitter are plugged in, the computer recognizes the keyboard and mouse as if they were connected via a cable

Types

A wireless keyboard combo

Standard size wireless keyboard: These keyboards are standard size wireless keyboard.

Foldable – hinges allow for folding of keyboard[1]

Portable keyboard with touchpad: Keyboard comes with integrated touch pad.[2]

Portable with Stand – comes with tablet/smartphone stand [3]

Roll-up wireless keyboard: wireless keyboard that can be rolled up when not in use.[4]

Mini Wireless Keyboard: Palm sized keyboard with an integrated touch pad; uses thumb typing

slim keyboard

With touch pad – combined keyboard and touchpad [5]

Bluetooth keyboard

A Bluetooth keyboard is a wireless keyboard that connects and communicates with its parent device via the Bluetooth protocol.

These devices are widely used with such portable devices as smart phones and tablets, though they are also used with laptops and ultrabooks.

Bluetooth keyboards became popular in 2011, coincident with the popularity of portable devices

Most bluetooth keyboards have standard qwerty layouts, though some mini bluetooth keyboards may have a different layout.

Bluetooth keyboards are compatible with all the leading operating systems such as Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows

Since they are used primarily for portable devices bluetooth keyboards have special function keys for Android and iOS operating systems.

Most bluetooth keyboards, except a few, are not compatible across operating systems, so compatibility of the keyboard needs to be checked before purchasing one; this is because of the special function keys which differ between Android[9] and iOS

See also

Apple Wireless Keyboarr

Remote control

References

^ Li, Anita (September 18, 2012). “Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard”. Mashable.com.

^ Castro, Demetrius (2011-01-14). “Amkette-wi-key touch turns that home tv into a large screen pc”. www.techshout.com. Retrieved 2014-02-22.

^ “Smart Bluetooth Keyboard Compatible with Android, Windows & iOS”. Amkette. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

^ Ridden, Paul (2011-05-01). “Scosche freeKEY roll-up wireless keyboard”. www.gizmag.com. Retrieved 2018-03-18.

^ Kessler, Derek (June 29, 2011). “Review: HP TouchPad Bluetooth Keyboard”. webOSNation.com.

^ Ferrill, Tim. “Death Match: Mobile Bluetooth Keyboards”. Gizmodo.com. Retrieved April 12, 2011.

^ Ravenscraft, Erica (November 11, 2013). “How to Make Your Android Tablet Work More Like a PC”. Lifehacker.

^ “5 Best Bluetooth Keyboard”. WindowAble. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

^ Monroe, Juli Monroe (January 25, 2013). “Review: Amazon Basics Bluetooth Keyboard”. Teleread. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

^ “iOS: Apple Wireless Keyboard compatibility”. Apple. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Wireless_keyboard
Wireless keyboard

Contributors to Wikimedia projects4-5 minutes

5/6/2013

Visual depiction of a compact wireless keyboard

*MAKEUSEOF*

Apple offers two flavors of external keyboard to use with your Mac:

the Magic Keyboard

and the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad.

Despite their names, neither is particularly exciting.

So you may want to set up a third-party keyboard to use instead.

There are a lot of excellent third-party keyboards available and all of them should connect to your Mac over USB or Bluetooth.

But even if your external keyboard connects without any problems, you still need to customize and remap the layout to make sure all the keys work how you want them to.

Here’s all you need to know about using third-party keyboards on Mac, including how to set them up for maximum productivity

Using a Third-Party Keyboard With Your Mac

Modern Macs support nearly all USB and Bluetooth devices.

So any USB or Bluetooth keyboard should be compatible—at least for basic features like typing standard keys.

Special media keys may not work, but we’ll show you some apps you can use to fix them later.

Advanced features on more technical keyboards are also less likely to work with your Mac.

That said, the situation is improving with popular manufacturers.

For example, the Razer Synapse software that allows for macro recording on Razer keyboards is available for Mac these days.

For the most part, you can use any third-party keyboard you find around the house and there’s a good chance it’ll work with your Mac.

If you’re planning to buy a new keyboard instead, take a look at the best alternatives to the Magic Keyboard for macOS-focused options

Connecting a Third-Party Keyboard to Your Mac

To connect a USB keyboard, simply plug it in and macOS will detect it.

If it doesn’t work, visit the manufacturer’s website to check for any special drivers you need to install.

Make sure you get the Mac driver and restart your computer after installing it.

