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Wireless Keyboards and Mice?
I'm considering getting a wireless keyboard and mouse. I'm looking at
some IR devices from Microsoft and Logitech. I have several questions: 1) How good are wireless keyboards and mice? 2) What are the drawbacks and things to watch out for? 3) How often do the batteries need to be recharged? 4) How many recharges can the batteries take? 5) When the batteries can't be recharged again, do you have to buy a new device? I will be installing a wireless network later this year, so I don't want to get any Bluetooth devices. I know that Bluetooh is all-band interference for WiFi devices, which can be a problem for wireless networks. However, theory is often different from practice. I've heard good and bad when it comes to using both Bluetooth and WiFi devices in the same location, so I'm curious as to how well Bluetooth keyboards and mice will co-exist with WiFi networks in practice. Do they interfer with the network? Would the signals given off by the WiFi access point interfer with the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse? --Tom |
#2
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Girgath said this...
1) How good are wireless keyboards and mice? There's a slight lag on a wireless mouse. If you're a gamer it's the difference between alive and dead. -- º~ dªv¡d ~º |
#3
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"Groove" wrote in message
Girgath said this... 1) How good are wireless keyboards and mice? There's a slight lag on a wireless mouse. If you're a gamer it's the difference between alive and dead. Go to the properties in Device Manager for the mouse and see if upping the sampling rate gets rid of the lag. I have a wireless mouse and have never noticed any additional lag over a wired one. Also make sure that you have line-of-sight between mouse and receiver. Although wireless mice no longer use IR and so don't have to be in line-of-sight, I've found that the corner of a monitor with its shielding or other metallic objects in the line-of-sight path can reduce reception. Peculiarly, sometimes wireless mice don't work well when they are too close to the receiver. -- __________________________________________________ __________ ** Share with others. Post replies in the newsgroup. ** If present, remove all "-nix" from my email address. __________________________________________________ __________ |
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Vanguard said this...
Go to the properties in Device Manager for the mouse and see if upping the sampling rate gets rid of the lag. I no longer use the wireless kit on my gaming machine, but my thanks for the tip as it may help a friend with some similar problems. -- º~ dªv¡d ~º |
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"Thomas M" wrote in message
I'm considering getting a wireless keyboard and mouse. I'm looking at some IR devices from Microsoft and Logitech. I have several questions: 1) How good are wireless keyboards and mice? 2) What are the drawbacks and things to watch out for? 3) How often do the batteries need to be recharged? 4) How many recharges can the batteries take? 5) When the batteries can't be recharged again, do you have to buy a new device? I will be installing a wireless network later this year, so I don't want to get any Bluetooth devices. I know that Bluetooh is all-band interference for WiFi devices, which can be a problem for wireless networks. However, theory is often different from practice. I've heard good and bad when it comes to using both Bluetooth and WiFi devices in the same location, so I'm curious as to how well Bluetooth keyboards and mice will co-exist with WiFi networks in practice. Do they interfer with the network? Would the signals given off by the WiFi access point interfer with the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse? --Tom If the high price of a cordless keyboard is worth the esthetics of not having a cord run along the monitor and over the desk, I wouldn't bother getting a wireless keyboard. While some mice drivers include software that alerts you to when the battery level is low in the mouse, they might not warn you when the battery gets low in wireless keyboard. You'll end up wondering why keystrokes are missed and why a game or application isn't reacting smoothly, not knowing that it's because your battery is low until the keyboard becomes completely unresponsive. There's been many a time when I would be banging on a keyboard wondering why it isn't working only to find the battery level was too low. You'll also go through more batteries if you include a wireless keyboard. Wireless mice are great in that the cord is eliminated so you don't feel like you are pushing it against the resistance of having to also move the cord around. If you are in tight quarters, you don't have a cord pushing against your system case or other object and having to mickey mouse around with the mouse to find how to move it around to keep the cord from snagging or rubbing. Some wireless mice are heavy and some are much lighter. At one point, I trialed IBM (which is made by someone else with IBM's logo slapped on it), Microsoft, and Logitech cordless mice. The IBM was the heaviest, and its power-saving cycle was polled so you couldn't shake it out of sleep mode until it next polled the mouse (i.e., you could end up moving the mouse a LOT for about 2 seconds before the mouse pointer on the screen started moving), and it goes to sleep far too soon. The Microsoft was a bit lighter but I didn't like its sleep mode, either; went to sleep too fast. I settled on the Logitech cordless mouse (the one that is symmetrical so it can be used on left or right side) because it was lightest and would take longer to go to sleep and it would come out of sleep more quickly (and maybe why battery life isn't great). Also, the lighter the wireless mouse (with batteries) the