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Chris wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid1071618626.5686.3.camel@chrisrickert.com">
<pre wrap="">
What kind of wireless keyboards/mouse combos are people using with their
myth boxes?
I'm finally going to move my box down near my big tv and need a good
working solution for a wireless keyboard/mouse</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<font face="Trebuchet MS"><br>
If you want a keyboard solely for your HTPC usage, it is much more
convenient (in my experience at least) to NOT have a separate mouse,
but to have the mouse built into the keyboard. Such a kb/mouse combo
may not be the best thing for regular PC usage, but when you are using
your HTPC in a living room, with little to no surface to use the mouse
on, you will consider the kb/mouse combo a blessing.<br>
<br>
I had heard good things about the LiteOn Airboard keyboard, so I
finally went ahead and bought one from Digital Connection when they had
it on sale for $29 + $6 shipping.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Keyboard/sk7100.asp">http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Keyboard/sk7100.asp</a><br>
<br>
It is a keyboard with a "mouse" built-in. The "mouse" is actually a
little joystick with the buttons right below it. I like the size and
feel of the keyboard, but after using it for about two weeks I still
HATED the joystick mouse. It is very hard to control the cursor
movement with this "mouse" and it irritated me even for nominal usage.
Also, the Airboard is IR based, and while the angle
is pretty good, it still is somewhat directional and needs
line-of-sight to
work right, which is a little bit annoying.<br>
<br>
I really wanted a keyboard just like the Airboard, but with a built-in
trackball and not a joystick or thumbpad type mouse. Recently I
found just the thing I was looking for, so I immediately ordered
one. I received it early this week and so far I am loving this. The
keyboard is great and the trackball is very smooth too. The size is
just perfect for my hands ... not too big and not too small. Another
huge
advantage is that this keyboard/mouse combo is RF based, so it is not
directional.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.cmicomputer.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi?detail=yes&product=pwkbmswl">http://www.cmicomputer.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi?detail=yes&product=pwkbmswl</a><br>
$34 shipped<br>
<br>
</font><br>
I have also used the following keyboard, which also has a trackball
built into it, but it is not as nice as the above one (from CableMart).
The keyboard is okay, but the trackball is slightly jerky. However,
even this trackball is musch better than the joystick "mouse" in the
original Airboard.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.coolerexpress.com/wikewba.html">http://www.coolerexpress.com/wikewba.html</a><br>
$33.99 + $7 shipping<br>
<br>
Note that this keyboard is IR based too. However, it is smaller in size
compared to the Airboard type keyboard, so this might be an advantage
in certain cases.<br>
<br>
Good luck !<br>
<br>
pvrman<br>
<br>
<br>
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