# mx3100....is it worth it?

## cancech

Hi,

   I'm thinking of getting the mx3100 and I was wondering if there's anyone here who has any experience with it. How hard is it to get all of the buttons to work on the keyboard? what about the battery life? I know how to get the buttons to work on the mouse (mx1000), but I'm just worried that I'll end up spending ~$170 to get this combo and I won't be able to use the key board to it full potential.

Thanks  :Smile: 

----------

## ikshaar

Well i am about to find out... should get it next week. I can tell you then.

----------

## cancech

 *ikshaar wrote:*   

> Well i am about to find out... should get it next week. I can tell you then.

 

Thanks

I was hoping of buying it tommorow, but I'm no hurry  :Razz: 

----------

## cancech

I did some reaserch and it looks like there shouldn't be any problem with getting the keys to work. I just remember what me other reservation to getting a new keyboard was. Are there any issues with using a USB keyboard instead of a PS/2 one? Are there any issues in terms of input (during boot, before the OS is started - ie: in BIOS)? A friend of mine has had some trouble of that type, and I was just wondering if that's noral or just a problem specifc to his computer.

Thanks!!

----------

## rbickers

 *cancech wrote:*   

> I did some reaserch and it looks like there shouldn't be any problem with getting the keys to work.  I just remember what me other reservation to getting a new keyboard was. Are there any issues with using a USB keyboard instead of a PS/2 one?

 

I didn't have problems getting all the keys to work with it plugged in to the PS/2 port, but I did with USB.  With PS/2, I had to do a lot of 'setkeycodes' to map the keys, but it works well.  With USB, 'showkey' would give me keycodes for every key, but not scancodes.  Those keycodes, however, are Linux kernel keycodes (I'm using 2.6), not X keycodes and they don't all map to X keycodes.  So, I could never figure out how to get all the keys in X using USB.

Well, that's not entirely true.  When I was running Fedora (I've been using Gentoo for all of a week now), I ran a program called keyWatcher that would allow me to configure key actions based on kernel keycodes, not X like every other program I've seen.  Since the MX1000 buttons returned kernel keycodes, I could even use keyWatcher to map actions for the mouse buttons.  I haven't been able to get keyWatcher working in Gentoo, though, and I gave up on it for now.

I had better luck with the mouse in USB mode, but I don't recall ever getting all of them to work without keyWatcher.  The problem is that the MX3100 plugs in either PS/2 for both or USB for both -- you can't choose separately for the keyboard and mouse.  Now I'm stuck with the mouse in PS/2 mode and I can't get all the buttons to work.  I've gathered that the logips2pp driver doesn't really support it yet.

 *cancech wrote:*   

> Are there any issues in terms of input (during boot, before the OS is started - ie: in BIOS)?

 

I've never had a problem with the keyboard or mouse responding in either PS/2 or USB from bootup.

Eventually the whole setup will work, I hope.  Despite the mess that is extended keyboard and mouse button support in Linux/X, it's worth it to me.

-- 

Ron

----------

## cancech

Thanks for the info.  :Very Happy:  I'm certain that with enough fiddling around I'd manage to get all the buttons working. 

There's only one thing which somewhat worries me, and that's battery life. How long does that battery last in the keyboard? I don't have much experience with wireless media of this sort. I've only ever used a wireless mouse once in the past and I've had bad experiences with it...... but that probably had more to do with the brand (Targus) then anything else.

----------

## rbickers

 *cancech wrote:*   

> There's only one thing which somewhat worries me, and that's battery life. How long does that battery last in the keyboard? I don't have much experience with wireless media of this sort. I've only ever used a wireless mouse once in the past and I've had bad experiences with it...... but that probably had more to do with the brand (Targus) then anything else.

 

I've had the MX3100 for over a month and no sign of dying keyboard batteries so far.  I've read anywhere from 6 months to a year for the two alkaline AA batteries in the keyboard.  The mouse battery, as most reports I've read suggest, lasts me pretty much all week before I get down to one light, after which I recharge.  It will probably last longer if I let it.

-- 

Ron

----------

## ikshaar

I received my mx3100 today... so far i have quite mix feelings.

The look is good. No problem there.

But :

- middle button of mouse have a tilt movement which make the middle-button click hard to activate - need to press hard to paste.

- as mentionned before, the extra keys need special software. Trying Keywatcher... i will see if it works.

- The "F Mode" is a key modifying the F1-12 keys. There is no LED indicatorfor it, and when on, regular F1-12 functions are unavailabe.

