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Mice and Keyboards (2)
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Back to personal tastes, I use cordless keyboards in the home and in the workshop. Why? Because as I mentioned earlier, I hate having cables trailing everywhere, there are enough cables already on the workshop desks without adding yet another one. |
'Cordless' Keyboards
Most cordless keyboards comprise two elements, the keyboard (of course) and a transmitter/receiver. The transmitter/receiver is usually a small black box that sits beside your computer with two switches on it and a small button hidden about it somewhere. More about the button in a minute. The main buttons denote the channel, one for a mouse, the other for a keyboard. First things first. Make sure your mouse is on channel 1, the keyboard is on channel 2 (or vice versa). Putting both the mouse and keyboard on the same channel will not work, trust me.
Put some batteries in the keyboard! Normally a keyboard will take 2 or 3 'AA' size batteries in a small compartment on the underside. Don't be a skinflint and put the cheapest batteries you can find in, as they will leak and corrode the elements inside, go out and buy a set of Duracells or something like that. Now you need to match up the keyboard with the receiver.
In most cases, on the underside of the keyboard is a small button. Found it? On the 'transmitter' (the little black box thingy) is another button. Most cordless keyboard require you to press the transmitters/receiver button, followed swiftly by the keyboard's little button. That tells the transmitter/receiver that this is the keyboard it needs to speak to! You can test its working quite easily by depressing the 'Windows' logo on the bottom left-hand side of your keyboard.
If the 'Start' button on your screen works and the window pops up, then your keyboard is ready and awaiting your every command. If it doesn't work, try again until it does.
'Corded' Keyboards
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What can we say about 'standard' corded keyboards that you probably don't already know? Most new computers arrive with a 'QWERTY' keyboard of some description, the only difference is the novel little additional buttons that some of them have along the top and side. Personally I have never had a use for them, but tastes vary, don't they?
One of the most frequent errors I see is plugging the keyboard and mouse in the wrong 'holes' at the back of the computer. Older keyboards were not colour-coded, most are these days. The simple rule of thumb is: Purple=keyboard, green=mouse. If you take a look at the picture on the right you will see what I mean. If you can't see the back of the computer (?), then follow this rule of thumb: keyboard in the outside hole, mouse on the inside hole! Oh, and take care when you are inserting the leads into the back of the computer. There is only one way they will go (have a look at the plug), and forcing the lead into the computer at the wrong angle will bend/break the delicate pins. If you do break a pin it's game over, buy a new mouse/keyboard (preferably from us!). Of course the alternative (there always is one!), is to buy a USB powered keboard and/or mouse - now there aren't any pins to bend or break! Did you know that there are dozens of keyboard shortcuts available to you? For more information, please click here. |