Windows Vista Lounge

I came across this fix accidentally but wanted to pass it on in case others had the same frustration. When I was tinkering with performance settings in Vista, I unselected several items for graphics in the interest of speed. One of those was the setting to generate thumbnails inside folders. I’ve been whining about this in previous posts, but thought it was a bug. Turns out it was the user–in this case me! I set the performance to adjust for best appearance and poof the thumbnails are back. I must say this is one of Vista’s best  features and I’m glad to see them working again.

If you’ve played with any number of wireless keyboards you know they are ok if your keyboard is within a few feet of the USB or PS/2 transmitter But, in the world of the Vista Media Center, where are you? Sitting across the room some 10 to even 25 feet away from your monster screen TV which is plugged in to your media center. Great….but you have to sit up and make odd motions ”wax on–wax off” with your wireless keyboard to get the characters to type in accurately. It’s even more fun to use that little joystick mouse that comes on a few of the keyboards that shipped with the media center PC…except for the one on the Sony XL models (angelic chorus sings) the rest of the wireless keyboards suck!

I have tried a total of three different wireless keyboards, one came with the media center-no usb hassle but line of sight was a tough thing to maintain from 20 feet away. Then there was the Microsoft model, great if I wanted to sit really close to the TV…um, no.

 So, I tried number three and Nirvana was discovered. I went on Ebay and ordered this: “ADESSO WIRELESS SLIMTOUCH MINI(USB)”. It’s not the most modern looking thing mind you, but the glide point style mouse rules supreme. It’s RF so no line of sight issues and I can walk across my house and still move the mouse easily. Not that I want to surf the web from two rooms away but at least I can sit however I want on the couch and it will type or move the mouse in synchronized perfection.

A good keyboard completely changes your attitude about having a media center in the front row of your home. Now you can relax with friends and share pictures, music, web sites, etc and everyone is enjoying the experience….rather than telling you which words were typed wrong as you hammered away on that OEM keyboard.