Logitech Cordless Desktop® S 510 Laser Keyboard and Mouse (967664-0403)

I did not abuse my Mighty Mouse.

For reasons incomprehensible to me, three of these white rodents have keeled over in the ten months I've owned my iMac, despite showing them the same care and respect as the rest of my computer hardware. A Somewhat Helpful rant is pending, but apparently this is a common problem. To quote my husband: "The Mighty Mouse blah blah blah software blah blah blah quit scrolling down because blah blah blah so here are your new mouse and keyboard. Please use them to write Very Helpful Epinions."

The new mouse and keyboard are the Logitech S 530 Laser for Mac, and I am not only placated but rapidly growing spoiled. This duo is comfortable, responsive, and doesn't clash with my iMac's appearance, nor does it demand I learn anything new about computers or hardware. You will probably not be shocked to learn that it requires you have Mac OS X 10.2.8 or above, one available USB port, and a CD-ROM drive to install the software.

So many buttons, yet I am not afraid.

Are you curious how the software installation went? I wasn't, and didn't ask. No irritated grumbling came from my husband's direction while he handled the set-up, and I was invited to use the new hardware within ten minutes of him coming home from the store.

This white and silver keyboard and mouse are wireless, and as such require batteries. Remembering our last wireless keyboard and mouse, and the charming way they were always either dying or dead, I hope Logitech is telling the truth about their power-saving technologies which will keep the batteries alive for six months or longer. A rechargeable mouse would give me more peace of mind, but if the batteries will really last that long, I can live without it. The USB receiver can either plug into a port in your computer or laptop, or sit in a stand beside it. My husband harbors strange fantasies involving watching movies on a huge computer monitor instead of a huge television, and was satisfied that the mouse could get signal from across the room should this huge monitor ever come into his life. My needs are simpler - I just want to be able to type with the keyboard on my lap, and I have no trouble doing just that.

Usually, I am nervous about pressing buttons. What will happen? How will I undo my terrible error? There are a quite a few buttons on the keyboard and mouse, but they are optimized for Mac users of all degrees of skill. Anyone who could learn to run a register at McDonald's can interpret the one-touch controls on this keyboard. The familiar icons for Spotlight, iTunes, iPhoto, and Safari, grace the buttons, so I don't have to be timid about touching anything. These are customizable to open any applications you choose, but if you've chosen a Mac, these are probably the basic things you want. The mouse has back and forward browser buttons and a tilt wheel that scrolls up and down as well as side to side. This feature is great for photo editing or other artistic pursuits, as is the pixel-precise navigation. Photoshopping my pictures so that I appear to be a young woman instead of a bedridden crone has never been easier! I play quite a bit of music on my computer and occasionally use Skype for long distance calls, so I appreciate having volume control right on my mouse. The mute button comes in handy when my 12-year-old sister-in-law sends me a link to her MySpace page and the harrowing sounds of something she thinks is music threaten my sanity.

Smack Smack Smack Smack Smack Smack

I can be an (ahem) impassioned typist. It is not unheard of for my husband to banish me from the room where he is working or reading while I am noisily writing seventy words per minute. The keyboard that came with the iMac didn't help matters, because the keys were tall and stiff. I felt like I had to pound on them, and they slowed me down. I took to using the laptop more often for writing, because the flatter, more responsive keyboard diminished the sound and also felt more comfortable. At 3/4'' high, the Logitech keyboard is one of the flattest I have seen, with only a gentle curve in the front to rest your palms against. It feels ergonomically correct no matter what position I sit in to type. The tactile response of the keys feels much quicker and I can type with a lighter touch. It isn't silent, but the resounding smacks have been replaced by gentler clicks.

After I've spent the first [numeral edited] hours of the day at the computer, I like to give my shoulders a rest by switching to a more comfortable chair and putting the keyboard in my lap for the next [numeral edited] hours. I can put the mouse on any surface at all and it will work with the same accuracy. Something flat and covered with a mousepad is most comfortable, but even my leg will work in a pinch. The sculpted shape of the mouse is perfect for my right hand, but if I were left handed and forced to use this, I might have sinister thoughts.

In conclusion, I am ready to passionately type something else now.

If you spend as much time at the keyboard as I do, a nice wireless makes a world of difference. Although my husband still can't be trusted to shop at Costco without a minder (one fire extinguisher would have been nice, but I wish we didn't have six), he definitely knows what he is doing in electronics stores. The Logitech set us back about fifty dollars after a rebate, and I consider this a wise purchase.