Q about getting new keyboard and/or mouse
Thread Starter
Rainbow Chaser
Joined: Jul 2001
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From: At home, mostly!
Q about getting new keyboard and/or mouse
I have had my trusty HP Vectra VE puter for a couple of years now and have happily installed sound/graphics/memory but now I don't like my keyboard/mouse any more! Guess I have been lured by the multicolored and ergonomic ones ... but my question is VERY simple...is it possible to buy any old PC keyboard/mouse and while puter is turned off just plug em in, boot up and keep going?
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 348
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From: Coventry, UK
Yeah - it's as easy as that. Just make sure you buy the right connection type for your machine; whether it be PS/2, AT/Serial or USB. . .I can highly recommend the Microsoft Internet Keyboard (about £15) or the Pro version, with a pair of USB ports built in (about £35). As for mice, anything by Microsoft or Logitech will last you for a long time. If you have the cash - Check out the Logitech Cordless Desktop sets, about £60-£70, infra-red keyboard and mouse - Niiiice!
Thread Starter
Rainbow Chaser
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 608
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From: At home, mostly!
Thanks for advice you guys - only q I have about cordless/infrared is that how does such a keyboard/mouse recognise the puter if the puter itself has no matching infrared port? Prolly dumb but I am basing my ignorance on how a cellphone communicates with a laptop!!!
Presumably if I go for a cordy one again the choice of connector is self-evident? My keyboard has a single-prong plug (bit like a headset plug?)..what connector type would that be?
Presumably if I go for a cordy one again the choice of connector is self-evident? My keyboard has a single-prong plug (bit like a headset plug?)..what connector type would that be?
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
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From: Peripatetic
You can infra-red or radio. With either you get a "dongle" containing a Rx/Tx which plugs into the PC and talks to the mouse/keyboard.
radio is better than IR as it does not have to be line of sight and be tucked down out of sight behind the PC.
Regardless of your present type you can (if you have a motherboard with on-board USB) get a USB mouse/keyboard.
ps.Single round plug is a PS2, probably plugs straight into a port beside an identical one that is for the mouse.
[ 26 January 2002: Message edited by: ORAC ]</p>
radio is better than IR as it does not have to be line of sight and be tucked down out of sight behind the PC.
Regardless of your present type you can (if you have a motherboard with on-board USB) get a USB mouse/keyboard.
ps.Single round plug is a PS2, probably plugs straight into a port beside an identical one that is for the mouse.
[ 26 January 2002: Message edited by: ORAC ]</p>
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,776
Likes: 1
From: UK
Simplest thing to do is to take your old mouse with you to make sure you get an identical type of plug.
However - when I bought my system a few years ago I was supplied with a trackball by mistake (instead of a mouse). I decided to try it anyway and quite honestly for me it's miles ahead of using a mouse. For a start my space is limited so it sits stationary on a small pad (with gel wrist support) and the only difference is that the ball is on top rather than underneath. It also has wheel similar to the MS Intellimouse. It took a while to get used to it - all of about a minute. I've worn this one out - my contact is getting me another one tomorrow.
Suggest you go to your nearest computer shop and ask to try one out.
[ 27 January 2002: Message edited by: FJJP ]</p>
However - when I bought my system a few years ago I was supplied with a trackball by mistake (instead of a mouse). I decided to try it anyway and quite honestly for me it's miles ahead of using a mouse. For a start my space is limited so it sits stationary on a small pad (with gel wrist support) and the only difference is that the ball is on top rather than underneath. It also has wheel similar to the MS Intellimouse. It took a while to get used to it - all of about a minute. I've worn this one out - my contact is getting me another one tomorrow.
Suggest you go to your nearest computer shop and ask to try one out.
[ 27 January 2002: Message edited by: FJJP ]</p>
