I am using a very inexpensive Logitech K120 keyboard that I picked up off the discarded-peripherals pile at a previous job.
I like the way the keys respond, the clicky-ness, and the numeric keypad.
I’m fine with it being wired. I used to volunteer at a place where all the computers had Bluetooth keyboards and mice, and it was my duty to reconnect them all every time I went in, because they wouldn’t stay connected.
This weekend I got the crazy notion to open it up and give it a good cleaning. I learned that a prior user apparently had some coordination problems while drinking coffee. It was pretty nasty inside. That got me thinking maybe it was time for something new. Besides, I’ve worn the letters off many of the keys.
I don’t want to have to re-learn to type, so I’ll be looking for something with a very similar feel, but I’m curious to learn from others who still work at a computer what your favorite keyboard is, and why, as well as info about any other peripherals you wouldn’t want to be without.
All my keyboards are filthy. I don’t think I’ve had a new keyboard at work in ten years, and my monitor displays totally washed out colors. My favorite peripheral is my laser printer. Freeing myself from inkjet cartridges has been wonderful.
Sure, but it’s the same price for a toner cartridge that lasts 10x as long. And if I don’t print anything for a month I don’t have to go through the inkjet head cleaning process to get a print that isn’t terrible.
I think the only other keyboard that would have worked would have been a Logitech MX Keys Mini, but that retails for $110 vs the $31 I paid for the Perixx.
Since I migrated all my docs, spreadsheets, photos, etc. to the Google cloud, I almost never use my old printer. My favorite peripheral these days is a portable scanner. It scans paper documents and photos just great. It puts the scanned file on a MicroSD card, then mounts as a disk drive to my PC so I don’t have to mess around with manipulating the MicroSD card. It is HERE. After I scan, it is quick and easy to upload to Google’s cloud; accessible from my iPad or phone or shareable as needed.
Not my favorite peripheral, but have you ever tried a virtual reality headset? I got a Quest 3 recently, and I must say the feeling is totally immersive. It feels like incredibly realistic. It’s standalone, and although it can connect to a PC, a PC isn’t really necessary.
It has apps just like a phone. One of the apps uses Google Maps images - one can turn around 360 degrees and feel like you are back at your childhood home walking through the neighborhood, or visit the pyramids, Taj Mahal, or the tippy top of Mount Everest; wherever Google Maps has images - all with 360 degree views.
A free app takes you inside the space station; you grab the handholds to pull yourself along as you float through the station, put on a space suit and go outside, or move cargo containers around. I’m not sure when the images were taken, but it’s really inside the station.
Of course there is the obligatory roller coaster ride (I felt sick on that one, but my wife has an iron stomach, and rides it a lot) and many games - I haven’t tried a game yet, but they are available. Also, National Geographic has an app - ride a kayak near Antarctica for example.
YouTube has a lot of VR content; just search for VR whatever in that app. They are all 360 degrees.
I’m old now, and my balance is bad, so I sit in my office chair to turn around - the feeling is so real that I guarantee I would be bumping into things and falling over if I tried it on my feet.
I have worked with different organizations in their accounting department, nothing beat having 3 monitor screens. 2 large ones and my laptop. Spoiled!!! At my first accounting position, the non-profit only had 1 monitor, ughh!!!
It was pretty nasty inside. That got me thinking maybe it was time for something new. Besides, I’ve worn the letters off many of the keys.