Review on Enhanced Elgato 🎮 Stream Deck MK 2 Controller by Gary Stringfield

I bought this by accident when I saw it on sale. I am neither a streamer nor a gamer. (I had to look up "Streamer".) But I find the Stream Deck pretty handy. It might be a bit early to write a review but from what I've tried so far I'm pretty sure I'll love it. If you're not a gamer, think of it as a cooler version of the function keys (or as we like to call them the Fn keys, because of the Fn key on Apple laptops and because it's fun). Or the poor man's version of the Apple Touch Bar. Here you have a customizable key grid that can do things for you. Run the file. Open the folder. Activate the tool in Photoshop. Activate URL. Like the touchpad (and unlike the Fn keys), the keys are electronically labeled and change according to multiple functions. The hardware is excellent. Very solid construction with a metal body giving it just enough weight to stay securely in place whether it's standing on its silicone feet on the back or standing on the included stand that can be tilted at different angles. Feels like a premium product. 15 clear keys are backlit by a color LCD panel, creating functional labels. The feel of the keys is perfect - solid, with a great click, I can see how a gamer will like it - if you're working at gamer's speed you can hit a key and know it's registered. Some test reports complain about the short USB cable; The one I have is 150cm long so I think they made changes to the equipment. But the cable is still hardwired (the micro-USB connector means you can use your own cable of any length). The included software is designed for gamers. It's packed with features that gamers will love, but the rest of us won't find use for. But they are customizable. One of the features is HotKey, which can activate a button. Combined with the Keyboard Maestro app, this will do most of what I need (like launching the Photoshop tools, since Photoshop all have keyboard shortcuts) in my opinion. But it needs some tweaking so I can't fully use it right away. Fair enough - El Gato is focused on its intended market. Expect to spend some time learning how to set it up. Luckily it's software. The El Gato website has some great tutorials. All of them are for gaming, but I think they cover what I need: launching applications, pressing hotkeys, launching files and folders, typing text strings, multimedia (play, pause, volume, etc.). You can fully customize the main graphics with El Gato's beautifully designed graphics or create your own. Getting started is easy. Download the software (Mac or Windows) and install it. Connect the Stream Deck to the USB port. Press the preinstalled welcome button and you will be taken to the El Gato welcome page on their website. Watch the welcome video and learn how to set up the keys. Their examples are all players will understand, but non-gamers will understand well enough.