I only use cow urine on Gateway PCs.  Moo.

I currently have two (2) Gateways that could benefit from your process  .

I swear I haven't been drinkin', smokin', or taking pills/capsules/caplets. I have to figure either DEA is burning stuff from the evidence room(and yeah Marcus Welby comes right to your house at 3 AM to make sure you take your free medication) or there's something in the water supply.  But I'm getting like this marketing idea. Might be too late for this Christmas buying season.  But I'm thinking

Keyboard Carwash

At only $19.95 +SH and you can get the 2nd one free for only $150 SH, it's totally powered by water pressure.  You put one of those miracle solvents in a compartment that meters it out.  The water pressure powers a little conveyer belt to move the keyboard at just the right pace. You can imagine the rest, solvent section, then rinse, then hot wax, then onto the blowers.  Guaranteed to improve your typing speed by 10% since psychological studies prove people with crummy looking keyboards use .05% of the brains being embarrassed out them.  Distracting.

On second thought, I think da' DEA be burnin' sumpthin' 'round he-ah fo' sho'!!
I need this here cup of coffee bad.  

^ do that one as a NANY Miles

Ronco prolly already has the patent.

Heh heh.  What a guy! Always tongue in creek.

@Tao,
not at all wanting to be smug (I swear) - I always have a backup keyboard - either an old one or a cheap (10 euro) new one.


* tom roots under the desk where did I store the fecking thing ...


edit/ found it :p

(To Renny minus quotes because this is from my phone)
I get the edgy 'thang about your post but it's a profound economic puzzle. Besides the value if time, remember to include the risk of mistake damage. To me if I can't just wipe it down with Lysol wipes and paperclips, I lose a lot of confidence taking the whole thing apart etc.

Weren't we saying you have to wait *days* before you can use it again? So ... what ... I now need a backup keyboard for a week while I wait for the $30 one, only to find I messed it up anyway and now I need a new $30 one?

Bleh. *That's* the full cost matrix of these cute little projects ... for a $30 keyboard. (I'll leave the equations to my betters. Extra credit variables : pets, children (file under pets! Hehe) )

Downtime is a no-no, so yeah, good point. I have several keyboards, so there's always an extra around somewhere.

not at all wanting to be smug (I swear) - I always have a backup keyboard - either an old one or a cheap (10 euro) new one.

An extra keyboard and mouse are always a good thing to have.

Heh that takes more Mojo than I have to spare

Well, coincidentally, my 'P' key started to stick (probably crumbs or chocolate or something), and so...Washed the keyboard in the sink thoroughly

Good job you rinsed it or you'd have a soap 'p' keyboard.

Quote from: Shades on November 25, 2012, 03:52 PM

I would say my keyboard is almost as solid as those IBM keyboards.

Luckily for me I still use Northgate OmniKey Ultra keyboards that I bought somewhere around the early 90's. 119 keys, as good as the day they were bought.

I still have two Omnikeys too.

Best keyboards ever made in my opinion - although the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard isn't a bad alternative choice even if the key layout is a little strange in places and it feels nothing like an Omnikey. The decent touch response on the Logitech is supposedly due to something they call the PerfectStroke key system.

The PerfectStroke key system was developed from our desire to put the best parts of a laptop’s keyboard into a more comfortable, full sized keyboard to create an unforgettable typing experience that makes every key stroke smooth, comfortable, and quiet. This system uses the scissor-key mechanism found on laptop keyboards for an improved key feeling and faster response time. To create this affect, micro-scissors are added under the keys to help control the force and travel of the keystroke.

Key travel is the vertical distance required for each keystroke, or how far down the key moves when you press it. Whereas laptops typically have a key travel of 2 to 2.5mm, research shows that a longer key travel improves your typing comfort and requires less force. So, we gave PerfectStroke a key travel of 3.2mm. If, like me, you like the feeling of your laptop’s keyboard, but wish it were more comfortable, you will love our keyboards with PerfectStroke.

I really like the way it feels. And you can absolutely fly on the thing. YMMV

I've mostly used basic keyboards and am used to them. I have one of those fancy Microsoft USB multimedia funky keyboards, but never use it except when I need a USB keyboard.

the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard isn't a bad alternative

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep that in mind.

Quote from: Renegade on November 24, 2012, 02:44 AM

  About using vinegar and baking soda for a drain cleaner.  That old formula is pretty much an old wives tale.  The only thing those two together do is make a bunch of fizz.  It don't create any kind of acid to eat away the crap found in drains.  Don't believe me, put some baking soda in your hand, then pour on some vinegar and watch the fizz show.  No burned hand, just a bunch of fizzing.....  It does feel funny fizzing in your hand though. 

Well, I tried it the other day on my clogged bathroom sink drain, and it worked. Not sure what else to say about it, but the evidence points to it actually working. Perhaps for more severely clogged drains it doesn't work, but it worked when I needed it to. I spoke with some friends, and they were surprised that I didn't know about it before, and said that they had been doing it for years.

Baking soda is good for loosening soap buildup and many forms of grease and oil. Warm water and baking soda works especially well for cleaning hair brushes and combs. Alkalies generally have it in for soaps. And are far better than most "safe to use" acids at removing it.

The only risk in using it in a drain is if there's a huge soap scum or crud buildup on the walls of a pipe or sink trap. Sometimes baking soda will loosen it enough that it all comes off the pipe in one big clump and clogs the up works. Enough hot water and additional baking soda will loosen it eventually. But that can take a few days. And if there's a big wad of hair (freed from the soap scum) making up part of the blockage, all the baking soda in the world won't budge it.

I skip the vinegar and just use a half cup of baking soda and a quart or so of very hot water in my drains from time to time. Dump it in, let it sit for about ten minutes, and then flush it with clean water from the hot water tap for about a minute or two. It seems to help. But it's more a preventative maintenance thing than a real drain cleaner AFAIC.

YMMV.