less fatigued is your fingers and wrist. I didn't have the IBM or Microsoft long enough to determine what was their battery life. The Logitech's batteries go dead after 17 to 22 days when using alkaline batteries and go dead after 14 to 18 days when using rechargable batteries. Games usually have you constantly moving the mouse so you'll be at the short-end of the battery life if you play games a lot. Logitech suggests you use a light or white surface for the mouse, but I've yet to see white mouse pads with a gel wrist rest (which I require to prevent soreness). Obviously you need to get rechargable batteries so as not to keep buying more alkalines, but be sure to get ones that have the amperage capacity or greater that is quoted for the device. Get 2 sets of rechargables so you can have one set charged and ready for when the ones in the mouse get too low. Logitech now has a model that sits in a cradle to recharge the batteries (because they've realized that battery life is just too short). Of the IBM, Microsoft, and Logitech, the Logitech is the easiest to pop open the cover and replace the batteries. One wireless mouse (don't remember if the IBM or Microsoft) had the batteries slide in and under the case which made removing the batteries much more difficult. The other one of the two had a much more difficult panel to remove to get at the batteries; I kept pondering when the cover would break in trying to pop it off. The Logitech's cover plate snaps out easily, the batteries are not covered at all with the cover plate removed, and you can just smack it into your hand to remove the batteries although it is easy to use your fingers to get at the batteries. I also had gaming problems with different wireless mice. With the IBM and Microsoft, there was a lag or jerkiness when quickly rotating your view. Upping the sampling rate in Device Manager for the mouse device did not help. I tried reverting to the PS/2 std. mouse driver and that didn't help, either. So for those that notice a "lag" in games when using a wireless mouse, get a different wireless mouse. The Logitech proved very smooth whether using the PS/2 std. mouse driver included in Windows or Logitech's own Mouseware, and there was no lag even at the slowest sampling rate. So it is the hardware that determines whether the wireless mouse is smooth moving or not. In that regard, Logitech was far better than the IBM or Microsoft wireless mice and was the clincher to use that one. Although it sounds like I am biased to the Logitech wireless mouse, that's because it has proven the best one for me. I had one but it broke (I got ****ed and tossed it into wall; I go through keyboards and mice about every 6 months). I wanted a wireless mouse with a longer battery life as I was getting annoyed at having to swap the rechargable every 2 to 3 weeks. That's why I tried the IBM wireless mouse. Sucked. Then I tried the Microsoft wireless Blue mouse. Better but not nearly as smooth in gaming as the Logitech. So I got forced back to the Logitech because I needed its features and behavior more than I needed longer battery life. I don't know if their cordless mouse and their new one with a recharging cradle are about the same weight. A wireless mouse that is lightweight is very important for me as it reduces the fatigue on my little finger in having to grasp the mouse when lifting it to move it (one of the reasons that I like trackballs better but haven't found one smoother or tougher than the Kensington Expert Mouse but don't like its button placement, and their newer models are just too stiff or resistive to rolling the ball). -- __________________________________________________ __________ ** Share with others. Post replies in the newsgroup. ** If present, remove all "-nix" from my email address. __________________________________________________ __________ |
#6
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"Groove" wrote in message
Vanguard said this... Go to the properties in Device Manager for the mouse and see if upping the sampling rate gets rid of the lag. I no longer use the wireless kit on my gaming machine, but my thanks for the tip as it may help a friend with some similar problems. As noted in my other reply in this thread, it really depends on which wireless mouse you use. I've tried both IBM's and Microsoft's Blue wireless mice and could not get them from not skipping in games even with setting the sampling rate at its highest value and regardless of using the PS/2 std. mouse driver or the product's own driver. I found the Logitech wireless mouse to be just as smooth as a corded mouse even at the slowest sampling rate. So the hardware is what dictates how smooth the mouse is in the game. -- __________________________________________________ __________ ** Share with others. Post replies in the newsgroup. ** If present, remove all "-nix" from my email address. __________________________________________________ __________ |
#7
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Thomas M wrote:
I'm considering getting a wireless keyboard and mouse. I'm looking at some IR devices from Microsoft and Logitech. I have several questions: 1) How good are wireless keyboards and mice? 2) What are the drawbacks and things to watch out for? 3) How often do the batteries need to be recharged? 4) How many recharges can the batteries take? 5) When the batteries can't be recharged again, do you have to buy a new device? I have the Logitech MX700 cordless mouse, which also comes packaged with a cordless keyboard (the "MX Cordless Duo.) The Duo sells for less than $100. The MX700 is *very* smooth. It comes with two AA NiMH rechargeable batteries, and has a recharger *built into* the receiver, which doubles as a mouse cradle. Simply place the mouse into the cradle at night, and the batteries recharge as you sleep! I couldn't be happier with this product. |
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