keyboards

No, the Microsoft mouse isn't dead. But it is facing its biggest challenge yet from its creator, as Microsoft goes Metro.

First let's look at what Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows Division at Microsoft, said this week in Barcelona when he introduced the Consumer Preview of Windows 8.

"The Microsoft mouse this week turns 30 years old. It's hard to imagine not having a mouse, yet when they came out they were relatively controversial...[and] you couldn't find [at that time] a place to put it on your desk."

Sinofsky continued, mocking (in … Read more

Samsung executive Hankii Yoon said at Mobile World Congress, "The best thing to survive in the market is to kill your products."

He was referring to new Samsung Android tablets cannibalizing older ones, but let's take that comment even further. The first tablet demonstrating Windows 8 at Mobile World Congress was a Samsung one. Sure, Samsung is playing the field, and it's made Windows tablets before. However, it only goes to show that if you're not the one vertically integrating software and hardware, it's a free-for-all as far as where tablet hardware might evolve next. … Read more

Many of us have our favorite e-mail provider up on our computers all day long. Using keyboard shortcuts, instead of pointing and clicking, can save a couple of seconds per action, leading to improved efficiency.

Gmail If you haven't taken a look at what you can do in Gmail with your keyboard lately, you may want to check it out. Though Gmail keyboard shortcuts have been around a while, new ones have been added periodically, coinciding with enhancements and new features.

See: How to use Gmail with keyboard shortcuts

Yahoo Mail Yahoo's Webmail service hasn't … Read more

Dell's first ultrabook, the XPS 13, is now available. And it's attracting a lot of attention as one of Dell's best laptop designs to date.

The XPS 13 boasts solid specs for the base $999 configuration, is priced well below the MacBook Air, uses a smaller footprint than 13-inch competitors, and taps carbon fiber materials in the chassis to keep the weight below three pounds.

And Dell will announce Tuesday that it is seeing lots of demand already. "We're seeing strong consumer and business demand for the new XPS 13," said Michael Tatelman, Dell Vice President and General Manager of Americas Consumer, in a statement to be released Tuesday.

The XPS 13 wil also be sold at Best Buy from Tuesday.

Starting at $999.99, it comes -- at that price -- with a 13.3-inch/300-nit/1,366x768 display squeezed into a 12-inch chassis (roughly), an Intel Core i5-2467M processor, Intel HD Graphics 3000, a 128GB solid-state drive, 4GB of memory, backlit keyboard, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. It is 0.71 inches at its thickest point.

Other standard features include a 47WHr 6-cell battery (built into the laptop and not replaceable by the customer) rated at a maximum of over eight hours, one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0, mini Display-Port, 1.3-megapixel Webcam, and dual-array digital microphones. … Read more

Hotmail, like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, supports the use of keyboard shortcuts. The interesting part? You can customize them to mimic the keyboard shortcuts from Gmail or Yahoo Mail.

Hotmail shortcuts Ctrl+N : new e-mail Ctrl+Enter : send e-mail Delete : delete e-mail Ctrl+Shift+O : open e-mail Ctrl+R : reply Ctrl+Shift+R : reply all Ctrl+Shift+F : forward e-mail Ctrl+Q : mark as read Ctrl+U : mark as unread Ctrl+S : save as draft L : flag e-mail Ctrl+Shift+J : mark as junk Esc : close e-mail F7 : check spelling S then A : select all S then N : deselect all … Read more

A future Apple keyboard could be made from technology that's out of this world. Literally.

A newly published patent application, picked up by Apple Insider this week, details a new type of keyboard, made specifically for "thin-profile" computers, and designed to allow for any type of key cap--that's the part of the keyboard your fingers touch.

The core of the invention is a "single support lever" design, that's as opposed to a "scissor-switch" style that makes use of two, interconnected levers. The benefit, the patent says, is that the key can … Read more

Yahoo's Webmail service hasn't always had keyboard shortcuts, but the latest incarnation of Yahoo Mail does. We'll list some of the more useful ones for you here.

N : compose new e-mail Ctrl+Enter : send e-mail R : reply A : reply all F : forward e-mail K : mark as read Shift+K : mark as unread L : flag e-mail Shift+L : clear flag Delete : delete e-mail M : check e-mail (go to inbox) Ctrl+] : move to next tab Ctrl+[ : move to previous tab Ctrl+S : save as draft S : search ? : display keyboard shortcuts

That's it. You can also view the full list of keyboard shortcuts … Read more

During CES 2012, the surprise appearance of OnLive Desktop was an intriguing idea for Windows lovers: rent a Windows 7 computer remotely and stream the whole experience to your iPad.

Helping the cause for the first iteration of OnLive Desktop was its price: free. That version had only 2GB of cloud storage, and the Windows 7 environment ran only a suite of Microsoft Office applications (sans Outlook), but for the cloud-curious and those who lack a word processor for their iPad, OnLive's streaming solution is a clever way to explore a mobile office.

OnLive was slated to release a Pro version with more dedicated servers, 50GB of storage, and access to an assortment of other applications, including a Flash-enabled browser, for $9.99 a month; that's hardly inexpensive, and likely to appeal largely to business executives with expense accounts. Today's launch of OnLive Desktop Plus is a surprise half-step: for $4.99 a month, users get the same 2GB of storage, but added access to that long-promised Flash browser; Microsoft Internet Explorer is included; and users also get Adobe PDF compatibility, and Dropbox support. … Read more

Using Gmail with keyboard shortcuts can make your time working in Gmail more efficient by keeping your hands on the keyboard. Though Gmail keyboard shortcuts have been around a while, new ones have been added periodically, coinciding with enhancements and new features.

Here's a list of some of the most useful Gmail keyboard shortcuts you can use right now:

Actions and navigation c : compose new message r : reply a : reply all f : forward Shift + r : reply in new window Shift + a : reply all in new window Shift + f : forward in a new window e : archive y : remove label # : move … Read more