Nice Combo, But Get the Cordless MX Duo if You Can., October 27, 2003

Bottom line? Get the Elite Duo if you'd like a good mouse, but if you can spare the few extra dollars, get the Cordless MX Duo. You get the same exact keyboard, but a much, much nicer mouse (the MX700). Just think - better tracking, a charging base, 2 NiMH batteries included for the mouse (2 alkalines included for the keyboard.) If the MX Duo was available last year, I would have opted for that one instead.

But, if you want a pretty good mouse with a programmable thumb button (I programmed it as a back button), this Elite Duo is a good deal, alkaline batteries included. I've used it on a number of machines, ranging from Athlon XP 2600+ Barton system, to my brother's PS2.

On a PS2, it's great. No need to use your controller to type when you're gaming online, just plug in the RF receiver and type away your "GG"s with your new wireless keyboard. It's sweet.

I know you're supposed to keep the keyboard and mouse about 6' from the receiver, but I can't help it sometimes! If you use your computer as entertainment center like I do, you'll be surprised to know that you can lug the keyboard to the other end of the house, and it'll still function. I'm talking at least 25' here. Go to the next rooms and use the "Next Track", volume, or other buttons to control your songs. Kinda like a big remote control that works through walls. Nice.

Regarding to all the extra buttons on the keyboard, I don't use them all that often, with the "2nd mouse wheel" as the exception. The keyboard includes a 2nd mouse wheel on the left side, which can be programmed do one any one of several things. I use it as a volume button, as the dedicated volume button at the top center of the keyboard is too bothersome to reach for all the time. The nice thing is that all the buttons are customizable, so that you can program launch programs or websites of your choice.

As for gaming, personally I'd use another mouse. The Cordless Mouseman Optical that comes with this duo is OK, but I notice just enough lag to get on my nerves. Maybe I'm just spoiled, or maybe it's just my LCD. But for everything else under the sun, the mouse is fine.

FYI. My last motherboard was a MSI K7T266 Pro 2-A (do you know what that is? Do you care?). Anyways, whenever I wanted to go into BIOS, or whenever I wanted to boot from my Windows XP CD, I'd have to use a wired keyboard because the mobo wouldn't load the USB in time. Also, the receiver would momentarily cut out once in a while, as if it lost USB connectivity. Again, my setup might be to blame.

Someone said something about this duo not working with USB hubs? Personally, I've connected it to a Linksys USBHUB4C hub, and it worked like a charm... for months. I connected it to a cheap Iogear GUH174 hub, still works until now. *Shrug*

All in all, the Elite Duo works nicely, and has stood the test of time. The question really is price versus performance - The Elite Duo vs. the MX Duo. Go for the MX Duo, but you can't go wrong with the Elite Duo.

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Cute. Great for Techies, Great for the Beds. But Pricey., October 23, 2003

If you like nice, straight vacuum lines after you clean the carpet, this bot isn't for you. If you don't mind, read on.

Anyways, what's the difference between the old Roomba, the "Pro" version, and the "Pro Elite"?

All Roomba versions start off in circles until it hits a wall, then follow the wall for a while, then turn away from the wall and drive straight until it smacks another wall... "criss-crossing" as iRobot describes it. After a while, it'll start its circular pattern up again. Lather, rinse, repeat. If it gets caught in a tricky part of the room where the furniture layout isn't so conventional, it may find its way out eventually, but not after going over the same portion of floor over and over... and sometimes over over over over. And over. But at least it won't run off the stairs. And it follows the room perimeter very, very nicely.

The original also comes with a "virtual wall unit", so you don't have to close the door or put a chair in the doorway so the robot doesn't wander out of the room you want cleaned - it's just a little gizmo that emits a beam that the Roomba won't cross. The Pro and Elite versions come with two virtual wall units.

The Pro and Elite versions add a "spot mode", where it goes in circles in a 3' diameter for a considerable amount of time. If you're too lazy to bring the big vac out, place the Roomba Pro on the mess and hit the big "spot" button on the top. If it smacks into something during the spot mode, Roomba is smart enough to concentrate back to where it's suppose to be vacuuming.

Also, you can use the "Roomba Remote" to control the Roomba Pro & Elite. Got a huge queen or king sized bed? A bed connected to a big headboard? Don't want move bed over just to vacuum? Then send the little Roomba in. If you have a big room it'll take forever for Roomba to wander under your bed and navigate between the bed legs and other supports that you may have under there. But if you have the remote and the new Roombas, just drive the robot in; make it do 360šs in spots you think are super dirty. You'll be surprised how much dirt it gets out (I'm talking 2-3 bin fulls if it's really dirty.) The bin is easy to clean, and the filters you can wash with soap and water.

Also, there's a "MAX" button on the remote that you can press so that the Roomba Pro & Elite keeps on cleaning until it runs out of battery. On the Elite version, the MAX button is on the Roomba itself. Just charge the battery overnight and it'll be ready again the next day.

For the Roomba Pro Elite, the Roomba is red, the remote comes with, and it comes with a wall mount that you'll probably never use.

What do I use my Roomba for? I let it loose downstairs where there's a lot of tile and hardwood. I set it on MAX with the remote and then go back upstairs or leave. The Roomba is quieter than a standard vac, so I don't notice it when I'm upstairs.

