Keyboard And Mouse, Comfort or Performance?

When you buy a computer do you use the stock keyboard and mouse or do you buy a different set?

Do you go wired or wireless?

Troubleshoot, repair, maintain, upgrade & secure...     With this!

Do you look at the different styles of KMs and test them for the comfort of use when you are using them?

What about the mouse? Wired or wireless?

How does it fit the palm of your hand? [Carpal tunnel syndrome was a hot topic a few years ago, now? Not so much]

Did you know that the most used and abused part of a computer is?

• Your keyboard?
• Your mouse?

When a pointing device was an analog device most users didn't keep the track ball inside the mouse clean, then when the mouse 'skipped' or the pointer on the screen didn't move the user would lift up the mouse and tap it on the mouse pad, sometimes they would bang it down on the pad. This applied shock the potentiometers inside the device. This banging the potentiometers induces errors in the movement of the pointer on the screen, then the device will fail.

What causes this 'skipping' is the track ball inside the device and the bars or wheels that move the potentiometers collects dirt and grime, it builds up on both surfaces and causes the bar or the track ball from moving. Cleaning an analog device is a continuous chore, in environments where there is a lot of dirt/dust along with oil from your hand will build up on the mouse pad then the track ball will pick it up, as it builds up on the track ball it is transferred to the bar that moves the potentiometer that sends the signal to the pointer driver to move the pointer on the screen.

This means if you still use an analog pointing device you have to take the track ball out frequently and clean it along with the potentiometer bars.

With the newer digital devices with out any moving parts it still will get dirty and instead of tapping or banging the device on the mouse pad the lenses of the leds need to be cleaned.

Keyboards come in hundreds of different styles from the old IBM PC style to the Microsoft Ergonomic (have you tried to type on one of those?) to some with larger keys and large letters (I may have to get one of those because of my right eye but there is only wired versions and the mouse of the set is like the old Dell mouse, not very comfortable after a couple of hours use).

For really dirty or industrial environments there are devices that have a protective cover to keep dirt, grime, and liquids from getting inside the KM. Industrial KM will of course be more expensive but the life time of the KM over a normal KM will be longer.

For normal use a KM should last as long as the case of the computer. Very few people upgrade their KM because the original KM will out last most other devices of a computer - that is unless someone spills liquid in to the KM.

For over a decade I used a Compaq Deskpro lite keyboard, it had a longer cable than most keyboards, was smaller than normal KMs and it was cream in color which makes the black lettering stand out. (I still have that KM and it still works) but when I was given a wireless KM and mouse as a present from my Wife a few years ago I was converted. I can move them away from my Grand Children's reach with out worrying about a cable getting tangled or pulling the cable too hard and breaking the ports. Ya, the wireless is black, hard to see in dim light but it has about a 30 foot range so that helps. :)

Having worked in the industry for over 25+ years I have seen the good, the bad, and the down right ugly in KM, and that is a very long list indeed!

Most people use at least two different KM combinations every day. Which is your choice?

[Oh ya, which one gets the most abuse? In my experience it is a tie...]