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Hardware Technology

A Glance At 24 Keyboards & Mice 587

Posted by timothy from the so-you-don't-have-to dept.
robyn217 writes "Hey, KBs and mice aren't the most glamorous hardware in your system but there's no reason for them to be dull. I spent the last month testing out a new keyboard and mouse every day; covering everything from strange one-handed KBs to cool gesture-sensing pads to tacky ball-based mice. Check it out if you're thinking about trading up." Strictly one-paragraph blurbs here (I wish she'd talked about each keyboard's tactile feedback, and long-term comfort on the oddball designs), but if you need to do a visual scan of current offerings (many wireless), you can work toward a new mouse by clicking your way through. Update: 01/21 21:58 GMT by T : Errr, Robyn's a He, not a She -- many apologies. That hasn't happened in years!
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A Glance At 24 Keyboards & Mice More

A Glance At 24 Keyboards & Mice

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  • Best Keyboard... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ajiva ( 156759 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:09PM (#8047803)
    Seriously the best keyboards are the new Sun Type6 USB keyboards. They are sturdy, have the right "click" and since they are USB work with everything. Plus the control and capslock are in the proper position.

    • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by frodo from middle ea ( 602941 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:18PM (#8047950) Homepage
      Am I the only one, who hates USB keyboard and mouse. What's wrong with PS/2 ?
      Each of my USB port is connected to a 4 port USB hub. But most USB device manifacturer's derive all power from the USB and you would be lucky enough to support even 2 devices on a hub.
      If you read the fine print on all USB devices, it says "Don't connect via a usb Hub, directly plug-in to the pc's usb port.". Call any tech support for a problem on USB device, and the first thing they tell you is NOT to connect via a hub.

      How the fcuk I am supposed to connect 8 usb devices on a 3 port USB card without a USB hub ?

      • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:3, Informative)

        by Ianoo ( 711633 )
        There's a great reason for USB mice: higher throughput and therefore higher resolution (dpi). The mouse is more sensitive to small movements and the corresponding movements on the screen are less jerky. This does make a difference when working on a 3200x2400 screen (I don't do this very often, mind!).

        Also, newer USB keyboards support trendy features like hubs where you can plug in your mouse, digicam, PDA cradle, even digital speakers. If you're lucky enough to have a monitor with a USB hub built in, your

        • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:5, Informative)

          by Mafiew ( 620133 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:36PM (#8048225)
          USB mice have a refresh rate of only 125Hz. A ps/2 mouse can be run at 200Hz with a program called ps2 rate (was for 98 not sure if it works for xp) so your ps/2 mouse can actually run smoother than your USB. Also I recall that I had a logitech ps/2 mouse whose driver had a refresh rate setting.

        • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:3, Informative)

          by PCBman! ( 605303 )
          I'll back up the other comment about this.

          My logitech MX500 and Trackball are both run through PS/2 ports (home and work respectively). This is to take advantage of the higher report rates that PS/2 supports vs the 100 reports/s on USB.

          Now, why would I need this? 100 report/s still looks jerky to me, and that's annoying thing to deal with when I'm working in CAD software. It's still a preference thing, but PS/2 is STILL better for a mouse in my book, but I guess a keyboard doesn't need it anymore.
      • There are higher quality independtly powered USB hubs that eliminate that problem. There is no real difference between USB and PS/2 keyboards, but there is a big difference with high quality mice. Finally if lack of direct USB ports is still a big problem, my Asus $60 mobo has 6 USB ports, and a usb 2.0 pci card is like $15-20 dollars for four ports. Hardly the end of the world.
        • Exactly. There are passive hubs and active hubs. Passive hubs are merely good to connect two passive devices (such as a mouse/keyboard...). Active hubs are also VERY cheap. I don't know what the big deal is about...

      • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by tjansen ( 2845 ) * on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:34PM (#8048191) Homepage
        A lot is wrong with PS/2:
        • PS/2 is not hotpluggable. It is possibly to short-circuit your motherboard and fry your controller (not likely, but I saw at least one broken mobo after a failed hotplug attempt)
        • It is stupid to have a separate kind of port for each peripheral. There are already more than enough (serial&parallel ports, firewire, gameport, and analog audio in/outs should die as well, and in the long term there should be only one for network and peripherals)
        • Some people want more than one keyboard or mice/trackballs/graphics tablets. So should a system come with 5 PS/2 ports just for the case? Unlike USB you have no chance to add more PS/2 ports.
        • Even though they look identical the system has two separate ports for keyboard and mouse. Why? There is no logical reason (except bad engineering) for this, and definitely does not help usability
        • PS/2 devices are not good at identifying themselves. With USB a OS can identify the device type and load drivers automatically from the net.


