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BOOT CAMP 238 (13/08/02)
MICE, KEYBOARDS AND MONITORS, part
1
I am willing to bet that many of you reading this are still
using the standard issue mouse, keyboard and monitor that came with your PC. And
why not, they were ‘free’ and they work perfectly well? Whilst there’s no disputing the fact that
supplied peripherals are more or less guaranteed to work with your computer it’s
equally certain they will be the cheapest models the manufacturer reckons it can
get away with and what’s more they could actually be making your PC harder to
use, restricting access to useful features in your hardware and software and
there may even be health and safety implications.
Over the next three weeks we’ll be looking at some of the
aftermarket options and alternatives that can make your PC more efficient,
productive and comfortable to use and we’ll begin this week with that most basic
of input devices, the mouse.
It can be very difficult to go back to using a bog standard
PC mouse once you’ve sampled the alternatives but before we get too involved
with size, shape and button layout there are two features that you should give a
high priority to when auditioning a replacement and they are an optical pickup
and a scroll wheel.
The optical pickup has to be one of the major milestones in
mouse technology, banishing at a stroke the frustration of the jerky mouse
pointer and the bi-annual cleaning ritual. Traditional ‘ball’ mice rely on
opto-mechanical sensors registering the movement of a large rubber ball as it
travels over the surface of the mouse mat. The ball acts like a magnet to the
dirt and grime on the mat, depositing it on the sensor rollers inside the mouse
until a thick disgusting crust stops the sensors working smoothly. An optical
mouse senses movement by measuring changes in a reflected beam of light
projected from the underside of the mouse. There are no moving parts, no dirt
pickup and it never needs cleaning (well, hardly ever…) so pointer movement is
forever smooth.
The scroll wheel is another major innovation and it greatly
simplifies moving through long documents, spreadsheets and web pages and once
you’ve got one on your mouse you’ll wonder how you ever managed without out
it.
Mouse ergonomics are vitally important but it is clear from
the multitude of designs that there is no universally agreed shape or layout.
The only way to tell if a mouse is right for you is try a few for size down at
your local computer shop where there’s usually a few on display. Don’t rush it,
place your hand over the mouse in as natural a posture as possible and note
where your fingertips come to rest. If you have to bend or move your fingers any
distance to locate the right and left buttons or the wheel then it can become
tiring to use. Check the button and wheel actions, do they feel smooth and
positive, is there good tactile feedback from the switches, i.e. a healthy
‘click’? This is an important test because demo mice in shops receive a real
battering from customers and kids and if they can survive that they’ll survive
anything. Don’t be swayed by fancy extra buttons and functions – apart from a
scroll wheel – it’s unlikely that you’ll ever use them.
Cordless mice are fine in theory but some points to bear in
mind are that they are far from ‘wireless’ and you will actually end up with
more cables and adaptors plugged into the back of your PC. Cordless mice need
power and if this comes from a disposable battery it’s going to incur running
costs, which could be significant if the battery in question is a small
expensive type and only lasts a few weeks. Rechargeable types are obviously
better but then you will have to find room on your desk for the charging station
and pickup module. Finally, consider interference, radio frequency or ‘RF’ types
can be affected by cordless telephones and other wireless gadgets you may have
or nearby radio transmitters. Infra-red types may also be affected by other
devices including TV and VCR remote controls, PDAs and laptops.
A few older mice and PCs use serial port connectors but
nowadays the vast majority use standard PS/2 ‘mini-DIN’ plugs (the socket and
sometimes the plug is coloured green, to avoid confusion with the purple
keyboard connectors). Some recent mice have a USB plug, which can help cut down
cable clutter by plugging into suitably equipped USB keyboards (see next week’s
Boot Camp).
When you get your new mouse home you may well find that you
can just plug it in and it will work straight away without any intervention from
you. The drivers included with most recent versions of Windows are perfectly
adequate for the vast majority of mice, including ones with scroll wheels but
models with special features and extra buttons often come with their own driver
and utility discs, which you should use, especially if the mouse pointer
movement is erratic or cannot be controlled form the Mouse setup utility in
Control Panel. The custom driver should also be used if you encounter any
problems with the pointer freezing or programs crashing. It’s also worth
checking the mouse manufacturer’s web site for the most up to date driver,
especially if you are using Windows XP.
Finally, while you are at it treat yourself to a new mouse
mat, especially if your present one is getting a bit grubby or ragged around the
edges. Rather than pay through the nose for some tacky designer item or an
advertising freebie why not make your own? Most PC and stationary suppliers have
custom mouse mat kits that let you use an image of your choosing, photographs of
the family or a picture you’ve shot with your digital camera or scanned into
your PC.
Next week – keyboards
JARGON FILTER
DRIVER
A
small program that tells Windows how to communicate with an item of hardware or
a peripheral
OPTO-MECHANICAL
A pair of rollers, inside the mouse -- in contact with the
ball -- are connected to a perforated disc through which a beam of light shines.
As the discs rotates the beam is interrupted, the resultant pulses are counted
by optical sensors and interpreted by the PC as movement
PDA
Personal Digital Assistant – small pocket-sized computer,
usually with a touch screen, for storing contact and address details, usually
with simple handwriting recognition and word processing facilities, more
advanced models also have email and internet utilities
TOP TIP
Here’s a neat little trick for organising the icons in the
Quick Launch toolbar next to the Start button (Windows 9x and XP). If you (or
your programs) have been adding icons they’re probably all jumbled up but you
can easily sort them into alphabetical order by switching the Quick Launch
toolbar off, then back on again. To do that right click on an empty part of the
Start bar, select Toolbars and deselect Quick Launch, go back and reselect Quick
Launch and if they appear extra large right click into the Quick Launch toolbar.
Select View and Small Icons.
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