If I want to clean under the beds, I drive the robot in with the remote. The robot is rather dumb when it comes to complex furniture arrangements (grand piano, diagonally placed tables, strangely sectioned off areas), but it gets everywhere if you give it enough time.

I throw the robot in the rooms once in a while, but with so many obstacles like rolling chairs, fan bases, radios, TV stands, thick carpet, it takes forever. Plus, I like those nice straight vacuum lines. =)

Word of advice. Don't put anything on the floor that it can knock over with a slight nudge. And watch out for rugs with fringes or tassels. Tuck them under, the Roomba might get snagged and get mad at you. But it can get over rugs, and if you make your furniture "Roomba friendly" by giving it 4" clearance underneath, it'll clean under there, too.

All in all, it's a cute little machine that does the job. Great Christmas present, easy to use, easy to clean. The remote is a must have for quick cleans under the beds.

Pros:
*Easy to use, very intuitive
*Cleans under the bed, get to places you wouldn't normally clean
*automated vacuuming
*kid/pet friendly
*won't mar walls
*designed to fit under kitchen kickboards
*great if you want to clean tiles/hardwood regularly

Cons:
*Pricey
*Takes roughly 5 times longer to vacuum than you do, slower on thick plush than hardwood/tile
*Long charging time

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Fat and Clunky for "Compact", No USB Extension Included., April 14, 2003

It would have been nice if Linksys included an USB "A" extension cable with the USBHUB4C, since the cable itself is only about 5" long. It doesn't really benefit desktop users to have a short, stubby USB hub hanging off the back of the computer. If you have an extension cable, use it.

For some reason, the DC power adapter, USBHUB4CP, that you supposedly can purchase separately to turn this USBHUB4C into a powered USB hub, doesn't exist anymore on the web.... So don't count on this hub for any USB device that draws power from the computer itself, unless you can figure out the DC rating for this hub.

 Comment (1) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Jan 14, 2008 9:13 AM PST

It DOES work with XP! Just CONFIGURE it correctly., April 8, 2003

First of all, install the WUSB11 like linksys says. Make sure your WUSB11 works first. Turn on your AP's SSID broadcasting, turn off WEP, just to see if everything is working fine. Return the POS if its DOA. If it does work, turn your AP's security back on, obviously.

I'm sure you know about WinXP's Wireless Zero Configuration service/utility, and how its the heart of the WUSB11's compatibility problem. Quite simply, if your AP is not broadcasting an SSID, WinXP will have a fitz about not seeing you non-SSID-broadcasting AP, unless you refresh a couple of times. Refreshing is a pain in the neck, and isn't inherently obvious to someone like your non-techie parents.

So why not disable WZC? Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services > Wireless Zero Configuration, then change the Startup type to "disabled". Restart the computer.

"BLAH BLAH BLAH, I've done that, it doesn't work, you're a nut, BLAH BLAH BLAH." Now take the standpoint of installing this thing from a Windows 2000 perspective. "Hmm... I guess I have to somehow install the linksys utility that is included in the setup CD that came with my WUSB11, that usually lets Windows 2000 users connect to an AP. But it doesn't work! I click on it, and the CD doesn't even autorun! What's the deal?"

This is what I did. Pop the WUSB11 CD into your CD drive, and explore it. For some reason, the setup.exe in the root folder of the CD won't run under XP, probably to avoid incompatibilities. Right click on the CD-ROM drive icon, and click "explore". Then navigate to the "Utilities" folder, and double-click on Setup.exe. This will install the Linksys Instant Wireless LAN Monitor. It will not alert you when the install is complete, but you should see it in your program files list when it is done.

Next, copy all the files except setup.exe from the D:\Utilies folder, into your C:\Program Files\WUSB11 WLAN Monitor folder. Copy the WLAN.in file from the CD's root folder into your C:\Program Files\WUSB11 WLAN Monitor folder. The Setup.exe didn't install everything you needed, so you have to put these files in manually, hence the copy and paste.

Next, set a shorcut of the Instant Wireless LAN monitor to your Startup folder in program files, so that the Instant Wireless LAN monitor starts up automatically when you boot up.

Restart for good measure.

When your computer boots up again, open the Instant Wireless LAN monitor, and you should be able to access a tab labeled "Profiles". That was the whole point of this mess. That profiles tab allows you to configure which SSID to connect to, WEP settings, etc. Enter all your AP's settings. Reboot for good measure?

Your WinXP machine should now use the Instant Wireless LAN monitor to automatically connect to your WAP at every boot.

If I missed something and it didn't, hopefully you get the jist of what I'm trying to do. Disable XP's WZC service, and use a 3rd party utility to connect to your WAP. In my case, I used the included Linksys utility, and it worked with some minor tweeking.

All in all, when I got everything working, the WUSB11 works fine. You will most likely lose throughput due to WEP constraints, thats just the nature of wireless. This wireless USB adapter is cheap compared to Orinoco's card ($100+), and performs better than Netgear's MA101. You just gotta know how to configure it.

 Comments (2) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Sep 16, 2009 12:39 PM PDT