        >>How the fcuk I am supposed to connect 8 usb devices on a 3 port USB card without a USB hub ?

        I agree that even today systems have not enough USB ports. 10 should be a minimum.
        But what's your problem? Try connecting 8 keyboards to three PS/2 ports...

        • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:4, Informative)

          by TeknoHog ( 164938 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:51PM (#8048442) Homepage Journal
          Even though they look identical the system has two separate ports for keyboard and mouse. Why? There is no logical reason (except bad engineering) for this, and definitely does not help usability

          They use a different pin for data. Laptops have a single PS/2 connector which works for both mice and keyboards, and with a splitter cable they can be plugged in at the same time.

          The question is, why don't all PS/2 ports have both data pins? I guess you could confuse your system with, say, two keyboards, because the system can't handle them separately. Thus I agree that USB would be a lot better.

        • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:4, Informative)

          by runderwo ( 609077 ) <runderwo.mail@win@org> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @07:06PM (#8050050)
          PS/2 is not hotpluggable. It is possibly to short-circuit your motherboard and fry your controller (not likely, but I saw at least one broken mobo after a failed hotplug attempt)
          No, at worst you would destroy the fuse. That is why the fuse is there after all. Most decent mb's have healing fuses on those ports anyway.

          The best part about PS/2 is that it is assigned its own interrupt and does not have to share with anything else. Frequently you will end up having your USB controller shared with your video, SCSI, etc, and thus causing more latency whenever a USB event arrives. With PS/2, it's the mouse, and just the mouse, on that interrupt.

        • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Afrosheen ( 42464 )
          Yeah, PS2 sucks, I agree. Even the ADB port for Macintosh was a dozen times better.

          Consider this. I worked at Glamour Shots headquarters a long time ago doing digital retouching. The SGI machines all had gigantic Wacom tablets that were great but the software was very limited (the imaging software used with them). The Mac machines were my favorite. Gobs of ram, scsi hard drives, and Wacom tablets connected via ADB. They had a passthrough port that intercepted the mouse connection from the keyboard. This

      • Wrong question (Score:4, Informative)

        by nosferatu-man ( 13652 ) <spamdot@homonculus.net> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:37PM (#8048253) Homepage
        A better question is: what's right about PS/2? Answer: nothing. It's not hot-swappable. The mouse/keyboard ports are physically identical, but logically distinct -- the most shit-stupid design mistake possible. What if you want more than one mouse? Keyboard?

        In sum: good riddance to bad rubbish.

        'jfb
    • Get yourself a Model M [modelm.org] - I found mine at a salvage yard for $5 (not including the PS/2 it was attached to). Loudest most satisfying keyboard I have ever owned. Guaranteed to keep the housemates awake and sharpening their bowie knives.

      • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by badasscat ( 563442 ) <basscadet75@@@yahoo...com> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:57PM (#8048523)
        Get yourself a Model M - I found mine at a salvage yard for $5 (not including the PS/2 it was attached to). Loudest most satisfying keyboard I have ever owned. Guaranteed to keep the housemates awake and sharpening their bowie knives.

        You'll find lots of Model M stalwarts out there, including myself. This is a keyboard that harkens back to a time when keyboards were considered honest to goodness peripherals, not just little flimsy bits included in the box when you buy your PC and best not thought about. The Model M is not the only high quality, tank-like mechanical keyboard to ever come out, but it's by far the cheapest if you want to go that route now (you can still buy Northgate keyboards marketed under the Avant name, for example, but they cost more than $100).

        You know you're old-school when you have to make sure you avoid the full DIN connector model when purchasing.

