How Much Should I Hate Microsoft's Hardware?
 

Recently at BestBuy I found a keyboard and it was branded with the word 'Microsoft'. Being a loyal member of the FOSS community I wanted to know if I should only look down on microsoft's software or their harware too.

In general, I find that Microsoft's hardware is rather good. I see no point in not buying a good product (using a XBox360 controller for gaming myself).

I've used Microsoft keyboards and I liked the "ergonomic" one I used at work -- was very nice to use.
However, I'm a bit political about where I spend my money and I try not to give a penny to Apple or Microsoft due to their patent bullying and other things. But you could take a stance against virtually any company on the planet especially the major corporations, so I can't pretend to be any better than anyone else because of my choices.

I've found Microsoft's keyboards/mice to work well.

I'm typing this on a cheap Microsoft keyboard. It works fine, and I kind of like the irony of using a Microsoft keyboard on a Linux machine... even if I feel like a bit of a hipster. :-/

Its not just me then? :D

I don't like the idea of paying lawyers to threaten people over Linux's supposed patent violations or push up the price of Android devices, amongst other things.
Which is actually a shame because the MS mice and keyboards I've used have been good.

I have found that keyboards are Microsoft's most reliable products:)

Their Bluetrack mice are really good too. They work on any surface.

However, I don't recommend using an Xbox 360 controller for gaming. A Wii Classic Controller Pro with a Mayflash USB adapter is much better.

If you can use Linux because you think it's good, then you can use Microsoft products because you think they're good.

Actually, nowadays most PC games are compatible with the XBox360 controller out of the box. No fiddling with controller settings. By the way, I only use it for racing, sports and jump-and-run games. No point to play an egoshooter or a strategical game (like Warcraft, Civilization, whatever) with a controller, much better to do that with mouse and keyboard.

I acctualy have a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse that I use I just wanted to know the publics feelings about them.
In a strange irony, this keyboard does annoy me, I have two computers and only one mouse (I do have an extra one with the right click ripped out) so I need to constantly unplug and plug back in!!
I dought this would ever happen but if Microsoft's hardware got popular enough they might acctualy pull away from windows.
Does microsoft make more than keyboards (and xbox stuff)?

Their optical mice are nice.

They don't make 'em ...

No. It's not. Not at all.

Don't feed the patent trolls.

I like and use MS optical ergomice but the PC support people don't like MS mice, they say they move too fast and jerkily for the users.

I have two vague memories (from the 80s?) of MS re-assuring the world after acquisitions, firstly that they were not a hardware company (they had just bought a company that did make some hardware?) and secondly that they were not an applications software company (they had just bought a company that did provide applications software). Does that ring a bell with anyone?

Well the company's name is Microsoft not Macrohard.

According to Pat of the TLLTS podcast, the Microsoft remote works great for Myth TV.

Microsoft keyboardsand mice can be OK. I've used a few over the years, and they arent anything special as far as build quality goes. You can normally get better keyboards/mice for any given amount of money, that micosoft branding costs.

I wouldnt be buying micosoft keyboards/mice myself. But I'd rather have micosoft keyboards or mice over the other hardware they make (xbox, zune, etc.).

Seriously!? stop pulling your self, you're posting off of an Os X system, you can't be to loyal. If you own a mac, i'm sure buying a microsoft product will be of the least of your concerns. Richard Stallman described Steve Jobs as an evil genius. I'm not against Foss, Apple, or Microsoft, and don't have anyhting against you Zssfssz, but i think that your post was pointless, and it personally annoyed me. It really epitomized ye ol saying that the bsd folks like repeating.
Or something like that. Just get the bloody thing, Even Richard Stallman has made comment about how hard it is to get a modern laptop that is ethically correct. Please note that the last sentence i just wrote is not a direct quote of Richard Stallman, and i may have it slightly incorrect.

