I've got the receiver tucked just out of site, and am not finding an issue with the direction of the keyboard. I haven't got the hang of the pointing stick though. I prefer them to touchpads on laptops, but this one seems to have have some weirdness around sensitivity.

i.

I'm finding the range to be pretty good - and it doesn't seem to matter which direction the keyboard is pointing.

I would agree that the pointing stick is pretty hard to use ... I would have preferred a trackball. I've had to turn the pointer speed down pretty low to stop the pointer shooting past buttons etc.

Finally... mine arrived yesterday and I plugged her in last night...

Nice... very nice... I am also a little aprehensive about the pointing stick... the whole push down to move thing is a little annoying - I much prefer a standard laptop 'nipple'.

Despite that - range is great and very pleased with the overall experience... I'm sure I'll get used to the stick over time...

frenzz.

Thanks for the feedback guys. It sounds a worthy addition, especially when you consider the price...

Got my keyboard today.

My ir receiver is behind my back 8 mtrs away yet the keyboard works fine.

The only hassle is the mouse is almost impossible to use, I'll have to look into it

I had a problem with the mouse pointer the other day ... No matter what I did, the pointer would only move a few pixels at a time then stop. I was worried the the keyboard was broken, but then found the cat had been playing with the IR receiver and turned it round!

It seems the mouse pointer needs line of sight to the IR receiver, whilst the keyboard doesn't seem to care.

Oh, and I think I've mastered the pointer now ...

Picked mine up this morning. I'll try it out tonight. Interestingly, I got an OEM version (brown Microsoft cardboard packaging) which did not come with another receiver (just the batteries and the instruction manual) - this would rely on me already having the MCE handheld remote (which I do) so I can use its receiver.

I agree with the mouse thing - I haven't tried it yet, but just playing with it offline, I can see that pressing the knob down will be difficult - there's no depression in the knob to tell you that you have "successfully" pressed it.

Just out of curiosity what is the niggly problem you encountered?

I ask because I'm trying to troubleshoot my keyboad and I'm wondering if the erratic mouse movement I'm experiencing is a feature or will be fixed with Emerald or a later roll up.

Do you still get erratic movement with the keyboard placed directly in front of the IR receiver?

If that keyboard had the BTC9019URF joymouse and was wireless instead of IR it'd be the best thing since sliced bread... As it is though the BTC is only $99 (last time I checked) and is much better until MS fix that bodgy mouse thing they have there.....

At least that's my opinion... I haven't tried one since the "original" mouse so I don't know if they've addressed the issue. If they haven't then it's a real shocker...

Cheers,
Arkay.

Yup, with the mouse speed dialed down pretty low it's not that bad but still a bit jerky. However downward motion moves in hops, It'll travel about 10-20% down the screen then stall and I'll have to lift my thumb and try again.

Tried the mouse pointing directly at the receiver, a few feet away.
Useless, doesn't like scrolling down at all.

There must be more to this story

Guys - I hadn't planned on posting this but I guess I have no choice now

I received the MS keyboard some time ago to review but ran into the mouse pointer problem. After a few emails to and from MS, I was finally advised that the latest IR rollup hadn't fixed the problem as expected so as a result, the release was "supposedly" delayed worldwide (along with my review ) - so I'm surprised that you guys have been able to buy it at all.

It is my understanding that no fix will be forthcoming until the product is "officially" released in a couple of months or so at which time a new patch will be released, possibly as part of something else.

I have to admit I have not so far experienced this irratic mouse issue being described.

I'm using the MCE keyboard as I write this reply and while I had to get used to the concept of applying pressure to the mouse to move it, I'm finding that I can move the mouse quickly or slowly using the standard mouse speed setting (ie: Windows default) without any problems. I'm finding it reasonably precise, although not as exact as using a normal mouse, but it's no more annoying than the nipple mouse on a notebook. I use it by smothering the nipple with the mid-section of my thumb behind where my thumbnail stops and move my thumb about by rocking it - I don't use the tip of my thumb. I find this gives me a lot of control.

My mouse is definitely not jumping about. Even my girlfriend finds it reasonably simple to use - in fact, she liked it a lot.

Probably the biggest thing I'm enjoying is the range. I'm sitting on my couch about 4 metres away from my HTPC that sits on the side of the wall that my projector projects on, but also worked from 8 metres back, although the mouse movement was a bit harder to do from that distance, and this may well be the erratic mouse issue others are claiming to experience. The keyboard works from pretty much any angle, but the mouse only can be used when the receiver is less than 90 degrees angle from the keyboard.

I am using the most recent eHome receiver update from the Windows Update website (which appears to be the one and only update that was released as previously described).

Probably the only complaint I could level against this keyboard is the learning function - it's bloody finicky and took me about 15 minutes of repeated learning before the keyboard finally accepted my amp's volume signals. I have yet to get it to accept my TV power button signal.

The keyboard lock is a bit silly - it's just a power switch! The keyboard is completely unresponsive in lock mode. It'd be handy if the activity LED would flash or something to advertise "I'm locked" - it'd drink up bugger-all battery.

All in all, I'm finding this keyboard to be excellent overall. A simple and useful product and worth the purchase. Highly recommended. My old Microsoft RF wireless mouse and keyboard have been retired.

Yep, me too. The MS remote learns it fine - but the keyboard only seems to remember it for a few minutes. The next time I use the keyboard, it's forgotton it!