        As for the PS/2/USB debate (yeah, not sure how else to write that), I'm sticking with PS/2 until somebody invents something better. USB ain't it, at least not for keyboards and mice. 125hz vs. 200hz? No thanks. You also can't even use your keyboard until the USB driver has loaded - same goes for the mouse. This means if you get stuck in DOS for whatever reason (or, say, at the Recovery Console), you're basically screwed. Same is true for anyone using Linux - I tried a USB keyboard on a Linux box, and every time I screwed something up I'd just have to go and connect my Model M up anyway. I'll say the opposite of what someone else said: it's always better to have a dedicated connector intended to do one thing and one thing only. The PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports on your PC are only intended for the keyboard and mouse and because of that they work better with those devices than any other port your PC has.
      • I love my modelm too. If you want something that's not used and has 15 years worth of god-knows-what in the keyboard, get a keyboard from PCKeyboard.com [pckeyboard.com] - they bought the ModelM design from Lexmark (who had bought IBM's keyboard division), and still manufacture the Model M under the title "Classic 101" [pckeyboard.com] (there's also a 104 key version with those dumb Windows keys, but of course you wouldn't want that). They also sell an extra-badass black [yahoo.com] version. Both of those keyboards are pricey, but you definately get wh

    • Re:Best Keyboard... (Score:2, Informative)

      by CrashPanic ( 704263 )
      Can't beat the old IBM 103key IMHO. Thats what I'm using now. I just love the clackety clack it makes and the key covers are removable/interchangeable for easy cleaning and alternate key mappings. They built keyboards like tanks back then
    • The best input device is one where you dont have to move your hands to control something. If you can move your hands and eyes/head to control the computer...

      Makes me want to continue researching eye-gaze tracking [gbook.org].

    • Apple Keyboards are the best for prOn... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Aqua OS X ( 458522 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:47PM (#8048390)
      As Dave Chappelle once said in his Apple Switch Ad...

      Real Video: Broadband [comedycentral.com]

      Real Video: 56k [comedycentral.com]

      "I'm a chronic masturbator. I don't know what they make the keys out of, but, whatever it is, it's non stick"

    • Question of gender... (Score:4, Funny)

      by slipgun ( 316092 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @06:16PM (#8049493)
      Errr, Robyn's a He, not a She -- many apologies. That hasn't happened in years!

      Been that long since a woman submitted a story, eh? Aren't we geeks sad?

  • When the mouse wheel first came out (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:10PM (#8047819)
    ...I used to call it the "mouse clit." Still do.

  • Did they give them the 'junk food' test? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tinrobot ( 314936 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:10PM (#8047825)
    You know, the real world tests, like how does the keyboard perform after spilling a Red Bull all over it?

  • One Handed Keyboards? (Score:3, Informative)

    by drewzhrodague ( 606182 ) <drew&zhrodague,net> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:11PM (#8047843) Homepage Journal
    Any one handed keyboards, like the twiddler? They use these for the MIThril [mit.edu] wearable project. Some modification required. Location-Based Wi-Fi [wifimaps.com]

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:11PM (#8047849)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I wonder... (Score:5, Funny)

    by thrills33ker ( 740062 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:12PM (#8047857) Homepage
    Why would anyone want a one-handed keyboard?

    Oh... hang on...
    • Despite all the childish sniggering, there is a very good reason why there is demand for one-handed keyboards. In fact, it seems insane that the vast majority of keyboards can only be operated by people with MORE THAN THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF HANDS.

      Worked it out yet?

      Yes, that's right: the average number of hands is less than two, because not everyone has two hands.

      Two friends of mine would be delighted to get hold of a one-handed keyboard: one lost the use of his hand in an industrial accident, the ot

  • Tacky balls are the surest sign... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...you're not showering often enough.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) * on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:12PM (#8047865)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Heh, way to cope with a crappy article...

      As for me, Model M all the way. Just wish I knew how to make the speaker mounted underneath do something. But the uber-long detachable (from the keyboard in addition to the computer) PS/2 cord is awesome. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

      I think I have the same Intellimouse as the parent. Its a fantastic mouse, never had a problem, except for occasional crud buildup on the little rubber pads. I would like to be able to bind the extra buttons to do something usef

    • Kinesis fan (Score:4, Informative)

      by nosferatu-man ( 13652 ) <spamdot@homonculus.net> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:30PM (#8048145) Homepage
      I have a Kinesis Advantange USB keyboard, replacing an older Advantage PS/2 keyboard hooked up to my mac via an unreliable PS/2->USB adapter.

      It's wondrous. I think switching four years ago to Kinesis has saved my hands. I was developing chronic, persistent wrist pain from using my old IBM bucking-spring steel job -- still the best of the flat keyboards -- and was at my wit's end, when the ergo woman at my workplace brought a Kinesis by for me to try.