For Bluetooth keyboards, navigate to System Preferences > Bluetooth on your Mac.

Then turn on the keyboard and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to put it in discovery mode.

Once it appears on your Mac, click the Pair button to connect it.

Again, you may need to download special drivers from the manufacturer if it doesn’t work right away

Customize Basic Keyboard Settings on Your Mac

You can customize your external keyboard and remap certain keys by going to System Preferences > Keyboard on your Mac.

It’s especially important to do this if you’re using a Windows keyboard to make sure the keys behave how you want them to.

Click Change Keyboard Type to help your Mac detect what kind of keyboard you’re using:

Razer, Steelseries, Logitech, and so on.

Follow the keyboard wizard that appears, asking you to press various keys.

Based on these results, you Mac will set up the default settings for your keyboard layout.

Click Modifier Keys to rearrange the keys that combine with others to perform certain actions.

From left to right, the modifier keys on an Apple keyboard read Control, Option, Cmd whereas non-Apple keyboards usually read Control, Windows, Alt.

By default, macOS registers the Windows key as Cmd and the Alt key as Option.

So you may want to remap the modifier keys for your external keyboard to match Apple’s keyboard layout and keep the order of these modifier keys the same.

This is especially useful if you get confused switching between Apple and third-party keyboards.

Consider enabling the checkbox for Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys if you have a third-party keyboard that shares media keys with function keys.

You may also want to alter the Key Repeat (how quickly a key repeats when held down) and the Delay Until Repeat (how long before the key repeating kicks in) settings.

The default setting is fine for most users, however

Customize Your Keyboard Layout on a Mac

*if you use a ‘non-traditional keyboard layout’ – such as Dvorak or Colemak – or if you have a foreign language keyboard, then you can set that up in the ‘input sources’ section*

Click the plus Add (+) button to add as many layouts as you want.

You can’t define your own layouts, but Apple provides many layouts across dozens of languages.

If you frequently switch between keyboard layouts, enable the Show Input menu in menu bar checkbox.

This creates a menu bar icon that shows the layout you’re currently using.

You can also click on it to quickly switch to other layouts you’ve set up

Use Karabiner for More Keyboard Customization on Mac

If you need to tweak your keyboard even further than System Preferences allows, you may want to install Karabiner.

Since Karabiner is open-source software released under the Public Domain license, it’s absolutely free to use.

With Karabiner, you can remap any keys on your external keyboard so your Mac sees them as other keys.

For example, if you don’t use Caps Lock, you could use Karabiner to turn it into a second Delete key to use with your left hand.

You can remap any key to any other key with Karabiner, including modifiers, arrows, and media buttons.

Most third-party keyboards—except Razer keyboards—don’t have the Fn key you usually find on a Mac.

But with Karabiner, you can remap another key to use as Fn.

It also lets you remap your function keys to use as media keys, just like a standard Apple keyboard

Download: Karabiner for macOS (Free)

If Karabiner isn’t enough for your customization needs, check out the excellent Mac productivity app BetterTouchTool instead.

Although this app is best known for creating custom trackpad gestures, BetterTouchTool has a lot of keyboard customization options as well.

With BetterTouchTool, you can trigger system-level actions using keyboard shortcuts or keypress sequences

These actions include…

toggling Do Not Disturb,

centering windows,

changing brightness,

sleeping the display,

and more

You can also set up new keyboard shortcuts or keypress sequences to trigger other shortcuts and sequences.

For example, if you’d rather double-tap the Cmd button to copy text, you could set up that sequence to trigger the Cmd + C shortcut.

Best of all, you can create keyboard shortcuts and keypress sequences either for global use across all apps or only when specific apps are in focus.

BetterTouchTool is available as a 45-day free trial.

If you like it, buy a two-year license for $8.50 or a lifetime license for $20.50.

Download: BetterTouchTool for macOS ($8.50, free trial available)

Make the Most of Your Keyboard With Custom Shortcuts

Apple’s official keyboard has plenty of supporters.

But you can get many more features and better mechanical keys from a third-party alternative, like Razer.

Since you can use the tools above to customize a third-party keyboard for your Mac, there’s no reason to spend a lot of money on a Magic Keyboard unless you really like the design.

Whatever external keyboard you settle on, you don’t need to settle with the standard keyboard shortcuts on your Mac.

Find out how to create custom Mac keyboard shortcuts to boost your productivity, no matter what keyboard you use

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