Razer Pro|Type – line out does what?
Last year I got a Razer Pro|Type keyboard and mouse for my iMac. The keyboard is based off of the Tarantula they offer of Windows machines, and the mouse off of the Copperhead.
The keyboard is very responsive, has iTunes controls on the side, and oddly enough, an apple universal dock in the top middle. It plugs into the computer with 2 USB cables, one for the keyboard and one for the dock. It isn’t so much gaming oriented as it is media, there are zoom and rotate buttons to one side that you can set to work with a specific image editor. It does not however have Control, Option, and Command labeled properly, they are Control, Start, and Alt, Control being Control, Start being Option, and Alt being Command, which is pretty confusing to get the hang of. You can change these defaults by going to System Preferences>Keyboard>Modifier Keys, I’ve done this to make it more user friendly, but the fact that option and command aren’t printed on the keyboard still messes with me sometimes.
It features another set of keys down each side of the keyboard that are completely programmable, you can make a stream of keystrokes, add delays in intervals of 1/20 of a second/ There are ten of these keys and the keyboard features a profile button that toggles between ten different profiles for these keys, so you can essentially program 100 different commands into the keyboard, which would be most effective across different programs. I used this feature when I played WoW, I put the commands of my spell rotation in it with delays and all, and would effectively hit a key every ten seconds while I was mindlessly grinding, allowing me to multitask/be extremely lazy.
There are 2 USB 1.1 ports on the back side of the keyboard, accompanied by a 3.5mm line out port. I was always confused by this port, seeing as It didn’t play the audio from my computer. I tried going into sound under system preference and using Razer’s own software for the keyboard. Well today I finally figure out what it’s there for, and I’m somewhat confused as to why they would do this.
It relays the audio from an iPod plugged into the dock. It doesn’t work with my phone, but with my classic it works. It works whether the computer is on or not. I can halfway see a reason for this, but I can quickly strike it down with simple logic. If you have the computer on and your iPod plugged into it, why wouldn’t you just listen to your music through iTunes? If your computer is off why would you need to keep your iPod plugged into the keyboard? just plug the iPod into whatever output you would plug into the keyboard. Not only that, it adds white noise, not just a little, but constant crackling and hissing. The line out would have served a much better purpose if I was able to plug my headphones into it and listen to my computer that way, so I wouldn’t have to turn my computer or fumble around aimlessly to find the line out port.
I really do like this keyboard, the keys are quiet and don’t need to be pressed very far, I’m just a little put off by the line out now that I actually know its function, I’d almost prefer having a defective keyboard knowing it was at least designed with a bit more common sense.
Heres a link so a much more in depth review that I think describes it better than I can, plus it has pictures of all the features I’ve mentioned: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Razer/Pro_Type/1.html
