Recently, several pieces of electronic equipment have met their demise in my home. It started with my HTPC about a month ago. I went on vacation and came back to find it making strange noises and not producing a display signal. Last week, I ended up having to convert my linux box to fulfill the task by installing Windows 7 Ultimate. Finally, my receiver blew up (almost literally) the next night.

Now that I have nothing connected to my TV except my HTPC and my Wii (which I barely use), I really don't have a need for more than one remote to turn the TV on and adjust volume. I've been using my old Logitech wireless desktop, but the keyboard and mouse really get in the way.

I decided to look around a bit over the weekend and found a gem. I picked up a Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard. This thing is pretty cool so far. It's better than the full wireless keyboard and mouse in a few ways. First, it works across the room. Don't laugh. My Logitech products can't work half way across the room. Second, it's smaller than a remote. Third, it's got a laser pointer!

Ok, that last one isn't really all that cool anymore. I'm not going to be typing any essays on this thing (people with shorter fingers may not be able to type as well). The touchpad is responsive and handles taps pretty well.

I do have two minor complaints. The first one isn't a surprise since the pictures are clear, and the reviews mentioned it. The keyboard is in columns, unlike a regular keyboard. I have this problem on my Kindle, as well. I keep hitting "m" instead of "n" because of the column placement. The other complaint is that (unlike most thumb-oriented keyboards), the shift, ctrl, and alt keys have to be held down. This is completely normal for a keyboard, but it can be a bit difficult when you're using your thumbs.

Finally, I'll leave you with a few fun things. The USB receiver is stored in a small compartment in the keyboard itself. There is a backlight that you can turn on, that is very nice and bright. Last, but not least, Fn + Enter does a ctrl+alt+del. They certainly know who's going to be using their keyboard!