Wireless Keyboards
Wireless keyboards and mice have been around for a while, but they've been a bit clunky. To get them working, you have to buy a pair of radio transceivers to plug into your computer, and then you have to worry about interference between your mouse and other devices in your home. With Bluetooth, things get much easier. Danny recently upgraded to the Bluetooth version of his Logitech mouse. He also attached a Bluetooth presenter mouse that works at the same time - Bluetooth is the only way to connect more than one mouse to a single computer - so he can work out and scroll through his e-mail. (Unfortunately, you can't connect more than one keyboard to a computer, but if you have a Bluetooth keyboard it's easy enough to pick it up and take it with you.) If your PC (or PDA, for that matter) has Bluetooth built in, you don't need to buy any special adapters or transceivers. Just put the batteries in your keyboard and mouse and start working. You probably don't even need to install any special software or drivers on your PC to make this work. For example, if you have a Mac, check out the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse (www.apple.com/keyboard). They are slickly designed (of course - they're from Apple!) and go for months on their batteries without any cords.
If your PC isn't already Bluetooth equipped, consider buying the Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser (www.logitech.com, about $199). This system includes both a full-function wireless keyboard - one of those cool multimedia models with a ton of extra buttons for special functions (such as audio volume and MP3 fast forward and rewind) - and a detached media pad that acts as a hand remote or numeric keyboard with a built-in calculator. It also includes a wireless optical mouse (no mouse ball to clean) with the cool four-way scrolling feature, and a Bluetooth adapter that plugs into one of your PC's USB ports. This adapter turns your PC into a Bluetooth PC. In other words, it can be used with any Bluetooth device, not just with the keyboard and mouse that come in the box with it. This kit is a great way to unwire your mouse and keyboard and get a Bluetooth PC, all in one fell swoop.
The diNovo Media Desktop Laser is easy to set up. You just plug the receiver into a USB port on the back of your computer and install the keyboard and mouse driver software. (This isn't a Bluetooth requirement; rather, it allows you to use all the special buttons on the keyboard and the extra mouse buttons.) You must have an up-to-date version of Windows XP (simply use the built-in Windows XP software update program).
