Computer Stuff
For my birthday, my parents bought me this off of my Amazon.com wish list:
It's a wireless keyboard with a built-in mouse trackball. It also uses an RF signal and is advertised at having a range of around 100 feet. I wanted it to replace the cheap Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard combo that I got when I originally built my multimedia PC a few years ago. That had a range of maybe five feet, and I often couldn't use it when I was sitting on the couch unless (strangely) it was cold. So I was looking forward to a little freedom!
The keyboard didn't come with any software; just the unit and a little USB receiver. It was supposed to be plug-and-play, but I quickly found out that wasn't going to be the case. My first mistake - unplugging the Logitech mouse/keyboard receiver, plugging in the new USB receiver, and then turning my computer on. Error - keyboard not found. Wouldn't even start up! I guessed that I needed to install the drivers first and so I plugged in the Logitech receiver again.
When I got the PC up and running, I plugged in the new USB receiver and it started going through the new device wizards. That's when the compatibility issues started. For EVERY driver and system file (about ten in all), an error message came up saying it couldn't be found. It took a while, but I manually added every file it was looking for. They either came from my computer's system files themselves or from an old Windows XP SP2 CD I had (fortunately) laying around.
When all was said and done, the keyboard worked like a charm. I can sit on my couch and have complete control over my system from across the room! But man, I got to thinking... I'm a computer guy. I can figure out stuff like this. But what the heck would an average user have done!? I think it's just irresponsible on the part of the manufacturer. Get a freakin' software CD in there so people don't have to go hunt around for these files! >=(
Oh and speaking of my multimedia PC, it's becoming very obvious that it's completely out-of-date. I built it as cheaply as possible a few years back - it's got a Celeron D laptop 1.4 GHz processor, only 512 MB of RAM, an old 80GB IDE hard drive I had laying around, and a video card I bought for $25 three years ago. My homepage is the Netflix "Watch Now" page, and it takes a few minutes to fully load after I open Internet Explorer. So I've begun to construct a new system. I'm going to build it just like I built my current desktop PC - with quality products but as cheaply as possible. This past Saturday I saw this case on SlickDeals:
Pretty sharp, right? With shipping, it only cost $45. Typically it retails for around $100 and that's before shipping costs are added in. It showed up at my front door today and I'm really impressed with how good it looks. I can't wait to start putting things in it! My ultimate goal with this new PC is to get a Blu-Ray drive in there. They're going for about $130 or so right now... Just have to be patient and wait for the deals for the time being! :-)
It's a wireless keyboard with a built-in mouse trackball. It also uses an RF signal and is advertised at having a range of around 100 feet. I wanted it to replace the cheap Logitech wireless mouse/keyboard combo that I got when I originally built my multimedia PC a few years ago. That had a range of maybe five feet, and I often couldn't use it when I was sitting on the couch unless (strangely) it was cold. So I was looking forward to a little freedom!
The keyboard didn't come with any software; just the unit and a little USB receiver. It was supposed to be plug-and-play, but I quickly found out that wasn't going to be the case. My first mistake - unplugging the Logitech mouse/keyboard receiver, plugging in the new USB receiver, and then turning my computer on. Error - keyboard not found. Wouldn't even start up! I guessed that I needed to install the drivers first and so I plugged in the Logitech receiver again.
When I got the PC up and running, I plugged in the new USB receiver and it started going through the new device wizards. That's when the compatibility issues started. For EVERY driver and system file (about ten in all), an error message came up saying it couldn't be found. It took a while, but I manually added every file it was looking for. They either came from my computer's system files themselves or from an old Windows XP SP2 CD I had (fortunately) laying around.
When all was said and done, the keyboard worked like a charm. I can sit on my couch and have complete control over my system from across the room! But man, I got to thinking... I'm a computer guy. I can figure out stuff like this. But what the heck would an average user have done!? I think it's just irresponsible on the part of the manufacturer. Get a freakin' software CD in there so people don't have to go hunt around for these files! >=(
Oh and speaking of my multimedia PC, it's becoming very obvious that it's completely out-of-date. I built it as cheaply as possible a few years back - it's got a Celeron D laptop 1.4 GHz processor, only 512 MB of RAM, an old 80GB IDE hard drive I had laying around, and a video card I bought for $25 three years ago. My homepage is the Netflix "Watch Now" page, and it takes a few minutes to fully load after I open Internet Explorer. So I've begun to construct a new system. I'm going to build it just like I built my current desktop PC - with quality products but as cheaply as possible. This past Saturday I saw this case on SlickDeals:
Pretty sharp, right? With shipping, it only cost $45. Typically it retails for around $100 and that's before shipping costs are added in. It showed up at my front door today and I'm really impressed with how good it looks. I can't wait to start putting things in it! My ultimate goal with this new PC is to get a Blu-Ray drive in there. They're going for about $130 or so right now... Just have to be patient and wait for the deals for the time being! :-)