From the originator of the recent "laptop trivet" thread, another post
on using laptops aboard. I have a good secure place for the laptop,
with decent visibility for the screen, but getting to the keyboard is
awkward. A remote keyboard has the same problems as a typical mouse,
the cable is a real pain. I've tried a Logitech wireless trackball,
but it has a short range, is a glutton for batteries, and just plain
frustrates me with its inconsistent function. The Logitech and
Mikeysoft wireless keyboards I've seen are bloody huge. Totally
unsuitable for my nav station.

The latest toy is a Gyration wireless air mouse and keyboard kit.
It's expensive at $110 or so. It has much better range than any
wireless mouse I've used before; advertised range is 25'.

The wireless receiver is powered from the USB port. The keyboard is
powered by 4 AAA batteries. The mouse has a built in rechargeable
NiMH battery with an AC powered charger. For $13, you can get a
replacement battery pack that accepts AAA batteries. The mouse and
receiver are available without the keyboard for about $70. No drivers
are included or needed (according to the manufacturer) and the kit
installed on my XP laptop with no problems at all. A disk of optional
programs is included, but I haven't loaded them. They seem to have
something to do with Mikeysoft Media Center.

The keyboard is about the size of a dismounted laptop keyboard (which
it probably is) and has a pretty good feel. It has a lot of
multimedia keys at the top, but no mousepad or mousestick. I don't
care for the layout, but that's a personal preference. A full size
keyboard is available.

The mouse is downright weird. You hold it in the air and gesture with
it. It reads pitch movements as mouse up/down motions. Yaw motions
are read as mouse left/right. Roll motions and lateral movements are
not sensed. It has 2 buttons and a wheel, with a third button used to
activate the motion sensor in one of two modes. One mode senses the
movements only while the button s held down, the other mode leaves the
motion sensor active all the time. It's totally ambidextrous.

It works surprisingly well, I've had less trouble adjusting to it
than I normally do moving from a mouse to a trackball. I suspect that
it would be a problem to use in a seaway, it's pretty sensitive.
However, in a cool design feature, you can place the mouse on a flat
surface and it becomes a normal optical mouse. All things considered,
I think I'd have prefrerred a trackball with the same range and
sensitivity, but the air mouse may grow on me. It's a lot like using
a TV remote control. None of the components are water resistant.

I don't have a good feel on battery life yet, but I have a couple of
chargers that can charge AA and AAA NiMH or nicads from 12v power, so
I'm not worried about it too much.

I have no connection with the company. Just a (so far) satisfied
user.

__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/