      Heaven! Keeping the wrists straight, even with my monster hands, has taken enormous strain off of them, and as a result, no more pain.

      In addition, I use a Kensington Expert Mouse Pro trackball (the USB one with four buttons and a scroll wheel), and switch it from left to right every couple of weeks. When I'm out with the powerbook, I use the Apple Pro mono-button mouse, which I dearly, dearly love as well.

      'jfb

      • Re:Kinesis fan (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Dixie_Flatline ( 5077 ) <vincent@jan@goh.gmail@com> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @05:35PM (#8049012) Homepage
        I own 3 Kinesis keyboards myself. I recently got an Advantage USB for my Mac at home, and I use a normal essential at work. I have an essential at home that I used for years, but now needs a good cleaning before it'll work reliably again.

        There are lots of people that swear by them, and I'm one of them. However, I'll tell you the real secret of the Kinesis keyboards:

        Ctrl, Alt, PgUp, PgDown, Home, End, Backspace, Delete, Space and Return are all thumb keys. That's right, there're 12 keys that are actuated with your thumbs, and they're keys that you use all day long. Once you learn the joy of never having to hit the return key with your pinky, or being able to backspace quickly with your thumb without moving your hand, you'll never go back. Personally, I think it would have been cool if one of the thumb keys had been a shift key, but that probably would have been a bit cumbersome.

        I bought a kinesis after someone talked about it on slashdot in the comments. Hopefully, someone out there will also visit www.kinesis-ergo.com and give one of their keyboards a try. You won't regret it, despite the price. If you spend all day typing, you owe it to yourself to have a keyboard that's comfortable and ergonomic. Seriously, I enjoy typing now more than I ever have in the past.

    • Re:Worthless (Score:2, Informative)

      by robyn217 ( 575679 )
      Yeah, it's actually a print article. So all of these blurbs in print add up to around 4000 words. That's a good amount of room.

      I wrote a full review [extremetech.com] of the TouchStream ST (a full keyboard from FingerWorks, the brainy company that makes the iGesture NumPad). I really liked it, actually. As a full keyboard, it can replace just about anything out there--and I found the gesture-sensing ability of the kb to work very well, and save me a ton of time with simple actions like cut, copy, paste.

      The NumPad is

      • Text v. ads (Score:3, Insightful)

        by iamsure ( 66666 )
        "So all of these blurbs in print add up to around 4000 words. That's a good amount of room."

        In print, the 4000 words wouldnt be dwarfed by ads easily double the size of the text.

        There is a reason magazines have layout specifications, and the fact that pcmag split your (admittedly well written) article THAT many places made it completely unacceptable to read.

        When reading a magazine, people will only generally tolerate a 2 to 1 ratio of ads to text, and the ads generally have to be seperate from the text.
    • You can also switch to DVORAK on Windows just by altering a software setting as well. Also in MacOS 9. I'd be surprised if you couldn't do the same thing on Linux.

      I've heard conflicting reports about DVORAK. Some studies have shown only very slight improvements over QWERTY. Plus, you give up the ability to be able to type on someone else's machine without changing the settings. Plus the re-training time.

      Personally, I wouldn't bother switching to DVORAK and I am in the process of teaching my little daughte

    • Re:Worthless (Score:3, Informative)

      by msobkow ( 48369 )

      What do you mean "almost no content"?

      I saw nothing in this ad-clogged "article" that didn't look like it was ripped straight from a manufacturer's website.

      No comparisons. No comments on tactile feel, travel, weight, comfort, battery lifespan (if applicable), range, responsiveness, etc.

      It would have been less fraudulent to just put up a sales catalog of the products "reviewed".

    • Signal : Noise (Score:5, Informative)

      by Neuracnu Coyote ( 11764 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @05:19PM (#8048770) Homepage Journal
      On a whim, I decided to check the signal-to-noise ratio on this site's content by taking a screenshot of the full page (165x600 pixels, reduced) and measuring the actual content area (93x100 pixels, reduced by same factor).

      A little area calculation later, the signal to noise for PCMag.com is: 93:897 (ie: noise factor of 9.645 times the signal). I will never visit that site out of choice again.

    • For gaming (Score:3, Informative)

      by pkaral ( 104322 )
      I found that for gaming, cordless is bad. Not only did my wife's Logitech cordless stuff interfere with mine. I also found that there were spontaneous lags even when no other set of keyboard/mouse was present. Furthermore, if my mobile happened to ring while I played, mouse and keyboard performance was near zero until the phone stopped ringing.

