KBs and Mice

[bill_schubert]

As part of this new gig I'm doing, or soon starting, I need a more complicated PC set up.  The work set up requires me to have my PC in kiosk mode which is kind of like signing into a VPN, a remote PC over which I have no control and am almost completely constrained to do just what they want.  It makes my PC an appliance useful for only their apps.  It is a very good and secure set up and a way to have a bunch of remote users of varying skill sets and varying security settings run applications for your business.  And for the time it is in that mode I'm completely cut off from having a PC.  That is also their intent.

So I've got a second computer (I used to have 10 or 20 sitting around at any given time), a Surface laptop, I can use off to the side.  I thought it would be really nice to have a keyboard and mouse that could switch between the two and they do exist so I got one.  For $60 I got a JellyComb keyboard and mouse.  

The JellyComb is small and makes for a lot of room on my desk.  I'm used to a big slightly ergonomic Logitec that fits my rather large hands.  It the second of the same model and I've used it for years.  This Jelly one is half the size.  It also has three buttons that will switch the KB from usb 2.4G connection to my PC to bluetooth on my phone (!) to bluetooth on my Surface.  That part is pretty neat as is the fact that it recharges with a mini usb cord.  No battery replacement.  The mouse is the same.  A little clunkier since the switch button is on the bottom but it works.  The mouse is really small too and doesn't have my favorite mouse button that my Logitech one has, click to go back to the previous web page, click to go forward.  I use that all the time and now don't like mice that can't do that.

And the KB has a connection issue with the PC.  I think it might work better in bluetooth but I was typing along and all the sudden it would not recognize the characters I was typing and would skip or double.  It was acting like it did not connect well with the usb connection wanting it closer (I've got it in the closest connection on the PC).

So, not at all perfect but the size might just let me have it off to the side with the surface and I can play like a rock keyboard player with two keyboards.  

I didn't, however, throw out any of the packaging.

Comments

[sleepybadger.livejournal.com]

I have a split ergonomic keyboard that I adore but it is gigantic and a pain to travel with, so I hate having to try to bring it into the office when I do have to go in. I keep my kindle at my desk ready to play music or whatever I feel like while I'm working so my workplace doesn't get bent out of shape about me doing that stuff during working hours.

I haven't had a mouse that has the forward/backward button but now I want one. But I don't want to get hooked on one. lol.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Yay Jelly! Provisioning is my side of the business, and I got Tasha a little Jelly folding keyboard to use with her phone so it's easier for her to send texts. It's great. (For switching, which is a big thing for us as Tasha can sometimes have laptops for two clients plus her own, I got a separate IOGear hub.) One thing you may or may not find helpful in your new job: Tasha was having trouble with one client's system constantly logging her out, so I got her a Mouse Jiggler, which constantly moves the mouse one pixel. It plugs into a USB port, just looks like a mouse on the client's system, and is an absolute godsend.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was thinking about the hub to move the USB receiver/transmitter closer to the kb. Good idea and likely the only answer to the weak signal thing.

I've never heard of a mouse giggler. That is a great invention. I knew a guy who used to run a DOS batch just doing something repeatedly in the background for the same purpose. But this is way simpler. Thanks.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd never heard of it either, but I figured we couldn't be the only ones who'd had that problem and found some angel had solved it. (Before that Tasha was having to click the mouse literally every five minutes. Argh.

Thanks for mentioning The World's Toughest Race! We really enjoyed it. The Kiwis were beasts, of course, but then they've been world champions since 2014 so it wasn't too surprising. Nathan Fa'avae in particular is an astonishing athlete and even more so when you know he has atrial fibrillation. But even better were some of the other stories, I thought - the racer with Alzheimer's was truly amazing. My ex-husband was a marathon runner, and I always used to think it was easier for him running a marathon in 2 hours 50 than for someone doing it tough over five or six hours. Same with this race: I was much more impressed by the guys who were thrilled just to finish.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd never heard of the endurance races like this. I've got afib so I guess I'm qualified!! I did like the stories but kept a finger on the fast forward for some of it. And, yeah, the Kiwis had it the easiest. Efficient and focused.

They are doing it now in Patagonia. In fact they are qualifying people now. The longest I've every run is 13 miles. I always wanted to run a marathon but really started too late and am not a natural long distance person. The last time I ran was a 15k in Jacksonville, FL. A friend of mine (well he wasn't a friend when we started but was by the time we were done) was developing a deepening depression and I kind of challenged him to do the training and the race. It was fun to do especially with him but my arthritis caught up with me and I could not even run the whole race. I ended up walking a lot of it I finished the damn run and have never run again. I have since replaced one hip and one knee. So I'm a cyclist and walker now.

In my mind I think I'd love to do something like this the cross country endurance race but it stays in my mind.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

At least you finished! That's a terrific achievement in itself. I've stood by many a finishing line and I could tell from the expression on finishers' faces that it had been far from easy.

Once the race started I realised it was what Kiwis call multisport, something we cheated with by being involved in it from the very beginning. I don't think I'm ever going to winkle Susan out of Seattle for a return trip here, alas, but while you're turning over racing in your mind, perhaps in more non-Covidy days I can lure you instead? Not for our famous Coast To Coast race, perhaps, as it's a wee bit gruelling for the replacement-jointed, but if Dana cycles too perhaps I can interest you in the lovely Otago Rail Trail.

https://www.otagocentralrailtrail.co.nz/

It's very beautiful, you can set your own pace, and lots of fit retired people do it. Just something to add to your race musings....

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

That would be lovely for me. Dana is not a rider but no worries about that. She would find other things to do.

Leaving the house and getting on a plane seems so far off as does being allowed to even get into NZ from here. But things change and I've heard enough from Susie that I've wanted to see it myself.

On my list if we can work things out.