I have used my Logitech notebook mouse (NewEgg link, bought from WallyWorld tho) a few times and I like how it works. The buttons and scrollwheel feel good but I have a problem with the cord, as mentioned in several reviews. This mouse has a groove running around the bottom of it that allows you to stow the cable. The problem is that you have to wind the cable as tight as possible for the USB connector to be able to reach far enough down the mouse to snap into the base and over the optical sensor. Also, because the cord is wound so tight, it is seriously crimped where you make the turn to snap the connector to the mouse.
I am using one of those $4 Kensington mice I bought on Sellout.Woot right now. The winder and cable are sturdier than I expected, but the optical sensor is nowhere near as good as the Logitech’s. The Logitech worked on my blanket’s (I’m in bed) weird pattern without a problem. The Kensington’s sensor doesn’t work on some of the colors on the blanket, so I am using the Eee’s carrying case as a mousepad. Also, the scrollwheel doesn’t feel as smooth or robust. If I had to pick one, I might give the nod to the Kensington. The Logitech’s cord is a pain to wind properly but its optical sensor is much better. The Kensington’s only downside is its poor functionality on unevenly colored surfaces.
The cyan cartridge on my HP Business Inkjet 1000 gave me a few errors in the past month along the lines of it not being an authorized cartridge or something like that. The weirdness came to a head last night when it reported being out of ink without warning. I should’ve gotten warnings as soon as the ink level dropped to around 15% I think. Anyway, none of the local chain office supply stores had the HP 13 cartridge I needed. I ended up calling Cartridge World. They were competitive with online retailers in terms of pricing. They had the HP 13 Cyan for $25. According to the box, this cartridge only works with four printers, which would explain why Wal-Mart and the office supply stores don’t carry it. Cartridge World will refill your old cartridge or sell you a remanufactured cartridge. Don’t know if I’d go that route. However, I was told that if I bring in the old cartridge next time, I can get like $1 off the replacement cartridge. I have no complaints – the factory cartridge lasted about two years and the other three cartridges still supposedly have 30-45% life remaining.
I spent a couple of hours researching handheld scanners and shopping for them. I want a handheld for the Chicagoland Speedway races I am going to this year. I ended up choosing the Uniden Bearcat BC95XLT. I’m partial to Uniden because I have an old BC142XL and BC895XLT that have served me well. I went with the 95XLT because it had 200 channels versus 100 in the 72XLT. The 72 was only $81 at Amazon and was tempting, but for the NASCAR races I think I will need more than 100 channels. After shopping around, from the ham radio shops whose catalogs I used to drool over to sporting goods stores, I ended up giving Dick’s Sporting Goods $115 for the 95XLT. It was the best price I could find and I felt confident buying from Dick’s. I had to order online as their local store didn’t have any scanners. The new scanner should come early next week. I miss listening to my scanner. That 895XLT is sweet. I can listen to the trunked system my city uses. The 95XLT doesn’t do trunking. The cheapest trunking handheld I saw anywhere was over $200 and more than I wanted to spend. Maybe I can take this new handheld to work and do some listening. My secretary’s friend works as a dispatcher, so it might be funny to tune that in and have her hear her friend work.
I went to update my Eee 701 and lots of updates were found. Firefox, OpenOffice, OS security, Acrobat Reader, and other stuff. Glad Asus finally started putting out some more updates. However, I will hold off on the updates because of what I read in the EeeUser forum. Sounds like these updates gobble disk space. I will wait until the dust settles. Maybe I’ll just do Firefox and OO.
