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JasonGough

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 25, 2005
184
0
Manchester, UK
Hey guys, just up for abit of advice about what type of keyboard to get when i buy my new PowerMac :D

Currently i have a wireless keyboard and mouse (by microsoft) which i use on my rubbish old PC. I intend to use my wireless mouse when i get my mac, as i want a wireles mouse with scroll button, and since its USB its mac compatible i don't need to buy anything new.

I'm not sure tho if i should spend £70 extra to get the bluetooth keyboard & mouse.... might not be that important, but i heard the cable on the standard powermac keyboard is pretty short, and i'm worried it might not be long enough to reach the Mac.

So anyone here with a wired powermac keyboard, how long is the cable? can you buy an extender, does it come with an extender? Is it cool having USB ports on your desktop?

any help is appreciated :)
 

iGary

Guest
May 26, 2004
19,580
7
Randy's House
JasonGough said:
Hey guys, just up for abit of advice about what type of keyboard to get when i buy my new PowerMac :D

Currently i have a wireless keyboard and mouse (by microsoft) which i use on my rubbish old PC. I intend to use my wireless mouse when i get my mac, as i want a wireles mouse with scroll button, and since its USB its mac compatible i don't need to buy anything new.

I'm not sure tho if i should spend £70 extra to get the bluetooth keyboard & mouse.... might not be that important, but i heard the cable on the standard powermac keyboard is pretty short, and i'm worried it might not be long enough to reach the Mac.

So anyone here with a wired powermac keyboard, how long is the cable? can you buy an extender, does it come with an extender? Is it cool having USB ports on your desktop?

any help is appreciated :)

Get Bluetooth and the wireless keyboard.
 

osiris315

macrumors member
Apr 7, 2005
68
0
Valencia, Spain
I thought about the BT versions of both the keyboard and mouse when I recently bought my G5 Mac. However, I'm glad that stayed with the standard kb as it has 2 USB ports built in which I dont think the BT version has (I'm sure I'll be corrected here if I'm wrong).

As it happens, I also bought the Mighty Mouse which is only available in wired format but will definitely buy the BT version when/if it becomes available.
 

MrSugar

macrumors 6502a
Jul 28, 2003
614
0
I use the bluetooth Apple keyboard with my G5 and I absolutely love it. The battery life is great, and it works perfectly. Plus no wires clogging up my desk area. If you have the money definitely give it a look.
 

vashim66

macrumors member
Oct 25, 2003
98
0
I went wireless a couple years ago and now im back to wired. I hate having to replace the batteries. To me the small cable clutter isn't worth the expense or inconvience of replacing batteries.
 

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
I got wired with my iMac originally but then finally cracked about three months ago and bought a Wireless Keyboard and Mouse. It's much cleaner and easier for people who use their desks for non-computer usage. It's just so much easier to get them out of the way when necessary. I highly recommend cable-less peripherals when possible. :)
 

FireArse

macrumors 6502a
Oct 29, 2004
900
110
Forget recharge

vashim66 said:
I went wireless a couple years ago and now im back to wired. I hate having to replace the batteries. To me the small cable clutter isn't worth the expense or inconvience of replacing batteries.

The battery life on the Keyboard is fantastic - got mine with the order in February and have only just had to replace the original batteries - i think of myself as quite a heavy user - maybe 6-7 hours a day? The mouse uses a bit more juice - forget rechargables and get in-bulk Duracells from Costco. A pair would last you over 3months :)

FireArse
 

tobefirst ⚽️

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2005
4,612
2,335
St. Louis, MO
JasonGough said:
So anyone here with a wired powermac keyboard, how long is the cable? can you buy an extender, does it come with an extender? Is it cool having USB ports on your desktop?

any help is appreciated :)

The wired keyboard has a 3' cord, unless they've changed it since the G4 Power Mac days. I'm pretty sure though, that it'll come with a 3' extension cable. I *think* my Power Mac G5 at home did.

You can definitely buy a longer USB extension cable, if you'd like, though. I have two 10' cables somewhere at home (they are currently 'lost'). I got mine from eBay for around $6 each, shipped.

It is pretty cool having ports on the keyboard. However, this has become less relevent since Apple started putting a port on the front of their towers. It's still nice for connecting and disconnecting USB drives and card readers and other such quick-use devices.

All that being said, I went for a bluetooth keyboard and mouse with my G5 at home, and eventually did the same for my iMac G4. Wireless is the new black. :)
 

forumBuddy

macrumors member
Jul 6, 2005
68
17
I love my Apple wireless keybord, as I later found out I don't like any of the current wireless mices because of the extra wait and lag.
 

macbaseball

macrumors 6502a
Feb 27, 2005
987
0
Northern California
eva01 said:
I have wired on the powermac and wireless things on the powerbook, i like the wired on the powermac better

I agree. I also have a wired keyboard and mouse on my Power Mac just because I never turned the bluetooth mouse off, and I used up tons of batteries. Maybe I didn't have it set right. Does your KB+Mouse sleep or anything?
 
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