|
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
The other day at the office, one of the folks couldn’t log into his computer. He typed in his password and no go. He tried again, this time a bit slow
[See the full post at: Is there a piece of tech hardware you love?]
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
External USB SSD drives.
What’s your favorite keyboard?
Logitech wireless mouse and keyboard combo.
External TBs of portable SSD drives.
My favorite keyboard is the one on an IBM Selectric typewriter! (Or a Xerox Memorywriter.) Yep. And I know of no way to adapt one for use with any kind of computer, from the old DOS machines to the latest hardware.
What I like about these old contraptions is the way the keys were stepped, on different levels, not merely on a tilted base. Having learnt to type on an archaic Smith-Corona, I have not ever been able to get used to PC-style keyboards. For god’s sake even old keypunch machine keyboards were stepped, not merely tilted. I realize they would be impractical for a laptop, but why can’t an enterprising manufacturer give a stepped keyboard a try?
I’m not kidding. This post is not a joke. I just cannot type as well on a modern keyboard as on one of the old-style stepped keyboards!
I like a mouse that has side buttons for back and forward in the browser. Easier to just click than move and click. And a scroll wheel, of course.
cheers, Paul
I like my wireless USB adapter. If a wireless or ethernet card goes south or I get a bad driver or perhaps no driver at all and I need internet without time to troubleshoot, I plug in a Panda Wireless PAU06 and I’m connected in a matter of seconds. It’s been particularly useful when I’ve installed Linux Mint on old laptops and the installation fails to install a wireless driver. The Panda lets me connect and get a driver that works (although sometimes I just use the Panda since it’s often better than the internal wireless).
Since the early nineties for me, the keyboard HAS to have a physical numberpad incorporated by design. Function keycrud combo’s is a complete turn off.
In the last decade, older M series wireless laser Logitech scroll mouse with nano usb receiver. Have proven to work reliably for many years here.
FWIW: I ONLY use duracell batteries, that don’t leak!
LED Backlit keyboards are very handy when burning the midnight oil 
For me, it is the Logitech LX7 wireless mouse, because it has 7 programmable buttons. I really care most about the top two, where I set one button to CLOSE and one button to CTRL-W (Close the document.) I see plenty of mice that have programmable buttons on the sides, but I’m so used to the top of the mouse, I could never change. I recently overpaid big time for a replacement off of Ebay.
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 … and yes I bought 10 at $30 each back “in the day” … and then again as recently as 2016 … but I have almost run out … and the new keyboard prices are insane!
Wherever you go ... there you are!
a few items my biggie I have to say I am picky about my (1) keyboard, The older IBM/Lenovo laptops intended for business are great.E430/530 and T series in fact I own more than one just in case machine dies. I bought a Cheap Dell a couple of years ago ( so to have Win 11 for work- test software) and it is awful…I looked at a lot of laptops and the feel is just not there feels like junk….The next item is (2) optical drive (CD/DVD), cannot live without it…prefer built in for my laptop…but I am living with a USB…it works….the third item is (3) Kensington Trackball w/ scroll ring…I own 3…just wish it was wireless…if I cannot have that then the pointer/eraser or trackpoint is great…I hate the touch pads and mice!
I still have stuff on SCSI drives….we will not that route….I have moved fwd a bit….
I am guilty of keeping 2 on hand – Logitech M510 mouse. Anything else I try just doesn’t seem as good.
Hey Y’all,
I’d have to say my favorite is my TESmart KVM. This lets me share my 2 27″ Samsung monitors along with a Logitech G710+ keyboard and Perixx vertical mouse between two computers. Just a quick double tap of the Scroll Lock key then either a 1 or 2 to switch. Don’t know how I’d live w/o it. I’ve had this for 3 years now with nary a problem. Just swapped out computer 2, demoted computer 1 to 2 and hooked up the new computer 1 and all is working perfectly.
The new computer #1 is the one with the small green light glowing under the right hand monitor. Ain’t she cute…
Having learnt to type on an archaic Smith-Corona
You and me both.
KVM
Me, too, although it’s again getting hard to find good ones. I’ve been using a TrendNet TK-423 for well over 12 years and it has performed flawlessly, switching between four PCs. But it was VGA and I needed to switch to DP, so I bought a TK-241DP. Not so happy with this one, unfortunately.
My setup is atypical. My second display is always attached to my daily driver and I only switch the primary display. The 423 had no problem with this. The 241 gets confused. But before I blame it too much, it may be a Windows 11-related issue or it could be my hardware. The second display is connected with HDMI because I have only one DP port on the PC. It seems like Windows 11 sees the HDMI connection first after I switch back to the primary PC, then DP comes up, and then Windows shuffles windows all over the place. Messy.
I’ve been using KVMs for 20 years. I said “again getting hard” above because I went through three KVMs before I found TrendNet; those first three didn’t do a great j0b.
I stopped using a mouse a LONG time ago. Laptops don’t need them, but for my daily driver desktop, this Adesso ABK-450UB is a piece of hardware I can’t do without. For me, it’s everything close together in easy reach including the touch pad. It’s less than 4 inches away. I’m a keyboard shortcut nut, and the keyboard has a lot handy function keys like “This PC”, Calculator, volume controls for any sound source, screen refresh, sleep button, shutdown power off, power on, etc.
And a joke on myself. This “Is there a piece of tech hardware you love?” topic made me realize I do NOT have a duplicate Adesso keyboard as a backup. I can deal with drive failures boot or otherwise, screen failures, etc., with no impact. But a keyboard failure? Ha. A backup ABK-450UB will arrive March 26th. Whew!
Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.
I still carry my Logitech G700s Mouse around. It is really worn, but still is better than any replacement mouse I’ve tried. (Using a MX Master 3, not nearly as good imho).
