[limajoe7]

I would like a backlit external keyboard for my MacBook.

Any help would be appreciated. I have searched and there is a Saitek keyboard that one person says is
Apple compatible but I have not yet been able to confirm that, so I am wondering if there are others ....
Thanks for any feedback.

[smax013]

limajoe7 said:

I would like a backlit external keyboard for my MacBook.

Any help would be appreciated. I have searched and there is a Saitek keyboard that one person says is
Apple compatible but I have not yet been able to confirm that, so I am wondering if there are others ....
Thanks for any feedback.

Depends on what you are considering Apple compatible. Any USB keyboard will work with a Mac for at least the basic functions. If you want a bunch of "special" buttons to do things like launch applications, do various multimedia functions (i.e. skip forward, skip back, play, pause, etc), or other "non-standard" keys, then you might need a Mac specific keyboard. A downside of not using a Mac oriented keyboard is that it will not have "Mac label" on the key that serves as the Command key (and maybe the Option key), but those keys will still work (I have been using a "Windoze oriented" USB keyboard with my G4 Tower for years...just have to remember which key is the Command key).



As to backlighting of the keyboard, that should not matter as it is not a software driven thing typically and is typically done purely by the keyboard independent of the computer. The only thing that is needed from the computer is power from the USB port.



To that effect, I have this Saitek keyboard. I just tried it with my MacBook Pro (even though I was already pretty sure it would work with the backlighting just fine). Worked just fine. Backlighting worked like a charm. Even the volume up, volume down, and mute bottons worked just fine.



I also have this Logitech gaming keyboard that I use with a Windoze desktop that has backlighting. I have not tried it with my MacBook Pro, but I suspect that like the Saitek one, the backlighting would work just fine. This keyboard has a LOT more "special" keys, which I suspect would NOT work with a Mac unless Logitech has Mac drivers/software to use with the keyboard (which I don't believe that they do). But, I have little doubt that the basic keyboard functions and backlighting would work just fine. If for some reason you though you might like this keyboard, then just say the word and I will hook it up to the MacBook Pro and see how it works.



Point is that I suspect that any USB keyboard that you find with backlighting will likely work for at least the basic keyboard functions (i.e. the standard 101 +/- keys) and the backlighting.

[limajoe7]

Thank you so much...I appreciate your quick and detailed response.

No need to hook up the Logitech for me,,,I think I will order the Saitek ..

Thanks again.

[smax013]

limajoe7 said:

Thank you so much...I appreciate your quick and detailed response.

No need to hook up the Logitech for me,,,I think I will order the Saitek ..

Thanks again.

FWIW, I personally like the feel of the Logitech better. The Saitek just did not feel as good to me as a keyboard. I will admit, however, that I would likely have been fine with it if I had just stuck with it and gotten used to it. I am not too picky about keyboards...it just takes me a little time to adjust to the different feels of the keystrokes...as well as the slight changes in key positions that can sometimes happen (less of an issue since I don't have to do a lot of backslashes any more since I don't need to use DOS much anymore...that used to REALLY be annoying as different keyboards would put the backslash in different places, which made typing paths in DOS a real pain at times on a new keyboard).