      I now use a Boomslang Razor for playing. It is extremely precise, but I'm not all that crazy about its very low design - it doesn't support the hand very well.

  • old, old joke (Score:5, Funny)

    by Wingchild ( 212447 ) <brian.kern@gmail.com> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:13PM (#8047873)
    covering everything from strange one-handed KBs

    There used to be an old joke about this; Build a one-handed keyboard and the world will beat a path to your door.

    The joke was interchangeable with `left handed mouse for right handed people`.

    And as long as we're in innuendo land, it's appropriate to add that if you build it, they will come. :)
  • I'd like to trade my keyboard up to one with more useless buttons, because my desk isnt cluttered enough. Right now I have the windows key, th scroll lock, and the menu key (next to the right-hand windows key). Maybe one of those fancy Sun keyboard with that patch of keys on the side? What is the keyboard with the most number of less-than-useful keys?
    • Ms natural keyboard

      caps lock = F15
      left windows key = F13
      right alt = Super
      right windows key = Alt
      right 'tasklist' key = F14
      right controk key = Hyper
      prtscrn = Help
      scroll lock = Menu
      pause/break = Redo

      been using these bindings for years and years, having two additional modifiers available (Hyper and Super) makes it possible to have TONS of extra functionality (Hyper for emacs and Super for the window manager).

      Now, if there was a good freeware keyboard remapper for Windows 2000 (that works with the MS natural

  • Trusty IBM Model M (Score:3, Informative)

    by spooon ( 447071 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:16PM (#8047927)
    I can't speak for anyone else, but I think that the best keyboard ever made was the IBM Model M PS/2 keyboard. It's got individual springs for each of the keys, the keys give satisfying clicks, the keycaps are removable, and it's even got a nifty drainage hole on the bottom. It'll even double as a baseball bat in a pinch (steel baseplate). I'm here at work typing on a Dell laptop keyboard which, frankly, is a steaming pile of crap.

    All these newfangled keyboards with their plastic membranes and mushy keys. I'll take my Model M any day.
    • I still miss the IBM keyboard that was made mostly out of steel that came with my 8086 back in the day. That thing was a tank! The Model M that I have now comes in a close second. I hate typing on the new-fangled KBs with squisy keys (no click!) that get stuck and aren't repairable.

  • Cherry Keyboards (Gold Series) (Score:3, Informative)

    by Erik_ ( 183203 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:16PM (#8047929)
    I've been using a Cherry keyboard for 5 years. Sturdy keys, high-quality plastic, excellent springs. While I did pay more thant 70$ for that keyboard 5 years ago, the new ones are much much cheaper. I got a new one on order.
  • Microsoft - Poor Software, Great Input Devices!

  • wireless? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by spoonyfork ( 23307 ) <spoonyfork@@@gmail...com> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:17PM (#8047946) Journal
    I hate short-life batteries and I hate losing stuff. I can hear it now... "Mommy, where's the mouse?"
    Wireless keyboards and mice aren't going to find their way into my den any time soon.

    • Re:wireless? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by el-spectre ( 668104 )
      I have a logitech wireless (2 actually) KB/mouse combo. The keyboard lasts for weeks, and the mouse seems to last about a 2 weeks (my set up at home has a recharger for the mouse... sweet).

      THis is all on NiMH batteries. Alkaline would last much longer. Since I have a quick charger and 4 more batteries than required, I don't worry about it.

      • Re:wireless? (Score:3, Informative)

        by zerocool^ ( 112121 )
        I was gonna say...

        I have a wireless logitech keyboard, and it's been using the same set of duracel ultra double A's for over 1.5 years now. I use the thing every day, sometimes for games, including games like NWN, where I spend a good bit of the game holding down the "tab" key (illuminates objects you can interact with).

        Short battery life is not a reason to not own one of these. I've also never noticed a difference in response time from it to a wired keyboard.

        ~Will

    • Re:wireless? (Score:3, Informative)

      by pogle ( 71293 )
      My Logitech Cordless Duo MX does *quite* well on batteries...the keyboard is still on the original 2 AA batteries that came with it 8 months ago, and the mouse lasts a full days usage, then just drop it into the cradle when you goto bed and its ready for a new day. Or just drop it in the cradle on the coffee break to ensure its good for an all nighter. That is *much* improved performance over my previous wireless keyboard (4 AAs lasted 6 months), and the cradle-recharging mouse is convenience itself.

