microsoft MCE keyboard or similar

danger_mouse_tm

HI folks,

I have one of those silver ADVENT wireless keyboard sets from PC world. It was working out fine for the computer i have hooked up to the TV until the END key developed a problem. I have done everything i can to fix it but still the end key stays on intermitently. Anyway, i do see a guy on ebay selling them at a reasonable price although since i havn't had this one a long time is it a bad idea to get another one? I took a look at the microsoft media centre remote keyboards that came out in 2005. It seems to be tricky enough to get your hands on one. There is one ending in an hour on ebay that i pushed the bidding up to 25 pounds + postage. I dont think i am going to bid any higher on it because then i am over the original new price of £31. Some sites have it for as much as $190!! I see the people on ebay "buyitloveit" that are selling the keyboard have another refubished one ( or maybe the same one) on amazon.co.uk for £14! Unfortunately the usual proplem is there that amazon don't ship electronics to Ireland.

So the question is... Should i get another advent keyboard? Or does anyone know where i could get a reasonably priced MCE keyboard or there might even be something better out there. I do have an address in the US.

Thanks

Dave

ffocused

Have you considered the logitech dinovo mini?

http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?quicklinx=4YH4

It is expensive (€94) but perfect for sofa surfing and it is a mce remote too.

dingdong1234567

I have the di novo mini with my htpc, its the dogs bollix!! its easy to set up and has great battery life. Looks good and is discrete compared to a keyboard.

The choice is yours at the end of the day.

danger_mouse_tm

hey feillas,

I have just had a very brief look at that. I does indeed look like something i could drool over. I will have to have a better look at that. 94 european coins is at the high end allright - i presume i would have to get a bluetooth dongle for that. Just to let you know what i have...

Dell E310 2gig ram 160 gig drive onboard XP MCE onboard graphics but xfi creative into 7.1 creative gigworks. vgato dvi into 32' hdready phillips on the wall. Put the mce remote receiver from a fried qosmio laptop onto it and using the supllied mini remotes sometimes.

PC is mostly used for just watching DVD movies and AVI's from a server upstairs.

cheers

Dave

J-blk

I have one of the original MCE ones that you mentioned:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/review/2005/11/03/Microsoft-Media-Center-2005-Keyboard/p1

I no longer use this at all (as I've moved on to Macs, instead of Windows systems) but haven't got around to putting up an ad to sell it. We could work something out if you're interested in it. It works perfectly though I've never been able to use the little joystick thingy on it for mouse movement effectively...

danger_mouse_tm

be well up for that buddy. I have seen that pleanty of times on various sites about the mousey thing on it. It is difficult to use. But for what i want it for, like opening zoom player etc there should be no bother.

I will send you a pm with my number. Give me a text and i will call you and we can arrange something.

Thanks

Dave

FrankGrimes

I have the Microsoft Wireless Desktop 8000. I got it as a present and it is very pricey, but I now use my HTPC as my main web browsing machine (and am typing this from the couch!) so I use it extensively everyday so for me it's worth it as it means I get the most out of my HTPC.

It comes with a keyboard and a separate mouse but the mousepad on the keyboard itself is so good I never touch the separate mouse. The mouspad is more like what's on a laptop as opposed to a nipple so it's very easy to use. The directional arrows around the mousepad do annoy me so I just use the up/down/left/right arrows on the keyboard and it works perfectly.

When you're watching a movie in the dark and you move your hand towards the keyboard it is pretty cool the way it lights up so you can see the keys, a gimmick but a nice one.

J-blk

FrankGrimes wrote: »

When you're watching a movie in the dark and you move your hand towards the keyboard it is pretty cool the way it lights up so you can see the keys, a gimmick but a nice one.

Not a gimmick - that's a great feature. I love it on my MacBook Pro and never understood why it's not used on more keyboards/laptops.

Pretty cool looking keyboard and it's good to hear Microsoft improved the mousepad on it - the joystick style one used on the MCE keyboard is simply terrible. Still, that's one pricey keyboard/mouse combo...

Danger_mouse_tm, I sent you a PM instead of a text - if you want the keyboard, just let me know - if not, no problem as well.

danger_mouse_tm

Hi j=blk yeah i got your pm, just being under a bit of pressure lately trying to solve other problems. like trying to get surround sound from zoom player through creative xfi. I think i have it down. The wife got me one of those mce keyboards on ebay - shame its norweigen! its refurbished and the keys are quite clunky but tother than a few extra letters its not too bad but i think i would prefer a uk one. So it that one is still going i will be in touch via pm about it soon. I am going to a party in dublin on friday the 19th of this month so we could hook up on either the firday or saturday.

Just a note on the microsoft keyboard mentioned in the previous post i just checked the price on komplett there. Thats pretty serious stuff = its real nice though!

J-blk

Danger_mouse_tm, yeah, I still have it lying around so you can get it when you're up in Dublin - we'll sort it out via PM. Though if you want to stick with the one you've got, no problem with me - are you really going to be doing that much typing on it to need a UK layout? I need to check mine - I think it's a US layout actually (that's what Komplett were selling back in the day for some reason). Anyway, just let me know either way.