If someone has a recommendation for a replacement of Logitech G700s I would be forever grateful 
I have been in this same sinking boat for a long time, and have yet to find anything as comfortable and usable as the G700 series. I’ve collected four of them over the years, and intend to do everything I can to keep them working.
I’ve picked up a couple of deals on more modern gaming mice with large amounts of buttons, but nothing beats the layout on the G700 series for number of buttons, and layout. It’s my go-to design for CAD work.
I wish Logitech would revisit the design and introduce a true successor, because nothing in their current lineup comes close. That particular mouse has built up a rather dedicated following over the years, with collectors gradually driving the prices on any remaining stock to insane levels.
For me the “daskeyboard” my son gave me as a gift, excellent feel, and Logitech Performance MX or MX Master mouse.
My daskeyboard is also great. Raised keys, great feel, wouldn’t ever want to do without it.
My favorite keyboard (which I can’t use in the office) is the original IBM Model M. As we always said “It clicks, so you know it works”. Unicomp now makes the Model M keyboard in a modern style with Windows keys and USB, though they’re not quite the quality level of the originals. The originals were really the first to have both detatchable keys and replaceable keycaps, and even had a detachable cord (I always guessed so that you could use the keyboard as a weapon in case of home invasion). Said keyboards will be found in the dust of 2087, resisting footprints from Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Terminators after the fallout, they were built that well.
The Logitech MX Master is one of my favorites as hardware goes for mice. The 2S and 3 are generally the best models as they have much better life on a battery charge (the 2S is the less expensive of the two so I get it).
Most of my favorite hardware has been confined to the dustbins of history. Plextor DVD burners and DVD-ROM drives. Lots (and lots) of IBM and Lenovo ThinkPads. The U.S. Robotics Courier V.Everything external modem. The SoundBlaster AWE32, and the Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP-HC LCD 16:10 LCD monitor. Some technologies die; but hardware just doesn’t advance in the way it once did IMO, and as a hardware enthusiast, that’s kind of sad. Smartphones were once the next big hardware advancement, but we’ve plateaued there too.
We are SysAdmins.
We walk in the wiring closets no others will enter.
We stand on the bridge, and no malware may pass.
We engage in support, we do not retreat.
We live for the LAN.
We die for the LAN.
For me it is the Corsair M90 gaming mouse, the best gaming mouse I have ever used.
I’ve used a whole lot of gaming mice that were sold as such (and a bunch that were not), and I don’t think I am particularly hard on them as gamers go… they are known to be hard on their hardware. I don’t get angry and abuse my hardware… those days of self-sabotage are well behind me. I try to be as gentle as possible, but when gaming, I do grasp the mouse fairly firmly and push the buttons rapidly, which is par for the course. Any mouse worthy of the gaming moniker has to be able to stand up to this, and the manufacturers have to expect that all of the buttons on the thing will be used extensively.
That’s been the problem I have… they put all these extra buttons on so they can sell the thing, but apparently their focus group testing or whatever other research they do tells them that these buttons are seldom used, so they cheap out on them. And then I use the extra buttons (the whole reason I bought a model with a lot of buttons) and break them in very short order. The main buttons are largely bulletproof… it’s the extra buttons that are the Achilles heels.
I had a Logitech mouse (I forget the model) that I bought a 2 year extended warranty on from Best Buy, and like clockwork, every two months, it would break, and I went there and got another one. It became inconvenient when the Best Buy close to my home closed and the next closest was an hour away, but I did it anyway.
Right as the warranty period ended, that mouse model became unavailable, so they refunded my money.
That was not the first time I had that happen with a Logitech gaming mouse. That was why I bought the two year warranty– I was 95% certain I would need it, based on experience with other Logitech mice. I didn’t know how many times I would, though!
And then I saw someone in a forum suggest the M90. It was everything I wanted in a mouse, and I used it for longer than any other gaming mouse had ever lasted… well over a year. It did fail, but it was not one of the extra buttons. The laser would cut out and it would stop tracking, if I recall correctly. I sent it in to Corsair and received the updated model, the M95.
The M95 had buttons that were easier to press, and it had a higher dpi laser/sensor. It was supposed to be an upgrade, but it had a firmware bug that I went back and forth with Corsair about and finally got them to admit that it was present… but they declined to fix it. I devised a workaround with AutoHotKey, but I should not have had to, and with the M90, I never did.
If that was not bad enough, one of the extra buttons on the M95 soon broke.
I sent it back to Corsair and got another one, and it broke too.
The M95 looked exactly like its M90 sibling, but it was not as good. Still, when the warranty ended on the original M90 purchase, I bought another M95, because there was still nothing else like it.
So, of course, Corsair discontinued it, as you do when you have a unique, popular product that stands out from the crowd. They replaced with with another “me too” so-called MMO mouse that has a veritable keyboard on the left side, where the thumb goes. I guess you’re supposed to grip lightly and then grip harder and in the right place when you intend to use the buttons, but that would never work for me. I maintain a death grip on the mouse body itself when I am not using a thumb button.
Still, years later, I have not found a 1:1 replacement for the M90. I bought a very overpriced new Corsair mouse (a new model) several months ago because it seemed (from the picture) that it could be approaching the greatness of the M90, and one of its buttons broke shortly. Less than a week shortly. That’s bad. I need to get that warrantied… but since I knew that would take a while, I bought a cheapish EVGA mouse that seemed like it could approach the M90, and I have used that ever since. Its Teflon foot is peeling (I use it on the arm of a recliner, so maybe that’s not a surprise), and the dead spot in the middle of the button array on the left side of the mouse where the thumb goes is too small, but it’s the best M90 substitute so far.
I’ve been so (relatively) happy with the EVGA that I neglected to RMA the Corsair. Got to do that.
Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Notifications
