It’s a blue, blue world
One of my favorite features on my Macs is the built-in bluetooth. In theory, this means that you can find a bluetooth mouse or keyboard, and connect it wirelessly to the computer without losing a USB port to the usual wireless receiver. In practice, there are very few good bluetooth mice or keyboards available, and of those, even fewer actually work with a Mac.
But I have been searching for some time now for a good bluetooth solution, and after stepping up my search this past week, I have come up with an acceptable solution:
For the iMac keyboard, I have selected a Microsoft Wireless Entertainment 7000 keyboard. I’ve been using one of these on my HTPC for over a year, and I love it. It’s a nice, slim keyboard with just enough curve to keep from exaggerating my wrist pain, and the keys have a nice response to them. There is no 10-key pad, which is taking some adjustment, but instead there’s a very handy set of media buttons on the left end of the keyboard for volume and iTunes control. You’re probably thinking “a Microsoft keyboard on a Mac?” and you’d be right. But Microsoft has actually released their Intellitype and Intellipoint software in Mac versions. While Intellitype does not specify the 7000 keyboard, it gets pretty close if I select the Wireless Desktop 4000. The best part of the 7000 keyboard is the funky placement of the Windows key. The key is located at the bottom of the keyboard, in it’s own row, and centered below the spacebar. This is EXACTLY where my thumb sits during normal typing, and allows easy use of Command-key shortcuts (Windows key=Command key on Mac.)
For the iMac mouse, I’m still using my beloved Logitech MX 620, even though it’s RF wireless and requires a USB receiver. The Logitech Control Center is perfectly acceptable for controlling and customizing the buttons on the mouse, but I recently discovered Steermouse. The beauty of Steermouse is that it doesn’t care what your mouse is, it always configures the first 5 buttons, with the option for more. This means that in addition to the usual left-click, right-click, and scroll, I can configure the thumb buttons for back and forward controls, and the unused “Search” button I have changed to refresh whatever window is highlighted. Even though I love my MX 620, I’m still considering finding a bluetooth MX Revolution mouse for the iMac, and taking the MX 620 to work. Unfortunately, the bluetooth MX Revolution appears to only be available as part of a set, with a keyboard that I don’t like and don’t want.
For the MacBook, I’m usually content with the built-in keyboard and touchpad, especially with the beauty that is Multi-touch. Oh how I miss Multi-touch when I am working on a Windows laptop. But occasionally, I need to do lots of data entry or browsing on the MacBook, usually when I’m away from my desk, and at those times a 10-key pad or mouse would be handy. The mouse solution was pretty easy; I just stole the Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 that came as part of the set with the Wireless Entertainment 7000 keyboard I ordered for the iMac, installed Steermouse for proper button control, and I was ready to go.
The 10-key pad was a lot harder to track down. A while ago, I decided it was time to catalog all the books I owned, and ISBN entry into the software on my MacBook was the easiest way to do that. After much searching and a couple failed tries, I found the Interlink Bluetooth Calculator Keypad. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it’s stable, connects easily, and worked great for entering over 1000 books into my catalog software.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play with Windows 7 some more. It’s not quite shiny enough to get me to switch back from my wonderful Macs, but it’s REALLY NICE.