I used to hate Logitech. When they first appeared on the market, their stuff seemed cheap and nasty, an attempt to make a quick buck in a young and naive home computer market. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.
This week though things have changed. I'm a keyboard fetishist. I can't walk through a computer store without stopping at the keyboards section and bashing away at a few sample products to see how they feel, to hear how they sound, and of course to imagine how they look on my desk. Before we last move house a couple of years back Heather actually encouraged me to throw out the keyboards I no longer use, and I ended up trashing around 10 keyboards from various manufacturers. Recently when I reworked my office while Heather was away I went through the same process and threw out another 5 keyboards. I can't help myself. I spend so much time typing that I am on a constant quest to find the perfect input device, and every device I use inevitably gets measured against my all time favourite keyboard, that of the original Powerbook G3 Wallstreet edition. We sold that machine a few weeks ago to prepare for the move and it hurt.
A little while back I was strolling through PC World and indulged my somewhat disturbing fascination with keyboards to see what they had on offer. I plumped down my hard earned cash for a Microsoft wireless desktop Elite - a traditional all black Microsoft keyboard with a faux leather wrist rest built in. It looked great, and in the store it felt pretty awesome too. I did notice on my way out though a green and white box from Logitech containing something called the DiNovo Media Desktop. At 200 pounds (sterling) I knew I'd never get it through the door without a divorce so I resisted the urge to learn more about it.
Back home though I did my research. It turns out the DiNovo is basically an ultra thin, ultra quiet bluetooth mouse, keyboard and seperate numeric keypad which doubles (or even triples) up as a clock, media center controller, messenger screen and a calculator. I started to drool.
After the last few weeks of intense writing I managed this week to kill my Microsoft keyboard. I type really fast, and very hard (ooo baby) and throughout the last couple of weeks the Elite keyboard has been feeling more and more mechanical and clunky. It was also starting to lose connection to the wireless hub quite frequently and that's with new batteries. Seeing my frustration and with 19 chapters of the book to go Heather caved in and let me order a DiNovo. I love it. It's just like a laptop keyboard, with that soft, quiet click that laptops tend to make when you tap on them. It's ultra low profile so it just oozes techno sex appeal and since the numeric keypad is not attached to the main keyboard I have even more freedom to get the desk arranged just as I like it. After a couple of days with it I think I have found my number 2 most favourite keyboard in the whole wide world.
Best of all, it's going to look fantastic when it's hooked up to my new Dell in a couple of weeks. In fact, my whole desk is going to look a huge amount better when a mass of the cables currently infesting it vanish.
Anyways, I was looking around the Logitech site this evening, just browsing, and I came across two other lust worthy devices. You see, I have a minor fetish for wireless controllers, specifically console ones. I have a wavebird for my Gamecube and it's wonderful. The sheer freedom and exhileration that comes from being able to relax anywhere in the room (hand-made leather ultra comfy beanbag bought for my birthday usually) while guiding Mario and his buddies around a carting track is unreal. I have a wireless playstation 2 controller as well, but it's not really that effective, and nowhere near as gorgeous as the wavebird since it relies on infrared, and has an incredibly limited range.
Well, Logitech to the rescue. They have wireless playstation and XBox controllers out now, and according to the reviews, they are both awesome.
The Playstation one looks a little cheap on the outside
..bearing more than a close resemblence to el-cheapo no name crap that Game sells here in the UK. But, the reviews can't fault it, and you've gotta love those sleek sexy curves really haven't you.
The XBox one on the other hand is a work of art.
It's the same basic size and shape as the standard controller, but with less angles, and more curves you just know how much less strain that is going to exert on poor tired fingers trying hard to keep up with Jason and James in Project Gotham Racing 2.
I've added to them to the list of things I need to look at getting when we're all moved out to the States - but don't tell Heather ;)
9:24:25 PM 
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