It is too common in computing to not have long-term reviews of hardware and software, because one or five years later, the products are just about obsolete.
Take the spate of "Windows Phone 7 in-depth previews" that appeared this morning. Clearly, the reviewers were released from the NDAs [non-disclosure agreements], and the previews [reviews of unreleased hardware and software] come pouring out. In addition to being told when they can talk about the new products, the bloggers were probably told what they can talk about.
(I've never understood this orchestrated pre-release hoopala, especially so many months early. When this item ships late this year -- or sometime in the next few years, this being Microsoft -- all the early previews are very forgotten.)
A year ago, Logitech sent me their wireless keyboard and mouse combo -- both use the same wireless transmitter. The keyboard is one of those wavey ones, while the mouse had tons of buttons, including a few "hidden" under the rubbery skin that covered part of the device. Here are my long-term view based on a year of experience:
Pros
I like that both use a single USB transmitter; one less USB port used up.
The mouse uses a rechargeable battery (1.2v). Even though the battery needs to be replaced often, I just pop in another rechargeable.
The keyboard is still using the battery that it came with, so it lasts a long time. I guess a keyboard has lower power consumption than a mouse with its laser beam.
The keyboard has a bunch of extra buttons. Some, like volume and mute, I use a lot. One pair of extra buttons I really like are the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons.
The utility software for the keyboard lets me disable the Caps Lock key -- a function that should really be part of Windows!
I find I can't remember the functions of more than three mouse buttons, so all those extras are useless to me. I do like the roller wheel, which has momentum: give it a twirl, and on the screen the page keeps scrolling until you grab the wheel to stop it; no need to keep the finger rolling, rolling, rolling...
Cons
As a professional writer and a touch typist since age 15, I have no patience for poor keyboards, for they get in the way of moving my thought stream to print. This Wave Cordless Keyboard has these problems:
i. The output stutters at times. I am typing and nothing appears on the screen, from time to time. I notice, I stop typing, and after a second or two, the letters finally appear. Annoying!
ii. Some letters are wearing off the keycaps: A, S, D, and N at this point. Blank keys are not a problem for touch typists, but the lack of quality build bothers me.
iii. The keyboard has a mushy feel, and that feel is a problem with pretty much all keyboards on the market these days, so there isn't much point in me switching. (The only keyboard I found with really good feel was a discontinued model by BENQ, which I ruined accidentally one day. Oh, and the keyboard on my LG X110 netbook is good for typing very quickly.)
As for the mouse, I no longer use it. Something went wrong a month ago, where just moving the cursor across the screen causes buttons to be activated. I now use an older mouse, meaning there are two USB transmitters plugged into my desktop computer.
I continue to use wireless mouse and keyboard, because I don't like cords dangling around my legs.
[Disclosure: Logitech provided me with the keyboard and mouse at no charge.]
Take the spate of "Windows Phone 7 in-depth previews" that appeared this morning. Clearly, the reviewers were released from the NDAs [non-disclosure agreements], and the previews [reviews of unreleased hardware and software] come pouring out. In addition to being told when they can talk about the new products, the bloggers were probably told what they can talk about.
(I've never understood this orchestrated pre-release hoopala, especially so many months early. When this item ships late this year -- or sometime in the next few years, this being Microsoft -- all the early previews are very forgotten.)
A year ago, Logitech sent me their wireless keyboard and mouse combo -- both use the same wireless transmitter. The keyboard is one of those wavey ones, while the mouse had tons of buttons, including a few "hidden" under the rubbery skin that covered part of the device. Here are my long-term view based on a year of experience:
Pros
I like that both use a single USB transmitter; one less USB port used up.
The mouse uses a rechargeable battery (1.2v). Even though the battery needs to be replaced often, I just pop in another rechargeable.
The keyboard is still using the battery that it came with, so it lasts a long time. I guess a keyboard has lower power consumption than a mouse with its laser beam.
The keyboard has a bunch of extra buttons. Some, like volume and mute, I use a lot. One pair of extra buttons I really like are the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons.
The utility software for the keyboard lets me disable the Caps Lock key -- a function that should really be part of Windows!
I find I can't remember the functions of more than three mouse buttons, so all those extras are useless to me. I do like the roller wheel, which has momentum: give it a twirl, and on the screen the page keeps scrolling until you grab the wheel to stop it; no need to keep the finger rolling, rolling, rolling...
Cons
As a professional writer and a touch typist since age 15, I have no patience for poor keyboards, for they get in the way of moving my thought stream to print. This Wave Cordless Keyboard has these problems:
i. The output stutters at times. I am typing and nothing appears on the screen, from time to time. I notice, I stop typing, and after a second or two, the letters finally appear. Annoying!
ii. Some letters are wearing off the keycaps: A, S, D, and N at this point. Blank keys are not a problem for touch typists, but the lack of quality build bothers me.
iii. The keyboard has a mushy feel, and that feel is a problem with pretty much all keyboards on the market these days, so there isn't much point in me switching. (The only keyboard I found with really good feel was a discontinued model by BENQ, which I ruined accidentally one day. Oh, and the keyboard on my LG X110 netbook is good for typing very quickly.)
As for the mouse, I no longer use it. Something went wrong a month ago, where just moving the cursor across the screen causes buttons to be activated. I now use an older mouse, meaning there are two USB transmitters plugged into my desktop computer.
I continue to use wireless mouse and keyboard, because I don't like cords dangling around my legs.
[Disclosure: Logitech provided me with the keyboard and mouse at no charge.]
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