So my current computer setup (until I force a friend of mine to repair my desktop, which apparently was struck by lightning during the Late Unpleasantness) kind of requires me to have a wireless keyboard and mouse. I had some fancy shmancy Logitech keyboard/mouse set (a mouse with, as Dr. Evil would put it, la-sers). More and more, it has periods of time in which the mouse doesn't work at all, and the keyboard desides that I have forgotten how to spell words or press the space bar.
I'm doing a lot of work from home now, so this is a big problem. Have any of you had good experiences with wireless keyboards/mice?
-pH
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Some possible issues: 1) Low battery 2) Radio interference. This latter can be caused by wireless phones, wireless networking, large speakers, and -- especially -- microwaves operating nearby.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I don't have speakers turned on...I've changed the batteries twice.
I do have a cordless phone on my desk, but I don't usually keep my cell nearby. The mouse never really worked right, so I'm thinking this whole "la-ser" thing is a hoax.
-pH
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
I use a Microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard, alongside another computer that has a Microsoft wireless mouse. I've had no problems with either of them, and they are right next to each other on my desk. I also use a cordless phone and a cell phone at that same desk, and used to use a wireless internet connection. I've never had a problem with any of these interfering with each other, though toward the end of my use of the wireless internet connection I was having problems with it. I don't think it was the use of all the wireless stuff that was the problem, though, because I had the problem no matter where in the house I went. If I went outside, it seemed to be better, which indicates to me that it was the strength of the signal from the cell tower that was the problem.
Anyway. I'm pleased with my Microsoft wireless keyboard & mouse. They work just great. When they start to act up, it's always that the battery is about to go out. My keyboard battery lasts about a year. The mouse, about 6-8 months.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
I've never met a bluetooth product that I was satisfied with, so I would recommend against bluetooth stuf and say stick with infrared. I think Bluetooth is the most overhyped and disappointing technology out there.
* This post written on a Wingkey model Bluetooth Trackball Keyboard from Bluelogic Technologies.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
What frequency is your wireless input setup using, pH? A cordless phone operating at the same frequency within 10 feet would almost certainly kill it.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Ummmmm.....the frequency of sucking.
My phone is 5.8 ghz.
-pH
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Are you using the mouse on a surface that reflects light at all? I was using my father in laws computer a little while ago and couldn't figure out why the cursor was jumping all over the place until I realized that his desk was quite reflective and that was interfering with the optical mouse. I put the mouse on a mouse pad and everthing worked fine.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
While I don't currently have it hooked up, my wireless keyboard - a Logitech Cordless Iternet Pro (Model Name Y_RK56A) - has always worked perfectly fine from across the room. Eats batteries like a demon, but that's what rechargable batteries are good for.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
My Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse gobble batteries (the mouse worse than the keyboard), and every so often the connection needs to be reset, but other than that they're great. Neither my cell nor my cordless phone have ever caused any problem that I noticed.
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
I once had an IBM wireless keyboard and mouse (not by my own choice); the mouse's response time was sluggish, and the keyboard frequently mistyped.
But this is the first time I've heard of similar problems with Logitech. Maybe trying what rivka suggested will do it.
Phones and infra-red wireless gear should never be on the same frequency, so that probably isn't an issue.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I've got a Labtec set that I picked up off Woot (actually, I have two sets, it was Twofer Tuesday), and aside from what I would consider to be a short battery life (mouse ~6 weeks, keyboard ~10 weeks), they've worked out really well for me. My keyboard has a little LED on it that will light when my batteries are low, my mouse simply becomes less responsive.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I have a logitech keyboard and mouse, and I love it. It responds very fast, and while the mouse gobbles batteries faster than the keyboard it still doesn't go through them too fast.
Kwea
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kwea: I have a logitech keyboard and mouse, and I love it. It responds very fast, and while the mouse gobbles batteries faster than the keyboard it still doesn't go through them too fast.
Kwea
The logitech sets with a mouse recharging station are worth the extra money just for the savings in battery costs. That and they have quite a good feature set.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
This seems like as good a place as any to post a random hardware question. I've got a wifi network at home, with my desktop plugged directly into the router, since it does not do wifi. My desktop is in the den/office, which is not in the center of the house, leading me to have fairly mediocre laptop coverage at the extremes of my house, such as upstairs or on the front porch. Just today, I bought a wireless print server so that I could print from any computer without having to turn on the computer that the printers are currently connected to, the desktop. The print server connects to my network through wifi, and it has one or two ethernet ports that the box claims you can hook up a computer without wifi capability to, and thus connect it to your network. I'm thinking this will (Bonus!) allow me to move my router to a centralized location, like my living room or kitchen, and just use the print server to connect the desktop to it. Does that sound like it will work?
I was going to buy a plug-in wifi signal extender, but now it seems like I won't need to, if I can just move my router. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
If I'm understanding your description of your setup properly, yes, that should work.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Well, then, I hope I'm understanding it properly. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
lol
Bets? Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
The bluetooth keyboard I was using punished me for badmouthing it by running out of batteries without warning tonight. Now I'm having to use a crappy, undependable USB one.
[ November 16, 2006, 12:36 AM: Message edited by: Icarus ]
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
*sigh*
The print server's working . . . as a print server. I can print from any laptop without the desktop being on. And with the wifi router moved out into the living room, reception's great throughout the house.
The box it came in clearly states I can use it to connect computers to a wireless network, but the documentation inside does not say this, and the instructions for connecting a PC are merely for allowing a PC physically connected to the print server to print to the printer.
The weird thing is, though, that when I examine the network from the other computers, I can see the desktop one connected to it. But I can't access the internet from the desktop.
I was too tired last night to figure this out. I'll have to try again tonight.
[ November 17, 2006, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Icarus ]
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
pH,
I know this will seem really simple (I always manage to overlook the basics, so rest assured it's not intended as a slight) but have you made sure the receivey end is plugged in really well?
I'm using a Logitech wireless setup and it's awesome. 99% of the time when I have a problem with it, it's because the batteries are low. Once it was because the plug was slightly out. I went crazy testing batteries before I thought to check it.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
The plug's fine, as far as I can tell. It's a USB.
The Best Buy salesman told me that the Logitech keyboards have more problems with missing keystrokes than others and recommended this Microsoft one...which is doing the same thing, but less often. I do have a metal and glass desk, and since metal can interfere, I got smart and put felt down between the keyboard and the keyboard tray. Which helps, I guess. Maybe I should take the receiver off the glass desktop?
-pH
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
I've had exactly one Logitech setup and one Microsoft setup. The Logitechs have worked much better for me but with my alarming sample size, go figure.
Shot in the dark: the wireless setups I've seen have two connection cables, one USB, the other round and green(?). Assuming your model is the same, does it matter which is connected?
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
The one Logitech device I bought was an optical mouse, and it sucked. *shrug* Go figure.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
My laptop doesn't have any round connecties. Just USB and monitor.
-pH
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
Gotcha. I'm at the boundaries of my massive technical expertise, so here's hopin' someone more knowledgeable stops in, and/or the evil juju vacates your hardware. Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
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