      As f
    • I've been using a Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse (the Cordless Freedom Pro Combo, since discontinued) for a couple of years, at work and at home. I can easily recommend them to anyone. Battery life at work is around 6 months, at home closer to 9... not a perceptible burden. This mouse uses a trackball, so the battery life on it is probably better than it would be for an optical cordless mouse.

      The PC at home is in the office/den, and my three kids have only lost the mouse once (gone missing for a coup
  • I've been using this setup for about 6 months now, and could not be happier! The bouse has a great "feel" and the charging dock is worth it's weight in gold.

    Not sure why this was not reviewed, but I would suggest it to anyone looking to upgrade to cordless.

  • IBM tumbling spring (Score:3, Insightful)

    by avandesande ( 143899 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:18PM (#8047963) Journal
    For carpal tunnel relief try one of the old IBM tumbling-spring keyboards. They're noisy but good!

  • Wireless... Not me, I'm paranoid !!! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Erik_ ( 183203 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:19PM (#8047973)
    While I have no complains about Wireless mices (bluetooth, 443Mhz, whatever frequency), I can't get my head around the number of people that purchase Wireless keyboards. Some have better encryption than others, but why in the hell would you want your passwords or credit card number fly though the air using a 40$ keyboard/receiver ? Do people seriously think that those credentials cannot be captured ?

    • Re:Wireless... Not me, I'm paranoid !!! (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I know what I LIKE HORSE COCKS! you mean, sometimes with my Logitech wireless OCTOGENERIAN PORNOGRAPHY TURNS ME ON keyboard gets its signal interrupted HOT ASIAN BUKKAKE GANGBANG RIGHT NOW by the one my little brother uses I THINK FREEDIE PRICE JUNIOR IS SEXY! in his bedroom next door. The little twerp likes BIG BLACK COCKS DRIPPING WITH PEARLY SEMEN to fuck with me by sending dirty messages. That is, until I go SHOVING GERBILS UP MY ASS over there and break the keyboard over his damn head. 24/7 SCAT FETISH

    • 150m range (Score:3, Informative)

      by nacturation ( 646836 )
      Especially considering that some keyboards, like HP's, can transmit up to 150 meters away [theregister.co.uk]... through a couple of walls! Not to fear though, HP has some great advice for users of its products: "don't type anything sensitive".

  • No love for the Best. Pointing Device. Ever? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by MsGeek ( 162936 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:19PM (#8047980) Homepage Journal
    The Logitech Marble Mouse simply has ownage over any other pointing device on the planet. Optical trackball, requiring less frequent cleanings, with the cleanings being easier than similar roller ball trackballs like the Kensington Orbit.

    The ultimate test of this is the FPS test. I love using this when playing Unreal Tournament. You can make very quick, flicking movements with this that are great for aiming and firing.

    The only thing that a conventional mouse has over the Marble Mouse is in drawing. I am a bit more comfortable with a conventional mouse doing that. Then again, that's not the proper tool for the job, a tablet is.
    • I like the marble mouse - I own two of them. But, the Kensington expert mouse is way better. It has an optical trackball. Plus it has full-sized buttons 3 and 4 rather than those dinky little buttons on the marble mouse.

      Finally (and this is why I'll never go back to the logitech) is the scroll wheel. It's a little wheel that works like the scroll wheel in a mouse. You just use your thumb to scroll any window.

      The downsides are footprint and the price; it's much larger and much more expensive than the logit

  • More reviews (Score:4, Informative)

    by ValourX ( 677178 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:20PM (#8047988) Homepage

    Better reviews of keyboards and mice can be found here:

    Keyboard reviews [thejemreport.com]

    Mouse reviews [thejemreport.com]

    -Jem
  • Hi, I'm the guy who wrote the Bluetooth HID (keyboard/mouse) driver for Linux so that I could use the M$FT Bluetooth desktop. More recently, I've picked up an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. I really like it a lot, and prefer it to the M$FT keyboard. And not just because you can rearrange the keys into a sane layout (Dvorak) without ending up with a mishmash of different key heights; more important, the Apple keyboard actually has an ON/OFF switch, so you won't have to pull out the batteries when you're done u

  • bluetooth gotchas (Score:3, Informative)

    by foo fighter ( 151863 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:20PM (#8047998) Homepage
    I found out the bluetooth that comes with the less expensive Logitech set and the Microsoft set can hardly be called bluetooth.

