A bit OT: Wireless computer keyboards

[BillW50]

In news:ififd4$df8$ [e-mail], Ben Myers typed on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:26:58 -0500:

All so true Ben. But the opposite is also true. As wired keyboards and mice also fail too. I don't know about modern wired mice, but in the beginning the cable often breaks right where it enters the mouse. Some had great strain relief at that spot and they generally worked ok for much longer.

Yes a spare Cat 5 cable in the bag could be a great help for sure. No question there. Although I also have had bad Cat 5 cables too. Rare, but it still happens.

As for having a wired keyboard in your bag too... ever get one of those Indestructible keyboards? You just roll them up to store them. And you can spill virtually anything on them and no harm done. Now as nice as this sounds, they are the worst keyboards to ever type on. As the faster you type, the worst it gets. Although the slower you type, the better it gets. So not very productive, but it would be great to have one of them IMHO as a spare just to get by.

Another benefit of wireless keyboards and mice that you never hear about is about the lack of damage from static electricity. As you can zap your wireless keyboard and mouse all you want to and it will never touch your more expansive computer. And since the wireless keyboard and mouse isn't grounded, it is almost impossible to harm them from static electricity anyway. ;-)

[Skipweasel]

Worse is having a X-over cable from which the label has become detached.

[BillW50]

In news: [e-mail], Skipweasel typed on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:47:19 -0000:

Yup, that too! :-(

[Steve Firth]

Jings, are there still computers/network cards that care?

[BillW50]

Ah also true. Many of them today can adjust if it is reversed. ;-)

[Skipweasel]

For those of us who are called upon to fettle older machines, they're still quite common. And cable modems, which for some reason don't seem to have joined the rest of the world.

[Ben Myers]

Or a X-over cable that is not RED???

But Cat 5 is easy to deal with. Just line up the ends to see if they are wired the same. If so, it's a straight cable. If not, it is more than likely crossover... Ben Myers

[Ben Myers]

Nope. A wired keyboard in the bag is not just belt-and-suspenders. That's being belt-and-suspenders with a servant walking behind you to hold up your pants.

As for mice, wired or wireless, the only ones that count for me are Microsoft and Logitech, with an occasional nicely done Kensington. There are all too many off-brand and no-name mice that are plain awful.

Is this a 5 minute argument or the full half hour? ... Ben

[BillW50]

In news:ifjbu3$b54$ [e-mail], Ben Myers typed on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:33:53 -0500:

Nope, that works for me. ;-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not really to do with cost, since I also have two reasonably recent PC desktops and a near new laptop.

This machine just does everything I use it for well - so I don't see any reason to change it just for the sake of change. Especially since I couldn't run the apps I like so much on it on a PC.

[Bob Villa]

I agree with you on MS (don't really know who makes these-possibly Logitech) and Logitech. All the Kensingtons I have used didn't seem very substantial.

bob

[Skipweasel]

Oooh, I've never seen a red one!

Yeah, but that only helps once you've thought of it - usually after consisderable swearing at alternatives.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'm not too impressed with Logitech. At least some of their keyboards have the letters just printed on which wears off quite quickly.

[dennis]

Long gone are the days of double shot injection moulded key caps on most keyboards. Laser etching is quite common and lasts well.

If its a miniature keyboard that's required the Gyration mouse and keyboard are quite nice and the mouse works without a surface to rest it on.

[Andy Burns]

Then some manufacturers just use some form of decal, which start to ping off after a few years, especially if the user has long finger nails.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The Logitech ones I referred to are just printed in some way. Logitech say it's fair wear and tear as regards their 3 year warranty, and refused to replace.

[Skipweasel]

On the other hand, they sent me a new dotty marble for one of our trackballs when our then toddling daughter took one and buried it in the garden.

[Davey]

Ah, the infamous "Lifetime Warranty". It is warranted as long as it's alive, after that, tough.

[geoff]

In message , brass monkey writes

If you're talking about commercial planes, they use independently designed redundant systems with different processors etc