These are my new things. [2/3]

I like to be in control.

Perhaps some people would call me a control freak, but I don't think that is very polite. I find that input devices, that is the stuff you touch, poke, talk to, or wave at to control your computer or electronic device, are woefully under appreciated in the space of user experience. With that I'm thinking of the Macintosh ideal for mice and keyboards. There are, like any other component, many factors you must balance in order to make a product. Recently Apple has become the cool company somehow.

When did computers get cool?

But really. When did devices made for editing documents and calculating huge strings of data become so mainstream. Apple did not start innovating in 2007 with the iPhone. They've been placing the focus on small and sleek since the 80's. Forgive the quality of the video but you get my point.

Small and sleek simply was not the thing people wanted. They wanted compatibility and power. Who cares about how great your computer looks when you are running a database query and you want your old PC DOS data to work.

Then the Internet became consumer grade. Library card catalogs. Sales records. Maybe some very nerdy IRCs. This was the old internet. The dot com boom helped make the internet mainstream. Users could just pop in your favorite website and get some news or entertainment on demand. But could you contribute? Only if you knew HTML. 

I'll save you some nerdy history details and move you forward to Web 2.0 as old geeks may say. It's social networking. Friendster, Myspace, YouTube, and blogs. Everyone wanted a computer and it was no longer a power race.

Magical?

Humans are not symmetrical so why are the things we use?

When users are just clicking back and forth between wedding pictures and a rant about pop culture figures recent decision, who cares about the DPI of a mouse or the action on a keyboard. It just needs to work. To be fair, Apple's tackpad is a thing of wonders and at this time, unparalleled, but their Magic Mouse is an absolute piece of trash. It defines form over function. It's uncomfortable to use and is ridiculously heavy. It has some great additions like multitouch and bluetooth support but it seems to have forgotten was it was. A mouse.

If you only reach for your mouse about three times an hour then this will work fine for you but if you are like me and want to edit something, you use the mouse far too often to drag that hunk of aluminum (aluminium if you are wrong) across your desk. So I went Logitech!

And it tracks on glass!

Now you guys get to see how dirty the glass on my desk is.

I like glass desks. I realize the are posh and tacky but I like them. So for years I was cursed to buy ugly and quickly decaying mouse mats. Then I read about Logitech's Darkfield Technology. Combining several principles I have no understanding of with several other principles I somehow understand even less, logitech made this thing track on glass. Like a puck sliding on ice, the mouse glides with ease and precision with the slightest prod. 

This mouse is great and it's fully Macintosh compatible. There are a few things in the software that don't work quite as expected but Logitech gives you the controls to take care of that. The mouse is called the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX. (Remember, if you buy through my links I make a small percentage and that can help me bring you guys more reviews. Thanks!)

What! No Penguin! Oh that's right, Linux doesn't need your official support.

A couple problems I've had with it are that the back and forward buttons, instead of moving the internet browser back and forward a page as I'd expected, they switched me to different desktops. This was tested in Chrome but easily fixed by changing the commands on those buttons the delete key and shift+delete. The mouse works flawlessly on Windows 7 however which leads me to assume the functioning on Mac OS was a result of Apple's recent changes to the way gestures are handled, but I really have no proof of that and to be fair it was an easy fix.

The tracking is smooth and I've noticed no problems or inaccuracies from tracking on glass. I'm really considering getting the big brother for my Windows desktop now. 

What's your type?

Well, that's a bit personal but she's smart, and funny with a great... oh it's a pun, and not even a very good one. Shame. But really, the things I want in a keyboard include a slim form factor, good key travel, good key spacing, a number pad, and extra USB ports. Apple finally delivered! The Macintosh keyboard has been out for a few years now but it doesn't need to change at all. The keys have a nice feel and good travel and It has two USB ports built in so I can always have my new mouse receiver plugged in. This is a huge plus considering I only have two USB ports and one of those connects to my Time Machine drive immediately when I reach my desk.

A close second place was the Logitech Solar Keyboard but a couple things kept me away from it. The first was that since it was wireless it was not a USB hub and the second was that I tested it and just didn't like the way it felt. Everyone has a certain level of tension and travel they like but I just though it felt a little too loose and squishy when typing. It is still a great keyboard especially being solar powered but it just wasn't for me this time around. It also comes in black which I really like. They also included Macintosh keys so your are not forced to deal with an oddly placed command key. Really, this was a very close second place for me and I'd still definitely suggest it. I have the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard on my Windows machine and will not be replacing that until it falls apart. A serious quality keyboard.

Thanks everyone for reading part 2. I hope I could offer you some good information. I'm most excited for part 3. It's about my new headphones. And no, it's not those awful Beats. Stay tuned for part 3. Coming soon.