Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Get the Right Memory / Ram for your Mac. Top Quality, Competitive Prices, Lifetime Warranty. Expert Support and Video Installation Guidies too! 4.0GB Matched Sets from $87.99, Options up to 32GB. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Musings

Use a Windows Keyboard on Your Mac with uControl

Dan Knight - 2004.05.26 -

Popularity: LEMLEMLEMLEMLEMLEM

Short link: http://bit.ly/t0qaX

Tip Jar

Have you ever wanted to plug a low-cost PC keyboard into your Mac's USB port, only to find that a few minutes of trying to type is driving you crazy? Or have you ever wanted to pick up an inexpensive USB keyboard for your 'Book so you can have all those extra keys or be able to sit back from your computer while typing?

If so, uControl makes using a Windows keyboard on your Mac easy.

For the most part, adding in a PC USB keyboard is as simple as plugging it in. Everything works, but the command and option keys aren't where Mac users expect them to be - they're reversed on a Windows keyboard.

Some manufacturers provide software drivers so their keyboards can switch hit between Macs and PCs. That's nice, but the really low-cost USB keyboards don't do that. Therein lies the problem.

While uControl has several features, the reason I have it on my PowerBook is so I can use my ancient Acer Aspire keyboard when writing. I much prefer a full-size keyboard to the one built into older G4 PowerBooks. (The new aluminum ones have fantastic keyboards.)

uControl

uControl is a System Preference, and when you set it up, you can tell it to work only with a specific USB keyboard. That's great, because it means that in a pinch I could use an Apple, Macally, MacSense, or other keyboard without uControl turning the cmd and opt keys backwards.

After launching uControl and making sure you have a USB keyboard plugged in, click the "one keyboard only" checkbox, swap option/alt for command, click the Add Setting button, and use the PC keyboard to name your preference. Now uControl will only perform its key swap magic for that keyboard.

Although this isn't the kind of program most Mac users will need on a regular basis, it makes it much easier to add a low-cost USB keyboard to any Mac running OS X (uControl is OS X only). Whether you're looking to add an external keyboard to your portable or need to replace a keyboard you've spilled liquids into and can't find a Mac keyboard, this freeware utility is great. You might want to keep a copy on your Mac just in case. LEM

UPDATE: uControl works through OS X 10.3.x, but "breaks" under OS X 10.4.x. That's not a bad thing, as the most needed feature of uControl - being able to use a Windows keyboard transparently - is supported in OS X 10.4.x. uControl is no longer being updated.

Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Mac Musings

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.