Using Apple Keyboard on Windows PC

Do you guys recommend using it? Any important thing I need to notice? Or I better switch back to normal keyboards? Please post your suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Yes it will work fine, its just a USB keyboard. Any PC USB keyboard will work on a Mac too. Below is a very basic keyboard map showing what you will need to know:

By the way, have you considered getting a Mac. They're much easier to use than PCs, are generally more reliable and you won' have to spend time maintaining the thing either.

I agree with rkaufmann87. I've used Macs & PCs in my personal life and business life since my 1st Mac in Feb of '85. I kinda needed my head examined for buying that one as you couldn't do much with it but it got me started and a business award from GE with a drawing I did in MacPaint that would have been very hard to do on a PC of that time. I currently own a mid-2010 iMac and my company has issued me a series of Dell laptops in recent years. Interestingly, I have the i-Mac fitted with the same keyboard you are considering (although I've never tried using it on my current Dell. Before the i-Mac I owned a Dell desktop machine for about 4 years. The HD in it died about 5 days after buying the Mac (perfect timing ! ). The optical drive died well before that but fortunately I had one in the Dell laptop so I never fixed. The Dell desktop was really showing it's age in terms of the cabinet yellowing and generally looking dated and looking dingy. The i-Mac looks and runs like new, although the lettering on some of the keys are starting to show some wear. I did recently increase the ram from 4 GB to 12 GB thinking it help with the new OS versions (I think it did, but some of the recent OS updates are better too). The Mac has a smaller foot print, is quieter and virtually never crashes. Both the Dell desktop and the laptop had frequent crashes and bugginess. The laptop still does (but some of that may be due to our VPN and paranoid security software). Speaking of that, on the Mac I use no virus protection, no disk cleaners, nothing but the Apple OS X and it runs fine.

Hygma wrote:

Thanks for the reply. So that means I really need to get used to the reversed "Alt / Windows" key conbination right...? Since Command is Windows key next to space bar and Option is Alt at the right of Ctrl key...

And is F13 equal to Print Screen button on WIndows keyboard? Any extra drivers or stuffs need to install to get it work? And is Fn key in Apple keyboard equal to Insert in Windows key?

I may consider getting a Mac but i don;t have that money yet... And how is it more reliable and easier to use? Since I think I may install Windows on it thought I get a Mac.

Yes, you just have to get used to those minor differences. Nothing need to make it work, just plug it in and use it. The FN key is defined in Wikipedia as:

Fn key. For operating system or programmable keys, see Function key. Fn, short for function, is a modifier key on many keyboards, especially on laptops, used in a compact layout to combine keys which are usually kept separate.

A Mac is more reliable for many reasons, first there are zero viruses for them therefore antivirus software is never necessary. They are also more reliable because Apple's build quality is much higher then than just about any PC found. There was an old Apple ad some years ago, that said, "They just work." There was truth to that, you just turn it on and it works for years and years. Also, OS X is the most sophisticated OS out there, it is based on UNIX which is rock solid. When you can, make it down to an Apple Store and look at a Retina iMac and I can almost guarantee you will want one and be figuring out how to get the money.

fwiw recent PC is more faster and maintenance free than recent Mac. Atm I don't consider buying new mac as the situation has been changed a lot from 10 years ago. Now OSX is much slower and cumbersome than 10. And hardwares are also not attractive as before.... OSX were so brilliant.

If you like, I could try my Apple extended keyboard with my Dell laptop (in or out of the docking station). I could try some of the commands you are concerned about and see if they work or how they work. The only wrinkle is, I am traveling today, won't be able to try it till this weekend.

I am back from my travels. No, I do not have that exact keyboard, mine is very similar though, it is MB110LL/A, apparently an older version, identical in appearance. Is it of any value for me to try this one with the Dell PC? I bought this keyboard in Sept of 2010.

Sorry for the delay. I'm saddled with this albatross, my job. I travel a lot and by the time I heard back that you still wanted me to proceed with the key board trial I was out of town again. In any event, I'm back and I've taken a quick look at some things on the Dell. We probably need to agree on something to try. I am not a power user when it comes to the MS commands. Although I use the computer every day it is only for mundane things like MS Word, Excel, PPoint, Lotus Notes, etc. I rarely find need to use an Fn key or F1, etc. On my Dell docking station I have an extended keyboard attached (with a numeric keypad). In fact it is pretty similar in layout to the Apple keyboard. However, on the Dell keyboard there is no Fn key, so I won't be able to test the Fn function on it to confirm function. It does have F1 thru F12, PrtScn/SysRq, etc. Another however, when I hit print screen on the Dell keyboard nothing happens so I expect I would get the same response with the Apple keyboard. There is an Fn key on the laptop itself. So bottom line is... If you can tell me some actions to do in the above software and the expected response, I will test them with both the Dell keyboard to confirm function and the Apple keyboard to see if it yields the same response.

Going to jump in here, a month behind, so I'm sorry about that. Personally, I use Apple keyboards on all systems I am able to plug them into, Macs, Windows and Sun with USB. On Windows and Solaris, the mappings are a little funny. However, the extended Apple keyboard has all the same location keys as a standard 101 key PC keyboard. Without the Apple driver, the F14 key is your print screen key, F15 scroll lock, Help is Insert. Some keys do not work at all, F13, Volume, Eject and the = key on the keypad. The standard 101 key driver doesn't have mappings for these so you would need to use another program to map them for you. If you are using the "mini" Apple keyboard as I call it, without the "middle" section keys where delete is, then you have to find a Mac using friend to get them to open the Boot Camp disk image and pull the Apple keyboard driver for you. On the Mac keyboard "delete" is where the backspace key is, and in Apple parlance is the "backwards delete" key. The "delete" key, then, is the "forwards delete" key. The Apple driver sets the backwards delete to function as forwards delete when you hold down CTRL and ALT so that you can give the login command on a windows computer with the mini keyboard.

Wow, sounds like you have got it totally figured out. Good to know, thanks.