It's an iPod, I am getting an Android but need to...
I just was stuck for words...
Sorry :(

(Don't act like you have NEVER used OSX, iOS, or Windows)

You can not be so tied to some free software that you loose sight of real workers doing great jobs each day. People that work at places like MS love their job and I believe they deserve to work in a field that that they have chosen. I fully support good products. Many of the top names in software are the very best in the world and I don't mind paying for good stuff.

If you want to make a useless mark then try to purchase electronic products from companies that properly pay their workers along with being environmentally conscious. Sadly that won't happen. All this stuff is made by slaves of governments that couldn't care less about the environment.

I wasn't having a go at you, i just found your post contradicting; and someone needed to point this out.
I wasn't acting like i've never used them os's. I have never used iOS; but other than that, i own a macbook pro my self, and two licenses to Windows 7, one, which is used with Virtualbox on this current machine and the other is used on a partition on the mac.
I use mp3 and mp4 codecs, and play proprietary Windows games on WINE. I admire FOSS and everything it's about; but unfortunately at the current time i would find it hard to give up all proprietary applications. With FOSS it's black and white in Richard Stallmans eyes; you're with it, or your not. You and i are not. We may be some day but not at the moment. For For this reason i think that you should not be calling your self "a loyal member of the FOSS community". You may be a member, but not a loyal member. It's not about disliking Microsoft, it's about freedom.

By the way, i've a microsoft mouse, it's nice, simple and works.

I have to agree with your pragmatic approach Knightron but, personally, I do try to avoid putting money into the pockets of patent lawyers whenever possible.
I have an XP license, a 2K license and a 98se license (as far as I can tell under the law of the country I live in) so have them in VMs for the odd occasion when they're needed. I also have an iPhad which I won at my last place of work. I have the corpses of a few Windows phones (around 5 years old) dotted around the place.
However, in the last 5 years I have bought a PC and a netbook and both had Linux installed. My phone is a pre-MS Nokia and I got my best friend into Linux so much he uses it to produce music and is probably more savvy than me.
My point being that if you know that a percentage of the money you would pay for a keyboard goes to patent lawyers who stifle innovation and try to kill the OS you love then you ought not to buy it. I am aware that it's possible that I pay money to heinous people every day when shopping but when I know where the money is going to be spent I do try to exercise discretion.

I like and agree with your prospective 237, but the title is How Much Should I Hate Microsoft's Hardware. My point drifted off to other matters but at the heart of it, what i basically meant was. How can you hate one company but ignore others that are just as bad.

Unfortunately that is not how your post comes across, and this is coming from someone who does exactly what your post was trying to say.

Getting back on topic, I think if someone works and chooses to put a price on something then so be it. It is then up to the potential user to pay for it or to not purchase/use it. If they buy it lets hope they buy it for the right reasons (quality, made under ethical conditions for both staff and planet, etc) but if they don't then that is also their choice. There is such a thing as freedom of choice. As for hating a product I personally think hating an inanimate non cognisant thing is a waste of time. Preferring one inanimate non cognisant thing over another is a different matter and does not mean you have to hate something in any way shape or form.

Answer: you shouldn't "hate" computer hardware at all. That's ridiculous.

I actually had a funny experience with a MS mouse, it was an early bluetooth model, and it worked perfectly, but once I changed the batteries it would never work on the same computer again. I remember it because my father used it, and when he changed the batteries it didn't work anymore so he gave it to me. I plugged it into my computer and it worked perfectly again. But when I changed the batteries it wouldn't work anymore. Until I plugged it into another computer. And so on. I have actually never tried to use it with anything else than Windows XP, but now that I think of it, wouldn't it be ironic if it turns out it works flawlessly with linux? :)

not quite the same but last year I purchased a Samsung sf311 laptop. it has optimus graphics thus isn't handled by gnu/Linux as well as it could be, yet, so it currently doesn't get much use; but the synaptics touch pad was a bitch to use on windows 7, on Linux it worked great though.