Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro Keyboard and Mouse (967044-0403)

Wouldn?t it be cool to be a spy? Get your hands on a couple fancy gadgets to let you see around corners, stand on the ceilings and hear conversations occurring a mile away and you?re in business. Sneak into restricted areas and take snapshots of top-secret meetings and return to safety unharmed. Now we?re talking!

You don?t have to be a spy to know that the most difficult thing about hanging upside-down from the tow cable of a helicopter while trying to diffuse the nuclear warhead on the enemy submarine 50 feet below is dealing with the awkward mess of cables that typically connect the spy?s input device to his or her desktop computer back at the main office. (You know, the machine controlling the autopilot on the helicopter.) As you sit there dealing with multi-G gravitational forces, trying to decide whether to cut the purple or the green cable, the last thing you want to do is realize that instead of deactivating the bomb, you just severed your keyboard?s umbilical line.

Any spy worth his weight in titanium will tell you that real spy-nuts would never connect their computer and keyboard with a regular PS/2 cable. Most of us would, of course, use our Dick Tracy watch for all communication with base. This sleek, stylish timepiece, while a staple for anyone who frequents clandestine operations, is often too expensive and cumbersome for the general public. It is therefore with utmost wonder and surprise that I report the discovery of a new gadget guaranteed to knock the socks off even the most hardened conspiracy theorist, The Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro.

True to its name, the device allows any user no matter how clumsy or careless to gain cordless operation of both the keyboard and mouse input devices on their machine. I am quite sure that the smart folks at Logitech (Motto: No More Mice Problem) had the spy in mind when they designed this wonderful tandem device, as I have rarely seen technical gadgetry as easy to setup or as difficult to find fault in as the Cordless Desktop.

The beauty of the device lies in the fact that it uses a single RF receiver to talk to both the mouse and the keyboard. I connected it to the back of my spy laptop and two minutes later I was typing halfway across the room. Since the receiver does not require line-of-sight connection to work, it did not take long to discover it?s best use, typing on the toilet. You might think that this has little practical value as my laptop?s monitor is barely readable from across the table let alone down the hall and around the corner, but of course a spy never knows when he or she will be trapped in the water closet or air conditioning duct and need to signal to a spy buddy for help.

If gaining the ability to hack into Microsoft?s website while taking a poop does not convince you that the Cordless Desktop is worth its $79 sticker price, consider the fact that it might save your wrist?s life one day. Since all good spies spend most of their time working on computers with keyboards no larger than a credit card, worries about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or other nefarious physical ailments are frequent. The Cordless Desktop is an excellent way to ward off the diseases of poor posture as it provides a quick and easy way to avoid the cramped keyboard when you turn your laptop into a desktop at home or the office. The keyboard?s ?split? design and snap on wrist rest help make sure that you?ll live to spy another day. The fact that you can use can run the mouse on just about any surface (including most body parts) provides an excellent way to massage tired muscles without lowering productivity. In addition, since the receiver plugs into either PS/2 or USB ports, it?s sure to fit into whatever type of machine you currently use.

Well, that?s all from the dark smelly world of espionage. Please make sure to leave the seat down when you?re done typing.