I like plain ol' Dell or Logitech.

• I need a very soft touch keyboard. Any suggestions? - Sheryl
  • I like plain ol' Dell or Logitech. - Misha
  • Thank you everyone for these suggestions! Will check them out! nm - Sheryl
  • I just got an Avant Prime and love it...nm - Dana
  • Kinesis Maxim sm - Donna
    • Is the layout the same as for a standard keyboard? sm - kdy
      • Microsoft Natural is too stiff for me. sm - Donna
        • Have you tried the wireless MS natural keyboard? Very soft!! - Radmom

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Make sure you get the extended warranty, again, MAKE SURE YOU GET THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. And, here is why.

My first laptop went out on my, though it was a couple of years old.  Because I had the extended warranty, a service tech came to my house, replaced motherboard, hard drive, heat sink, and keyboard.  He was able to back up everything first and restored it once all the new stuff was in place. 

One of my PCs kept giving some weird blue screen error and I couldn't get to go even in safe mode. I called up Dell, told them the problem, they looked up my extended warranty and they sent someone out to repair it.

Overall, I have been happy with Dell products.  The only drag is that everything Dell sells regarding accessories is proprietary and you have to order it through Dell.  No generic accessories will work.  My suggestion is if you decide to buy a Dell laptop, make sure you get the car power supply and you might even get a 2nd regular power supply because I have been known to leave town and forget the power supply at the house.  Now, I have everything in my laptop bag for when I go out of town and can just throw my laptop in the bag and know everything is there.

Lastly, some Dell laptops require a special aircard to connect to the internet.  I ended up getting a 2 cabled USB air card and I'm glad I did because 2 USB plug ins give better reception than one.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I'm happy to help.

was a piece of junk, so I'm not the one to ask if you should buy a Dell.   I'd get at least double that processor speed.  My computer is about 10 months old and I have 5 times that, which means that there is probably something faster out now, or soon will be.  It is more than I need for work, but I also use computer to download music/pictures, and a bunch of other stuff.   The Dell I had had 650 mHz and it was slow and that was almost 6 years ago.   You may have to customize anyway to get XP unless you buy one previously owned, which you can also buy from Dell.   It is always a good idea to buy bigger than you need currently just to allow for updates to any software or new software you may add.    You need to also think about tech support.  I know Dell has tech support in India, which can be extremely frustrating.  I don't know that other computer companies don't offshore their tech support, but that would be a question I would ask and find out if there is a locally authorized dealer to handle warranty repairs or if you need to send off the computer.    I would not recommend a Gateway computer and I would not recommend any computer that has a Celeron processor.   They tend to be in all the lower end computers. 

I was in the same boat.  I tried the Logitech DiNovo keyboard, which has the absolutely best touch on the market that I have tried.  But just right at the month mark, the space bar started sticking.  So I returned it.  I then got the Logitech S510.  The touch isn't quite as nice, but it is very soft.  It is cordless, which is another benefit.  It comes with a cordless mouse as well.  The only "problem" with it that I would change if I could, is that it isn't ergonomically shaped, not big and bulky or shaped with the split shape, but I love the touch.  Not having the keyboard split actually makes the reach shorter, and I don't have the problems there.

Also what I do, ergonomically wise, is I bought 2 of the IMAK ErgoBeads wrist rest.  I use on on top of the wrist rest part of the keyboard, so I can rest my wrists on it, and it keeps them elevated.

The other IMAC rest I use on the floor, so keep my heel from pressing into the floor under my foot pedal.  I use a foot rest, so the pedal is elevated up on that and the pad is on the floor beneath it.  Keeps my heels from hurting.

Hope this helps.

P.S.  Try going to Staples to find the Logitech selections.  I think find they're way superior to the MS ones in their touch.  Not spongey.

It's not as split apart as the tons of other ones I've tried over the years, it's wireless and comes with a wireless mouse as well, smaller than most others, and not as high to fit on my keyboard drawer.  I saw it at Costco here in Washington the other day; not sure if they carry it at all Costcos or not. 

I have LOTS of peripherals on both my laptop and desktop Dells and they certainly didn't come from Dell. You've been misinformed.

I love my Dells.

I bought a new keyboard, does anyone know how to test function keys?

It seems to be a matter of manners and training.  It's just as inconsiderate and rude for this doctor to change his/her mind halfway through a dictation as it is to change your order at McD's halfway through the line.  IMHO, customer service has gotten out of hand in both industries, expecting smiles in return for just plain rudeness.  Maybe if MTs and the order processors at McD's were allowed to be more honest with the poorly-trained customers, there would be some changes.  Otherwise, these customers think its okay to act this way.

more pay - so it doesn't take so many hours.  You may be a bit late - nice try to the both of you.  YKW (you know who)

That is ridiculously low pay. Even if you are the fastest Transcriptionist in the world and you work 16 hours a day, you still would barely be able to make ends meet. Do you really want to live like that?

If you can do this job part-time so that you will have the experience to put on your resume, go for it. But constantly be on the lookout for something that pays better and when you find it, grab it.

I used to carry two pagers for two hospitals all by myself, 24/7.  They went off maybe a couple of times a month.  The chore of being on-call is now shared with a few other people but now the after-hour pages come in nonstop and I don't know why.  Me thinks some deal was made to keep an account or something but I really am just pulling that answer out of my tuckas.  It's gotta be costing the hospitals a mint to have us at their beck and call like that....either that or they got a really sweet deal. 

The other issue is it used to be a much more laid back environment.  You logged on, did your work, and you were left alone.  You kept an eye out for stats yourself and took care of them, because you are there because you are responsible. 

Now you log on, strike up this thing called Instant Messenger, and sit there at your desk working your alloted shift but can't get up because you must be present if you get an IM for a stat...even though you are already on it because it's your job to be.  Want to take a break?  Yeah, sure, once you finish up this stat.  Oh wait, I've got another one here that needs to be done super duper stat....you know what I'm talkin' about too, lurkers.

Ya know the movie, Office Space?  I'm always referring to it with this company.  You know the scene with the TPS reports, where the fella has 4 bosses telling him the same darned thing even though you already know your job?  That's what I'm dealing with and, yeah, I've been reduced to the mumbling dude who worries about his stapler.

I don't blame my bosses at all, but the micromanaging thing is out of control and I have no idea why it has come to be, because it wasn't like this before.  The days of a happier Hayseed with high line counts and company pride are long gone.  I don't know who works there anymore as the folks I knew have all left, and that's made an impact as well.  Ask for new scenery because of burnout, and all you get is a strokin', nothing more. 

From "Mary Smith, Inc." to "Transcription International" or whatever....