Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop

by Microsoft

Product Details

Product Manual [283kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006D2L7
• Item model number: K51-00024
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 19, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Add wireless freedom, stylish looks, and one-touch features to your desktop with the Wireless Optical Desktop Pro keyboard and mouse combination. This desktop package provides customizable keys, optical mouse technology, and a sleek, low-profile design. Also, your digital media activities are within easy reach--start, play, and navigate music and video clips with the touch of a button. Customizable hot keys let you quickly start Messenger, e-mail, Internet, and Calculator programs. And get one-touch access to files stored in the My Documents, My Pictures, and My Music folders in Windows. Perform common tasks right from your keyboard--press a button to open, close, save, send, and forward e-mails, put the computer to sleep, log off, and more. Press the F LOCK key to toggle between the standard and enhanced function key commands.

The mouse's wider, clear scroll wheel allows you to comfortably move through documents and Web sites quickly without clicking the scroll bar. Accelerated scrolling reacts to how quickly you roll the wheel, saving you time and effort. And the optical sensor replaces your mouse ball, for accuracy and precision--no mouse pad needed. It's ambidextrous, too--whether you control it with your right or left hand, the Wireless Optical Mouse is shaped for comfort.

Both the keyboard and mouse work within six feet of the included receiver, even if your computer is out of sight. The Wireless Optical Desktop Pro comes with a three-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generally Very Reliable with One Small Gripe, July 27, 2003

By 

D. R. Jeanclerc "Reader, Listener & Obsessive... (Brunswick, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop (Personal Computers)

This is my first wireless desktop and I've been very pleased with it. I occasionally get a problem with one of my PCs where the mouse and keyboard lock during bootup, forcing me to plug in a wired keyboard simply to reboot. However, this happens rarely plus I've got a real Frankenstein of complexity going on between my multiple PCs (relevant detail: wireless desktop into Belkin KVM swtich). Plus, this problem has never occurred on any of the other three PCs that the desktop is controlling, so problem may be in that one PC.

Anyway, the only daily gripe that I have is that the keys are configured differently than most other keyboard. I'm a big keyboard shortcut guy and rely heavily on the section of keys with Home, End, Insert, Delete, etc. I guess in order to make the keyboard a little smaller, the keys are in differently places than on most 102-key keyboards. Not only did this take me a while to get used to, but this also means that I'm messed up when using other PCs, i.e. at the office. This is a trifle, but worth mentioning.

I was wary in the beginning about the mouse and keyboard using batteries, but I'm happy to say that I haven't had to change either after over a month of heavy use. Of course, they may die at any inst

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not dependable., March 24, 2003

By 

[e-mail] (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop (Personal Computers)

The concept of a cordless keyboard and mouse is nice, but the application is less than perfect. The product is handsome and well-constructed and seems durable enough to withstand heavy usage. It installed quickly and effortless into Windows XP Pro. The unit requires batteries to be installed into both the keyboard and the mouse, which is a little inconvenient, but an onscreen alert warns you to change the batteries when the power is low, so you don't get surprised with a dead mouse or keyboard every few weeks.

However, from the beginning, I've had trouble with the unit. Although the mouse tracks fairly accurately without a cord, every once in awhile, the cursor flies widely across the screen for no discernable reason. This doesn't happen enough to make the unit unusable, but it does happen enough to be annoying.

Almost immediately, I began experiencing periods where the mouse would stop working, sometimes for long periods of time (days) although the keyboard would still work. I eventually discovered that a 2.4 gigahertz cordless phone near the mouse was the culprit. Whenever the phone was out of the cradle, the mouse would freeze. I solved the problem by getting a new phone, although I now have a corded phone so that I can have a cordless mouse. This is self-defeating for my objective of getting rid of cords running across my desk, but at least everything was working.

However, after a few months of use, the keyboard stopped working. The cordless phone was long gone and not to blame and multiple battery changes, reinstalling the software, and checking the hardware failed to correct the problem.

After days of wrestling with the problem, I finally ditched the offending keyboard and replaced it with a USB keyboard. Although I'm back to having a cord, it's a small price to pay for a keyboard that works reliably and doesn't need constant troubleshooting.

I still have the cordless mouse, which works adequately, but every once in awhile the cursor flies widely across the screen to remind me of the folly of this purchase. Corded keyboards and mice work well. Although cordless would be nice, it doesn't seem to me that the technology is adequate yet. Bottom-line, I want my keyboard and mouse to work without any effort on my part. Corded versions to do this well, but the cordless equivalents offer less reliability.

I don't recommend this product, although if you wanted to buy one slightly used, we could probably work something out......

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good wireless keyboard, October 24, 2003

By 

Joe (Upstate, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop (Personal Computers)

I purchased this as an upgrade to an old Microsoft Internet keyboard. Right off the bat, the stylish look had me hooked. I was a bit wary about wireless, but so far no problems. It works like a charm.

Unlike other wireless keyboards, this one does not need a direct line-of-sight to the reciever. I've typed with my back to the computer, as well as clear across the room. It works fine. The software that came with the keyboard is the same standard "Intelli Type Pro" that comes with all the Microsoft boards. It's very good and comes in handy if you'd like the hotkeys at the top of the board to do something else. The hotkeys at the top are My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, a Play/Pause/Stop/Prev/Next and volume control grouped in the middle, a mute button, Mail, Web/Home that will activate your browser, and Messenger. The Messenger button worried me a bit because I thought it was hard coded for Microsoft's MSN service, however the software lets you change it to anything.

There is an F-Lock key on the board that might take some getting used to, but comes in very handy. If you have the lock on, the F keys will work as normal. However if you turn the F lock off, the F keys will do a lot of other tasks such as replying, forwarding and sending e-mail, bringing up a spellchecker, saving and printing any document or web page you're currently on, and more. All the buttons are labeled with these extra functions, which is nice. The software will also let you change these as well.

I do have a couple issues with it. There is a bit of a learning curve if you're used to basically any standard keyboard. The F keys are laid out in groups of 3, instead of the usual 4. Also, Microsoft changed the Home, End, Page Up/Down, and Delete keys a bit by putting them in 2 columns instead of 3. The the Insert key is up in the F key area and the Delete key is double size. The arrow keys are nudged over to the left a bit (see images). Futhermore, the Windows key only appears on the left side on this board. These changes are probably not a big problem if you don't use these keys much or at all, but if you do and especially are a touch typer, it might throw you off for a little while.

The mouse is a bit heavy with the double A batteries and also might take some getting used to. The light on the bottom does not turn off when you boot down. Apparently the batteries (included) are supposed to last a few months, but mine started going out in about 3 weeks with daily use. The software that comes with the package lets you program the scroll wheel when it's clicked with a plethora of standard and common commands. A message pops up on the screen when the batteries are getting low, which is very nice.

Overall, this is a very good wireless keyboard and mouse combo.