If you were raised on IBM 84-key, nonstandard laptop, or ergonomic keyboards, you may be near madness from the placement of the Caps Lock, Ctrl, and Windows logo keys on stan-
dard 102-key keyboards.

PC Magazine’s TradeKeys utility ($8 U.S.; www.pcmag.com) lets you change, swap, or disable keyboard keys (including modifier keys) in almost any way. Different users can switch among
different mappings quickly.

A few keyboard utilities automate repetitive typing and reduce errors:

ShortKeys ($20 U.S.; www.shortkeys.com) lets you set up replacement text for keystrokes that you define. ShortKeys autoreplaces the keystrokes with the text as you type (like Word’s AutoCorrect feature).

Keyboard Express ($25 U.S.; www.keyboardexpress.com) lets you define keyboard macros, which are keystroke sequences that run automatically.

Microsoft’s IntelliType Pro (free; www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/Download.mspx) works with some non-Microsoft keyboards too. Use it to reassign or dis-able keys, issue common commands, open programs and webpages, and more.

If you, like me, are a fan of the old IBM Model M keyboards, with their heavy-duty casings and springy clacky keys, you can buy them at www.clickykeyboards.com or www.pckeyboard.com.