    The adapters only work with the keyboards and mice, so forget using them with your Palm T3 pda or your Ericsson T68i cellphone or your HP printer. They also don't work with your own existing bluetooth adapter.

    Also, the Microsoft set has a host of problems that will have you throwing it against the wall within the first week of ownership. Google on the model name and you'll find the details.

    I can't speak on the expensive Logitech set because I haven't tried it.

  • Logitech wireless keyboards... oops who's input? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Erik_ ( 183203 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:22PM (#8048031)
    I've experienced in my previous company users and secretaries using older Logitech wireless keyboards, seeing other people's text being inserted in their word processing... The persons where even on different floors with about 10 meters distances.
  • I've been looking for a full sized keyboard without the numeric keypad and all those other junk keys I never use. I find it really annoying to have to skip over 8 inches of crap to get to the mouse.

    I looks like the Kinesis Maxim fits the bill.

    Anybody try this out? The review is a little scant on details such as feel (cupped keys?, huh?) and clicketyness ...

  • The worst I ever used (probably the worst there ever was) was the Sinclair ZX81's plastic membrane [karoo.net]. You know, from back when 16 kilobytes was called a memory expansion module and dinosaurs walked the earth [classicpcgames.com].
  • I didn't see the Happy Hacking 2 Lite [yahoo.com] keyboard on the list. This got a lot of positive buzz a while back, and I'de like to see how it has held up. Anyone use this? I'm a big fan of keyboards that require less space.
  • Could they fit any more ads on that page? Actually, I think I saw a little space on the bottom right!

    But, seriously, where are the trackballs??
  • First off, I hate the fact there's only a little paragraph of text, then I have to click on "next". What's up with that? I didn't have the patience read the whole article.

    So far, I've grown a loyalty with Logitech products. Always have been great for the price.

  • I want a real programmer's keyboard (Score:4, Interesting)

    by AaronW ( 33736 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @04:32PM (#8048173) Homepage
    So far I have yet to see a keyboard truely optimized for programmers. I don't want all the multimedia and email crap keys. The best keyboard I've used to date is the Sun keyboard (that Front key is extremely useful).

    What I want is a keyboard:

    1. Get rid or move the fscking capslock key out of the way. It's a waste of prime real-estate.

    2. Make another row of keys so I don't have to keep hitting shift for all the symbol keys. This is really useful for C, C++, Java, Perl, and script programming, and probably a bunch of other languages as well.

    3. If you split the keys like the MS Natural Keyboard, I think a few additional keys could be moved to the center to reduce stress on the pinky. I.e. shift and possibly Return.

    4. Implement keys on the side like the Sun keyboard. Sun has a reasonably good selection of keys to the left where the function keys used to be on old keyboards. Front, cut, copy, paste, and find are quite useful there.

    5. Move control back where it belongs, where they now place the CAPS lock key. Caps lock is only good for AOL users and should be eliminated for the most part. Or else, move it somewhere out of the way.

    I shouldn't have to keep hitting shift for common keys when programming like () & # - + | ? < > : " { }. As a C programmer I often use the shifted key far more often than the non-shifted (i.e. () {})

    I'd pay good money for such a keyboard. Maybe since Logitech's headquarters is next door to where I work maybe I should walk over there and suggest it to them.

    -Aaron

  • robyn217 writes "Hey, KBs and mice aren't the most glamorous hardware in your system but there's no reason for them to be dull.

    I think that your keyboard and mouse are much more important than people realize. After all, they are the primary way you interact w/ your PC, aside from the screen. When I built my new machine recently, I went to the local computer retail shop and walked down the keyboard isle, trying out every keyboard they had on display. I typed a paragraph of text. Did some editing comm

  • Phase 1: Submit story referring to my article in PC Magazine to Slashdot.

    Phase 2: ???

    Phase 3: PROFIT!
  • I got this keyboard about 6 months ago and it does take some adjusting to, but the gestures, the mousing, the relief from constant pain in my hands and arms is amazing!

    I would highly recommend it to anyone who types and mouses alternately and frequently (e.g. type, mouse, type mouse, type etc....) but if you are a touch typist expect to lose some typing speed for at least the first 8 weeks. The zero force feedback does take some getting used to.

