desktop key does nothing with XP. Is it normal?
shuffle key is too slow. How can I it speed up?

@anders: Unfortunately we don't have a lot of experience with doing that, but a link we've shared with customers in the past that may get you started is this: http://www.macobserver.com/tip/2006/03/13.1.shtml (it's somewhat older, but there are some hints on what to do on newer MacOS X versions near the bottom)

@msteelandt: The desktop key does the equivalent of hitting Windows + d on any USB keyboard. If you have software or settings that interfere with that, then it won't work. This is a Windows specific feature that should work out-of-the-box with all our keyboards on Windows XP. This is the first we've heard about trouble with that particular key.

Similarly, the shuffle key is really just a short-cut for Alt + Tab. It will execute at the speed your computer allows. On older TypeMatrix keyboards, holding the Shuffle button down would cycle through applications. The timing of this was however hard-wired into the keyboards in-line with our policy of not requiring any software drivers or settings to use the keyboard. On newer models the shuffle button only simulates the Alt + Tab behavior and is no longer intended to be held down.

The desktop key does nothing in work and at home.

for desktop and shuffle keys, Fn+F3 switch to 106 mode, so these 2 keys will send a true keycode (you'll have to remap some keys like |, mail and web browser)

I wrote a tutorial on how to remap keys with autohotkey. You can definitely remap PLAY and APP, but probably not shuffle (unless you do 106 key mode I guess, but I haven't tried that. If you never use alt-tab you could remap it). You can also remap the desktop key, as long as you will never need that command. Here's my tutorial:

http://spikedskull.com/blog/2011/02/05/how-to-remap-your-typematrix-or-other-keyboard-keys-with-autohotkey/

While I commend your efforts, my primary concern for making use of something like autohotkey is that certain games (especially MMOs) frown on their use (because they can be used to automate some of the gameplay), and sometimes even scan for their presence and ban you from their service.

I've always preferred to take the more direct approach and either rely on xmodmap (in the case of Linux) or registry key entries (in the case of Windows). I just got a Typematrix delivered to me today, and one of the first orders of business was to fix my Ctrl key issue. I'd originally planned on remapping the left shift key to a Ctrl key before it arrived, but after using it for a little while, I've realized that isn't going to fly based on keyboard size and key arrangement. So my next candidates for key remapping to help preserve some symmetry were the shuffle and desktop keys (the buttons just left and right of the spacebar). After reading about the conundrums involved in doing so that were mentioned here and in other threads, I realized that using Fn-F3 was the only way to go.

From there, the next problem was figuring out how to confirm what scancodes get passed back in that new mode, now that those two keys return actual scancodes instead of Ctrl key combinations. I originally tried using the Linux showkey command, but I was trying it indirectly through an NX session from a Windows machine, which didn't work (sudo showkeys on Ubuntu for those getting errors on that distro trying to use it, btw). If you have the Typematrix connected directly to a Linux box, you'll probably have better luck than I did.

After a bit of searching, I found a free bit of software called SharpKeys (http://www.randyrants.com/sharpkeys/) that lets you hit a key to discover the scancode of the key you want to map, and likewise hit another key for it to map to if you prefer to do so instead of choosing from a list. I found it very handy indeed, and it even found the Caps-Lock-to-Ctrl registry hack I performed on my Windows 7 install the moment it was finished. For reference, here's the codes that were returned to me:

Calculator: "Special: (00_7D)"
Former \ key: "Unknown: 0x0073 (00_73)"
Shuffle: "Unknown: 0x0079 (00_79)"
Desktop: "Unknown: 0x007B (00_7B)"

Now, if only I could get my computer to boot up with the Fn-F3 mode enabled... without software ;p

I really like the 2030 except for the lower left keys: play, app, shuffle which I either don't use or won't work. They should have been easily re-assignable

Also, having the fn at lower left corner is not ideal for me, I still confuse it with the ctrl key after a couple of months.

Concerning Tommy_gun's tutorial, I have succeed to remap the "app" key but not the "play" one.

Great keyboards aside from that.

-tarc