Hi folks!

I'm going to buy a new ergonomic keyboard for my laptop. In the following, keep in mind I live in Italy.

I considered the following models:

Adesso PCK-308UB - Adesso Tru-Form™ Pro - Contoured Ergonomic Keyboard with TouchPad-PS2

Pro:

• has a built-in touchpad in the same position of my laptop
• somewhat cheaper than the alternative below

Cons:

• the surface doesn't seem to be bowl-shaped. keys seem to lay on a straight slightly-inclined surface. It seems an idea used extensively in other ergonomic keyboards
• according to a few comments on the net, new Adesso keyboards seem to lack robustness, they're likely to loose small parts after a few weeks or months. Other users, instead, seem to never had any problem in years and swear by their quality and comfortability. Those who had problems, however, lamented a lack of responsiveness from the manufacturer.
• I'm not sure whether the keyboard, at least the standard keys, and the touchpad will both be recognized correctly under linux distros (I mostly use FC btw)
• last time I checked, Adesso didn't have local resellers in my country

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard

Pro:

• recognized as one of the most comfortable keyboards
• reliable customer service operating in my country
• AFAIK there are several documented ways to get extra buttons work with linux

Cons:

• it doesn't have a builtin touchpad and has a numeric keypad wasting space to reach mouse

But there could be other keyboards I haven't considered yet, so here follows my ideal keyboard wishlist, ordered by priority

• linux compatible
• basic ergonomic design, which entails split tilted keyboard and pads
• advanced ergonomic design, like true-ergonomic's or kinesis , where special keys (like enter, caps-lock...) are placed symmetrically in the middle to be used by thumbs
• a builtin touchpad/trackball placed under the keyboard. I just love this on my notebook. I think it's pretty effective, since it allows my hand to rest naturally everytime I use it. Any opinion on this?
• high-quality switches, like cherry's
• (unsure about this one) additional programmable keys placed near usual ones, to simplify typing shortcuts

TIA

Andrea