Micro Innovations Keyboard & Mouse: Quiet Clacking But Bare Bones In The Way of Perks
Written: Apr 01 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quiet keys, smooth scrolling mouse, average mouse pad, inexpensive.
Cons: Initial problems that almost made me return it.
The Bottom Line: A keyboard and mouse for under $15.00, you aren't getting a ton of perk but for computer hooligans it's a good pick.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Micro Innovations (kb945c) Keyboard and Mouse |
Do you ever regret asking someone to stop at the store for you when you know they are going to grab the wrong thing when they are there? I swear on all that is holy I could cut out a picture of something ,write down the name and say, "get this and only this" and Tommy would comeback with everything except it. I have needed a new keyboard for about a year; anyone that chats with me on Messenger knows that my "O" and "L" keys stick and my space bar works when it wants to. The Enter key needed to be pressed on a certain angle to work correctly and the left Control key stopped working all together. Even so, it was something I was used to and it was hard to find a replacement. I went through wireless keyboards, expensive ones with CD features and even the ultra cheap ones. No matter how many I bought, after an hour I unplugged them, plugged in my faithful Logitech Deluxe Keyboard and rebooted my computer. I guess a keyboard that lasts eight years is worthy of many second chances and even though I have a new keyboard, the old one is still sitting next to my desk.
Micro Innovations Keyboard And Mouse KB945C
If you are looking for something that has on deck CD controls, internet access buttons and a shortcut key to access your email, don't even bother reading the rest of this review because you won’t get those features with this. The keyboard is lighter and thinner than I am used to and when I started typing with it you would have sworn I never used a keyboard before. There were some initial problems with it that I ended up fixing myself but I did get a chance to call customer service and ask them about the keyboard. My call was answered in less than a minute and it was not outsourced. The person told me to take the keyboard back and get a new one but I was bound and determined to make this thing work and if you haven't guessed, I did.
The keyboard has the usual QWERTY set up with a row of numeric keys above the alpha. There are two Windows keys on the bottom and a single sized backspace key. This really screwed with my because the old one had a double key sizes backspace so when I do need to use that key half the time I end up hitting the hatch key instead. I am sure I will get used to this but it is frustrating. The set up of the 13 item keypad is different too; the "print screen", "Scroll lock" and "Pause" keys are located here instead of on the bank above them where the wake up / sleep / power keys are located. I have not been brave enough to try those keys yet as I have more than enough issues with my computer as it is, I don't need a keyboard locking me out of the system. The 17 item numeric keypad is set up in standard form with numeric lock, decimal point, plus, minus and direction keys.
The mouse was used for about five minutes to make sure that it did indeed function and was put away; the mouse I have now is ten times better but the one that came with this set up will be nice to have for a spare. It is a basic mouse with two buttons and a scroll wheel. In a lot of ways it is identical to the Belkin NetMaster except it has a straight body to it instead of the slightly ergonomic curve at the back end. I do feel better having a spare mouse around, one of the things that I dread is having one break in the middle of the night and trying to figure out how to use a computer without one.
I have done absolutely no set up on this keyboard; the instructions say to plug it in then turn your computer on [the same thing goes for the mouse]. I did that and it worked without any problems. Still, the "F" keys plagued me. What little gems would I find if I started pressing them. Well, I guess this is the best time to find out.
Inside Microsoft Word:
F1: Temporarily froze the cursor and opened Microsoft Word Help on the right side of the screen. It also opened the Office Online support module.
F5: Opens the "Find And Replace" program within Word.
F7: Spelling and grammar program but not the standard Spell Check program.
F10: Toggles you to the tabs at top of the page for Word.
F12: Saves the current document.
F2, F3, F4, F6, F8, F9, F11 all seem to have no use in Word
In Mozilla FireFox
F1: Opens the Help program for FireFox.
F3. Activates the Find [on page] program.
F5 Refreshes the page
F6 Highlights the URL in the browser window
F7 Turns on or off "caret browsing" [anyone care to explain that]
F10 Toggles the tabs at top of the page
F11 Removes some of the window trim
F2, F4, F8, F9, F12 did nothing.
I tried the F keys in Internet Explorer and Opera and they seem to have the same features only they are assigned to different keys. Of all three programs it seems that you get more from this keyboard when you use it with Opera. This keyboard will come in extremely handy with the Neopets website as I can refresh the pages without having to use the mouse and I can use the F3 / Find feature to find things on the page.
This is a nice basic keyboard but there are some things that you need to know about it. The letting on the keys is light; I can't even call it black, its more like a light gray. I do plan on going over the keys with a Sharpie marker so I don’t have to strain to see the keys. The keyboard is light and the small feet that you can extend out of the bottom of the keyboard are useless. I type with my keyboard on my lap so I have no use for them but if you are a desk dweller and use the feet to angle the board, good luck. This has a PS/2 plug not a USB so I am thankful for that since my USB ports are all tied up at the moment. My computer says that there are four USB ports but there are only two outside the computer, where the other two are still remains a mystery.
I already mentioned the small backspace key but when I initially plugged this in the "F" key would not work unless you pressed it hard. OK, I could love with that if everything else worked fine but the space bar wouldn’t work unless you tapped it on the left side. If you do any amount of typing you know how hard it is to change you habits. I can type about 50 words per minute but when I had to stop and readjust the way that I was typing to hit the space bar on the right side it was taking forever to type things. I pried the space bar key off the keyboard and saw that there was only one spring instead of two. I played around for a while and tried to find a spring that would fit inside it but had no luck. Eventually I go so frustrated that I threw the one spring in the trash and put the space bar back on and it works almost perfectly. I am still getting used to the reach on the keyboard set up but outside of some words running togetherlikethis, everything is fairly cool.
The "F" key was tackled next. I popped off the key and saw that the little membrane thingy that the bottom of the key hits wasn't centered so I grabbed a pen, shoved it in the hole and moved it around. Viola, the "F works perfectly now. I don’t suggest that anyone try these things at home unless they are prepared to break their keyboard and not have it replaced. I am pretty sure that popping the keys off and fiddling with things voids the warranty. Installing this is easy; when your computer is off remove the old keyboard, plug this one in and wait for the lights on the keyboard to blink. If you see that, everything is cool. If not, well, there is nothing to fall back on and you will have to call the toll free number on the Quick Installation Guide sheet. The system requirements are IBM or compatible computer, Windows 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP and Vista operating system and the ports required for the mouse and keyboard.
The Bottom Line
Even though this was not the keyboard that I wanted and I didn't ask for a mouse [or the cheap but functional mouse pad that also comes with it] I am kind of happy that Tommy got this one for me. I do plan on getting the one that I want in a few weeks and keeping this one for a spare but for the time being I am getting used to it and feeling a twinge of guilt about ditching the old one. Someone said that you can put keyboards in the dishwasher to clean them but I never believed them. Maybe now that I have a spare I will try it. Tommy picked this up at Wal-Mart and said that it was $12.97 for the keyboard, mouse and mouse pad and it was the only one that they carried that had the PS/2 connector instead of the USB. This doesn't have all the perks that I want but it is something that lets me type, get through websites and not have to fight with keys that stick.
As always, thanks for the visit…
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2008 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 12.97
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