Empty Handed

I’ve just bought (yet another) wireless kb and mouse, so this is the third-one I’ve had on my desk this year and the second one I’ve bought. The Packard Bell I’d been using since christmas 3 years ago just stopped working. Disappointing because it was a lovely keyboard, nice and stylish (this is important because of all of the cool and sexy people who are constantly calling in on me in the office – I had a couple of firemen in the other week) and nice to use (which is important because I use it – see?). So many keyboards I come across (not like that, settle down (although… *hmmm, stylish*)) are actually not really well designed for actually typing anything, the keys are often so close together it’s difficult to discern a gap and the keyboards so flat that there’s little or no carry, or the keys are all rubbery like on a spectrum (am I thinking of the zx-80?). But 3 years is pretty good service for such a device, I guess, and anyway, what was I gonna do – send it back as not fit for purpose. No problem, just get a replacement. Well, actually, yes, problem. Couldn’t find even a Packard Bell wireless keyboard at any of the usual outlets I’m familiar with, let alone the same model (how optimistic was I? Yeah, they were bound to be making the same wireless keyboard 3 years later, weren’t they? And, thinking about it, I seem to remember my beloved bought it as a reduced end-of-line deal. Shit, shoulda bought 2).

Right, so what else is out there? Well, nothing. Not one w/l kb in the functional-stylish-and-cheap bracket I was interested in. Loads in the cheap bracket. None in the stylish bracket, to be honest. Couldn’t tell about the functional bracket, really. Christ, there’s a lot in the Logitech bracket though, aren’t there? Bloody hell. They’re all Logitech, except the Microsoft ones. They’re Microsoft, as the name suggests.

So, I bought a Logitech one, for about 20 odd quid. Seemed functional enough, had media keys and all that (except I had to hack them a lot to work with my music player of choice, DBPowerAMP, but that’s another story), mouse had a scroll wheel, the keyboard was ‘stylish’ (well, it was black) and had an RSI-busting wrist-rest (plastic and flimsy). So that’s it, then. Forget about it and get on with things. Except that, after about 3 weeks it just stopped working. It got all jittery and started sending key strokes randomly, if at all, and the mouse got all petulant. I tried changing everything – batteries, the position of the receiver and the channel, but the only thing that worked was changing the fucking keyboard. Back to the good old fashioned brandless beige wired job. (I couldn’t be arsed taking the keyboard back to PC World for a refund, think how joyless that excursion would have been).

Eventually, though, the good old fashioned beige wired mouse has driven me mental, and the good old fashioned beige lack-of-media-keys has pissed me right off, so it’s back to the market for a proper (read NOT LOGITECH) keyboard/mouse. So that leaves Microsoft, right. And that means an outlay of at least 50 quid. For a keyboard! Something I’ve already got?! Jesus, OK then, but only because that bloody mouse is driving me round the twist (You’re thinking “so, just buy a w/l mouse then, you tit” aren’t you? – media keys, remember? and w/l mice aren’t cheap on their own either, so stretch a little further and get the kb too, I’m thinking).

So, I’ve gone on about this keyboard more than was strictly necessary, and there’s a beer calling me from the kitchen, so I’ve got to go, but I managed to get one of these Microsoft “comfort” keyboards today. I was planning to buy one like this from PC World for about 50GBP, but when I went in, they had one like this for the same price. Supposedly reduced from 85GBP, but whatever, I’m expecting to meet an old crone giving them away in exchange for pieces of antiquated hemp tomorrow.

And, wait for it, I’m using it to type this entry now. There you go.

I’ll get used to that.Seems very good. Stylish, you know? ‘End’ keys in the wrong place, but