Review - Logitech G11 Keyboard
(original version posted in another forum February 15, 2007)

I recently purchased the Logitech G11 gaming keyboard, and it's really working well for me - not for gaming, but as an assistive technology device.

The keyboard has 18 additional keys on the left side, labeled G1 through G18. Above these are three Mode keys, labeled M1, M2, and M3. Combined, these give 54 possible macros that can be active at any point. Each key can be programmed with a set of keystrokes, and for gamers, time between keypresses can be included.

Make a mistake in the text you've typed into a key macro? Need to make a small change to what you have on a macro? Don't worry! You can go back and do some editing - delete keystrokes, record before here, record after here. A very common way I use this method to edit macros is to change "Tomorrow we are joined by ...." to "Today we are joined by ....".

Once your keys are programmed, you can export that set of macros to a file, and these files can then be imported when needed. So you can have multiple sets of macros saved for when you need them. Years ago I used a Gateway AnyKey programmable keyboard this way to save the complicated series of commands I needed to reprogram my DSL router, and kept that profile saved in a file for when I needed it.

I've programmed different text onto the keys in each mode, and use it for filling out forms, for welcoming folks to the CORTS chat room, and for providing the links of CORTS sponsors. I'm subject to tremors and motor spasms at times, but now when my hands are trembling or worse, I don't pick up extra text, as I sometimes did when I was trying to copy and paste text! It would also be great for someone with arthritis filling out forms on the Internet (a lot of these now use javascript and aren't recognized by form filling software such as Roboform). (Very useful for folks who enter sweepstakes).

To help me remember what I have on each key, I've created a Microsoft Word document that I fill out and print onto a 4×6 index card, then laminate it (clear packaging tape) and cut out the appropriate areas, resulting in a handy little template to fit around the programmable keys - one for each of the three modes.

One feature I wish it had would be a text-mode ability to copy text from elsewhere and paste it into the macro for a key. This could be a URL, a common paragraph, or whatever. As it is, the first time I want to use a URL in a macro, I have to manually type that URL - I can't copy it and paste it in. This feature probably wouldn't be as useful for gaming, but would be great when used as an assistive device.

There are two other features I've found useful. Besides the programmable keys, the keyboard has three levels of backlighting - off, low, and high - useful when working in a darkened room. There's also a mute button to shut off sound.

Everything I've said here also applies to the G11's big brother, the Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard. The G15 has in addition an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display on the keyboard for game-related displays.