As you're reading this, you may think, "Oh, no, she dumped another cup of coffee into her keyboard again." I do this about twice a year. But I did no such thing. Unless my cat sneaked up on my desk and puked on it when I wasn't looking. Nope, this time I was just typing along when all of a sudden a bunch of 8's started to appear within my words. Like something out of the Twilight Zone.
I changed out the batteries for my keyboard and mouse. Still 8's. Shoved the keyboard aside and plugged in my Apple keyboard. The behavior continued. Why was my keyboard possessed? What did I do to deserve this?
Well, time was at a premium so I called customer support at Apple. See, this is the nice thing about working on a Mac. No long wait for customer support. It cost me $50 to find out the problem was my wireless keyboard. The tech guy said you can spill something in your keyboard and it won't necessarily quit working at that point. It can take months to fry it.
Fortunately, I have an OfficeMax in Midtown Sacramento, not too far from my home. OfficeMax assured me on the phone that it had a wireless ergonomic keyboard. I asked the clerk to check 3 times but when I got there, turned out he was mistaken. No surprise. Instead, I found a Logitech with tons of bells and whistles for $130. Grabbed it, took 4 phone calls on my way to the cash register. This time I decided to buy a 2-year warranty for $35 that replaced the keyboard for free in the event of "accidental handling."
Unpacked the box at home, removed the plastic film, inserted batteries, put the disk in my drive and opened the instruction booklet. Crap. Windows XP or Vista. That's what I get for yakking on my cell and not paying attention to what I'm buying. Just because it's a USB device doesn't mean it's cross platform.
Shoved everything into the box and drove back to the Midtown Office Max store. After much discussion, I discovered that OfficeMax has an ergonomic Microsoft 4000 keyboard on sale for $39 (retail: $60). Just like my former keyboard except it wasn't wireless. Did I really need wireless? Where do I ever take my keyboard? No where, that's where.
What I need is a wireless mouse, and I didn't like my old mouse. So, I bought a new wireless mouse that folds up. I can use it with my PC laptop, too.
OfficeMax offered me a 2-year warranty on this keyboard for $15. But at a $39 price point, a warranty is unnecessary. I figured it's better to buy two keyboards. This way I'll always have a spare. Beats forking out $150 every 6 months for a new keyboard and mouse, don't you agree?
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com
Photo: Big Stock Photo
If you're looking for a Midtown agent who knows the Grid, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. My office is at the corner of 28th & J Streets.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
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Hi Elizabeth, If I had a standard PC which seems to be going the way of the dinosaur these days these are the kind of keyboards I would select. I'm thinking of getting a wireless keyboard to go with my HDTV for the coffee table. Now that would be cool.
Elizabeth
Good advice and your cat pukes on your keyboard? Our pets get sensitive with us; Lars ate a bunch of my burrito one night and it was every five minutes opening the door for him. Office Max is a cool place.
Dang those pesky little tech troubles. Get you everytime. Sounds like you found a good solution.
Hi Elizabeth... I don't have a Mac, but made the same "wired" keyboard decision that you did after my last wireless on died on my a year ago... and used the same logic to justify my decision!
I am always frustrated when I buy something and get home and find out I forgot to ask the critical question.
It doesn't happen very often but computer problems are SO frustrating. Seems you can spend hours fixing them & not know what happened to your time.
Sounds like you found a deal. I need to check and see if they have them in stock locally. I am sometimes a spiller also.
Wireless mice are outstanding cat toys...and they work well with the computer too...and I thought I was the only one who dumped___________name that food/drink on their keyboard...Got home too late to start our bedtime stories...RED graphics...we will start tonite ! Blog on...have a great weekend...!
Elizabeth. I had a little chuckle at your expense while reading this...no offense ! One of those frustrating days we all experience from time to time.
Hi Steve: I understand. Sometimes we can get so caught up in technology -- ooooo, that's cool, I want THAT -- when we don't really need it at all!
Well, Barb, you've got to have a sense of humor in these situations. Beats banging your head into the desk screaming "why did I do that???"
Sallly: I'm anxious to hear what you think. I made a mistake near the end of that book when I identified the VA as an "administration" and not "affairs." I know better, too. Drats. Old habits die hard.