Microsoft has a tendency to embrace and extend use of the word "invent" ... often referring to every product of theirs as an "invention".
Split-angled keyboard existed on typewriters long before computers existed. Rheinmetall and Blickensderfer are famous examples, the "Blick" from the 1900's - I'm referring to the
decade: the naughties, and most of the Rheinmetall typewriters seem to have been made in the early 1930s. But there were patent applications in the previous century.
The first Microsoft "Natural Keyboard" was presented in September 1994. The Apple Adjustable Keyboard was released in 1993.
Of course, the Maltron keyboard was presented in 1977, and NEC made both column-staggered, orthonormal and symmetric staggered keyboards respectively for the Japanese market in the mid 1980's, but who counts these "weird" keyboards anyway?
BTW, Microsoft's first "Natural" keyboard wasn't even designed in-house but at Ziba Labs.
In the article, Microsoft's team talks about how it is important they get the key surface, spacing, dish and texture right... Ha! I think they have done a really ****ty job in those regards on some of their more recent laptop/tablet keyboards.
And Microsoft "makes mechanical keyboards"? WTH?
