I am a pretty easy going individual, and there are few things I am truly picky about, but one of these things is computer input devices. For a long time, I mainly used whatever came with the computer, but that has changed over time. The first revelation came almost 25 years ago, when I purchased a PowerMac G4, and instantly came to hate the truly awful hockey puck-shaped mouse. The day the computer arrived, I ran to Office Depot and picked up a Logitech Marble Mouse trackball. It was an ergonomic wonder and worked nicely with my small desk space, since I didn't have to physically shift it around to move the pointer on the screen. I still have that mouse and all these years later, it still works flawlessly. I will say that I did eventually make peace with that hockey puck mouse by attaching a snap-on cover that gave it a more conventional, albeit chunky shape, but by that time, I had fallen in love with the trackball.
Since that time, I've become increasingly loyal to Logitech input devices, because keyboards and mice form the connection between the computer and my brain, so it is vital that they are comfortable and robust. It may sound like circular logic, but I have come to rely on them precisely because they are highly reliable—well built and thoughtfully designed. Another feature that makes them my go-to brand is the Unifying Receiver, identified with an asterisk logo, which allows multiple Logitech devices, similarly marked with an asterisk, to connect to a single receiver, leaving other USB ports open. This ecosystem is also useful because in the event that a keyboard or mouse fails, the receiver is most often still good. This makes it feasible to pick up compatible second-hand input devices on the cheap at thrift stores, etc. Sometimes they come with a receiver and sometimes they don't, but the Unifying Receiver makes that almost irrelevant—and equally easy to forget about.
My most recent Logitech acquisition is an MK270 keyboard and mouse combo, which I picked up at a thrift shop in its original box for about the price of a fast food meal. A check on Logitech's Web site shows this to be a price leader package, retailing for about $28, so I found this one for a little less than half price. The package included a K270 full size wireless keyboard, an M135 compact wireless mouse, and a USB receiver, paired with both devices. The keyboard is nicely designed, very quiet and comfortable to use, with a pleasant, soft touch on the keys and minimal clacking. Some people love noisy mechanical keyboards, but honestly, I don't need my computer to sound like a manual typewriter. The only feature I see that it lacks is a PC lock key. Other than that, it has everything I could want in a keyboard. The mouse is a compact, 'portable' model, not quite as comfortable to use a full size mouse like the M310 or M510, but it's all that not bad, either. I've definitely used much worse.
The biggest disappointment of this package is the USB receiver, which is not marked with an asterisk and is thus not of the Unifying variety. That said, both the keyboard and mouse are paired with it, and thus, it satisfies my needs for my work laptop. In the office, the computer is connected via a USB-C cable to a full size monitor with a built-in docking station, which also acts as a charger for the laptop and provides wired Ethernet and video connections. Also connected to the laptop is a wired Logitech Trackman Wheel trackball device. I have the keyboard and mouse connected directly to the laptop via their shared USB receiver, but I seldom use both devices simultaneously. I use the keyboard when I'm at my desk and I use the mouse with the laptop when I have it away from my desk. This will continue to be a useful combination, despite the lack of a Unifying Receiver system. The only thing that could undermine that functionality is if one of the paired devices were to become lost or damaged.
While this is not the dream combo I might have hoped for, it gets the job done despite its shortcomings.
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