- i have some occasional problem where the space key keep repeating itself... damage keyboard or default ?!

PS: even under Windows, you cannot use the extra keys without running the logitech program in the background.

So i am a little bit disappointed so far by that Logitech keyboard

----------

## rbickers

 *ikshaar wrote:*   

> The look is good. No problem there.

 

It is pretty attractive; I love the deep blue.

 *Quote:*   

> But :
> 
> - middle button of mouse have a tilt movement which make the middle-button click hard to activate - need to press hard to paste.

 

I've taken this mouse apart.  The middle mouse click button is activated by a plastic tip at the front of the mouse; the design doesn't make for an easy push, especially with how easy it is to move side to side.  I've gotten used to it, but I still occasionally tilt when I press.

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> - as mentionned before, the extra keys need special software. Trying Keywatcher... i will see if it works.

 

Sadly, I've still been unable to get everything working without resorting to an expensive kludge.  I own a plain MX1000 mouse so I can use that base with USB while plugging the keyboard into the PS/2 port.  This gives me the combination I need to get every key and every button fully supported.  I'm hoping for either better PS/2 mouse support with the MX3100 base or preferably better USB support for the keyboard.  Let me know how keyWatcher goes for you.

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> - The "F Mode" is a key modifying the F1-12 keys. There is no LED indicatorfor it, and when on, regular F1-12 functions are unavailabe.

 

The base has an LED marked with an F.  If lit, the regular function keys are active; unlit means the special mode is active.

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> - i have some occasional problem where the space key keep repeating itself... damage keyboard or default ?!

 

I haven't experienced this at all, though I did have to reduce my repeat delay because I would hold down the close key too long and it would repeat and close the window behind it as well.  Anyone know of a way to selectively turn off repeat for certain keys?

 *Quote:*   

> 
> 
> PS: even under Windows, you cannot use the extra keys without running the logitech program in the background.

 

True.  Not only that, you're limited in what they can do.  You have complete control over their functions in Linux (once you get a setup that works).

 *Quote:*   

> So i am a little bit disappointed so far by that Logitech keyboard

 

I suspect it's more the software support for it than the keyboard itself, yes?  With my fully working kludged setup, I find all the extra keys and buttons quite handy.

-- 

Ron

----------

## cancech

Thanks for all the info.  :Razz: 

I don't have as much money as I thought I did  :Sad:  so I'm going to have put the purchase off and think about it some more. I'm going to do some store hoping on Saturday and see if there's one in the area that has it in stock and take a closer look at it.

----------

## rbickers

I haven't seen the MX3100 in any local stores yet, but the MX700 is the same keyboard (color and everything) and the mouse is the MX1000 (except it's a matching dark blue color).

----------

## cancech

 *rbickers wrote:*   

> I haven't seen the MX3100 in any local stores yet, but the MX700 is the same keyboard (color and everything) and the mouse is the MX1000 (except it's a matching dark blue color).

 

I wanted to go shopping anyways, so I'll just look around. I saw it on the staples web-site so I figured that they would also have it in store.

----------

## ikshaar

Really thinking of returning it now.... this uncontrolled repeated key strokes are a real problem, especially when it's with the enter key and it opens 89 times the same files !!!

Disabling the repeat option in Keyboard option is too harsh as for editing repeat is vital.

3 or 4 times in a 2-hour period is above what i consider tolerable.

----------

## cancech

 *ikshaar wrote:*   

> Really thinking of returning it now.... this uncontrolled repeated key strokes are a real problem, especially when it's with the enter key and it opens 89 times the same files !!!
> 
> Disabling the repeat option in Keyboard option is too harsh as for editing repeat is vital.
> 
> 3 or 4 times in a 2-hour period is above what i consider tolerable.

 

Hmm... odd. From the sounds of things it *shouldn't* be doing this, however who I am to say....

----------

## ikshaar

Well I returned it... and was able to get a replacement. And this time it does not seem to have that key problem. So hopefully it was only a defective unit.

First to get extra-keys working can post here for others...  :Wink: 

----------

## cancech

Glad to hear that you got your problem fixed. I went to staples on saturday and looked the combo over and although it did look nice there was something about the keyboard that bugged me. I think it's because there's too many keys crammed onto such a small surface. Comparing it with current keyboard (the "basic" one which came with my computer) then it has a smaller surface area but alot more buttons on it. I did like the mouse though and got that on it's own  :Razz: 

----------

