I finally caved in and bought the Apple Wireless Keyboard. I bought the keyboard not knowing how well it worked with Windows XP. A search across the Apple support forum and various websites did not give any clear answers on how to get the Keyboard working on a WinXP (Non Bootcamp) System. Here are some tips on getting it to work.
Environment: 1. IBM Thinkpad X31
2. Windows XP SP2
3. External USB Bluetooth Dongle
1. Bluetooth Stack. Use the DEFAULT bluetooth stack provided with WinXP.
First step: Do not use the bluetooth driver that came with your bluetooth dongle. I've had various success when using these 3rd Party drivers. Out of 2 dongles, one worked with the supplied software, the other did not. In Device Manager, check that the Generic Bluetooth Radio, with Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator is used.
2. Drivers.Use the default HID (Human Interface Drivers) for the Keyboard. If you have to manually select a driver, select the Generic HID Device (see Device Manager above)
3. Apple Keyboard Drivers. (Attached)You may want to load Apple's Bootcamp's driver, but the features you get may or may not be to your liking. I would discourage you to use this driver. All function keys that you need to use now will need to be activated with FN + F1 (instead of just depressing F1). Your mileage may vary, F1 and F2 (Monitor Brightness Up and Down) did not work, but the Volume Up / Down / Mute / Next Track, Previous Track Pause, all worked fine (F7-F12). If you've experimented with the driver, WinXP will always auto load these drivers. To ensure the Apple Drivers are not used, Manual Select the Driver for default HID drivers when window prompts after detection of the keyboard.
4. Pros & ConsPros - The keyboard is a charm to type on. Keys are very well spaced and it has a very nice tactile action when typing on the keyboard. I simply love the feeling.
Cons - There are many missing keys compared to my X31. I can't use all the built in function keys, (Turn monitor off, Hibernate, Search WiFi, or even Print Screen). I also miss the trackpoint mouse available on all IBM Thinkpads. I have to now attach an external mouse. :-(
Workaround for missing keys:
I prefer to have no background applications for remapping keys. Three Keys that I have remapped are:
1) Delete Key
This is essential if you want to depress Ctrl-Alt-Del to lock or access the task manager of your XP workstation! The delete key in an Apple Keyboard is actually the Windows Backspace Key. The two Apple Command Keys are equivalent to the Windows Key. I never use the Windows key, hence I remapped the Left Command Key to the Windows Delete Equivalent. I now can easily Lock my workstation Ctrl-Alt-Del in a very quick motion with three fingers on one hand.
2) Page Up / Pg Down. I remapped F12 and F11 to a Page Up and Page down respectively. These keys are a must for me in my daily Work routine for Office Applications.
I highly recommend Sharpkeys to make the remap. (Attached). Keytweak is something more graphical, but does the same job. The neat thing about these two tools are they are not memory resident. These involve registry changes to WinXP upon a userlogin, hence no apps resting in the systray to get them to work.
Help: I'm unable to remap the Eject Key, Windows can't seen to read the scancodes on that key via sharpkeys or keytweak. If you manage to have a solution, drop me a note. I'd love to program that key as a hotkey to turn off my monitor or run a script.
That's all folks!