    I still keep a mouse connected (and an old keyed keyboard fo
  • I tried to RTFA to see how they rated the keyboard/mouse combo that I use: The Logitech MX Duo. All I could find is the bluetooth version which I understand is an expensive step backwards.

    Anyway, I wholheartedly recommend the Logitech MX700 mouse and the cordless keyboard that comes in the MX duo package. I have been working from home, and the mouse can go for 12 hours of hard use without a recharge. It is also extremely precise (great for first person shooters and warcraft). The keyboard is pretty goo

  • For not making the MX900 work with OS X. I mean c'mon...you can get new Macs with Bluetooth....

    Guess I have to live with my MX500 (no way to MX700).

  • IBM type M.
    I buy every one I find at a garage sale. If I find an old PS/2 for $20, I buy it, keep the keyboard and dump the PC in the trash.

    As a bonus, the old ones don't have Windows keys.
  • Around Christmas 2002, Logitech ran a twentieth anniversary contest where they gave away 20,000 wireless keyboard/mouse combos. The contest ran from 8:00AM to 5:00PM on the day of my company's annual christmas party. A friend of mine emailed me the link to the contest about noon. By 12:30, I'd written a perl script that entered the contest and notified me of winning entries, so I could complete the form to mail me the keyboard. By 5:00, I'd won twenty keyboards, but was only able to claim 18 because I ran o
  • and of course nothing like it is in this article.

    The fashion keyboard [yahoo.net] ($60) is really the MacAlly IceKey, reconfigured with PC-style ctrl/alt/Win keys.

    The keys are laptop-style "scissor keys"; typing on this thing feels like dancing.

    Available in a wide array of colors (hence the "fashion" moniker). Also the keys can be had in black, which won't look disgusting after a year of use.
  • For many people, I think that it is much more important to buy a decent keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer and maybe scanner than it is to get a 3Ghz (or whatever the latest is now) processor. Especially for business users who are using it for 8+ hours a day. So get a computer with a 1GHz chip, 256M ram and a 20G hard drive and splash out on a 17" flatscreen and a nice keyboard and mouse, if you're word processing.

  • Gaming Mouse (Score:3, Informative)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @05:40PM (#8049073) Homepage
    One of the things this roundup didn't really cover was gaming mice. Since computer hardware towards gaming tends to be somewhat high end, I was surprised this wasn't mentioned. THe closest thing was that Logitechs mouse is 800 dpi, which is pretty high up there.

    My friend has an older Razer Boomslang, which uses a ball, but is VERY high quality. Currently Razer offers two different types of their mouse, one for RTS which is much more responsive, and one for FPS, which is supposedly slower to help you play better....doesn't make sense, so if anybody knows which would be better for a FPS (cuz i have a hard time believing that slower would be better) from experience, please post.

    Also, if anybody has opinions on what a good gaming mouse is, I'm in the market for the top of the line, best of the best.

  • Natural Bluetooth Keyboard (Score:3, Insightful)

    by aclarke ( 307017 ) <spam.clarke@ca> on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @06:10PM (#8049434) Homepage
    What I'd like, that apparently doesn't exist yet, is a "natural" bluetooth keyboard.

    I'd also like a bluetooth mouse that can be used with either hand equally well. It looks like all the bluetooth mice in this review are right-hand mice, although it could just be the angle in the photographs.

  • How can you get the gender wrong? (Score:3, Funny)

    by pen ( 7191 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @06:29PM (#8049643)
    Errr, Robyn's a He, not a She -- many apologies.
    How could you ever get that wrong with a last name like Peterson ? ;)

  • I have a onehanded keyboard. (Score:3)

    by Unregistered ( 584479 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @06:31PM (#8049662)
    It's ust a differernt way to type. I can type near as fast with one hand as i can with 2. I dont do it as much so i do make typos, but with practice, my generic kb would work fine as a 1-handed kb.

  • Good content, terrible design. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by corian ( 34925 ) on Wednesday January 21, 2004 @07:44PM (#8050444)
    The article seemed interesting, but I gave up only one category in. Come on -- one or two paragraphs and a picture per page? That could have easily all fit on one screen and been MUCH easier to read, and prevent having to wait for a ton of extraneous border material to reload and rerender for each component. You don't make people turn the page of your magazine for each new paragraph, do you???

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