Design shortcomings

[Mooncat]

Last week I saw that Aldi had a wireless keyboard and mouse on offer at <£15.

So I bought one. It is nice to use, and has some hotkeys to help you out. But there are no LEDs for Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock. I emailed them and the reply is that it's to maximise battery life. Fair enough I suppose, but there is no On/off switch on the mouse so it's on all the time unless you remove the battery!

[Geewizz]

I used to have a cordless mouse and keyboard. Rechargeable batteries are a good idea.

[Noid]

My Microsoft one is the same as far as staying on all the time goes but it does seem to last quite a long time on a set of batteries.

The caps lock thing was nice though and all the lights were on the receiver.

Although i have just had to buy a new mouse as mine died properly after over 3 years heavy usage the keyboard is still the best keyboard I've ever used and going strong with very little need to change batteries.

Think you can get this set now for about £35 but that's a snip considering when i bought it it was over £50.

[ultimatehandyman]

I hate cordless keyboards and mice with a passion.

[CalamatyDan]

Last week I saw that Aldi had a wireless keyboard and mouse on offer at <£15.

So I bought one. It is nice to use, and has some hotkeys to help you out. But there are no LEDs for Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock. I emailed them and the reply is that it's to maximise battery life. Fair enough I suppose, but there is no On/off switch on the mouse so it's on all the time unless you remove the battery!

Have faith. The mouse uses VERY LITTLE power and will turn itself off if it hasn't been used for a set period of time. I would guess only a few seconds. Think of it like a remote control. It only uses power when something is being done to it, so an on/off switch is pointless!!

[DIY_Johnny]

I have the same type, no LED caps or scroll lock. Annoying for passwords etc

PS: don't through out your old corded keyboard / mouse as you made need it one day to access the BIOS in case of problems! Wireless devices are enabled afetr window boots up

Also I find rechargeable batteries much better for these type of applications as they run out like a car running out of petrol so you don't a slowing down in reponse time like you would with a Durcell battery.

My rechargeable batteries last about 3 months and I use it every evening

[Mooncat]

I'll try it with some NiMH cells that I have spare. That's a good point about the BIOS, must remember it.

[DIY_Johnny]

just on that topic I used to think that the higher the mAh the better, but of coures they drain a lot quicker. So a 2700mAH is great for a digital camera but for low use something like HYBRIO batteries or 2100 might be better,

[scot-canuck]

actually if the wireless keyboard is PS/2 normally it works just like a normal wired one would ( the keyboard and the base unit handle the wireless comms and the computer simply sees the keyboard, sometimes they need the reset switch hit on first use to pair them properly. Though of course there is always the bios out there that just wants to be a pain for the sake of it)
USB keyboards and mice can also be enabled in the bios, so having a usb -> PS/2 adapter or a ps/2 keyboard helps (I have a wireless mouse but dislike the scroll wheel, its not textured unlike my wired intellieye pro optical wired mouse so its not much use when fast scrolling is needed.

(PS/2 plugs for those not in the know are the small round plugs for keyboards usually coloured purple, old machines used to use DIN plugs which are bigger but harder to align in confined spaces)

[Rog (RJ)]

I've got a cordless keyboard from Aldi, bought 3 years ago, still on the same set of Duracells. I have rechargeables in the mouse and it needs them recharging about ever two - three weeks, The keyboard came with some software that puts a little window onscreen to show caps lock, number lock etc. See below.

[DIY_Johnny]

I have the exact same window, is your's creative?. I use my monitor for a TV and watching movies but only problem I find is that when I watch a movie the keyboard window is always on top.

Might download an application that always keeps a window on top of others

[Mooncat]

Nothing changes on my screen when I press Shift. so I need the software!

[Rog (RJ)]

I have the exact same window, is your's creative?. I use my monitor for a TV and watching movies but only problem I find is that when I watch a movie the keyboard window is always on top.

Might download an application that always keeps a window on top of others

No, mine's a Medion. if it's in the way I just drag the window to the very edge of the screen