Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Equipment Best Practices: Keyboard & Mice
Every workstation in the Wheeler office is equipped with a wireless keyboard, mouse and unifying USB receiver that receives input and sends it to your computer.
The keyboard/mouse and receiver together create a combination and only work as a set, so it’s important that the set is kept together in one place. If the keyboard/mouse are separated from the USB receiver, they become useless. Unfortunately, the receiver is small and notoriously easy to lose. Most are about the size of your thumbnail.
Here are a few tips you can follow to help prevent unpaired keyboards and mice from being left hanging at your workstation:
Check that the receiver is disconnected from your laptop before leaving the office.
The best time to check this is when you disconnect your laptop from your Dell docking station. If you leave the office around the same time each day, you can schedule a regular reminder on your Outlook calendar until you’ve made a habit of checking your laptop’s USB ports and confirming that the receiver is disconnected.
Plug the receiver into your Dell docking station instead of your laptop.
You won’t need to disconnect the receiver if it’s plugged into your docking station. This way, you can simply dock your laptop at the start of the day and the keyboard/mouse are ready for use immediately. When you leave the office, the receiver stays behind with the docking station and no second thought is needed.
Keep a separate keyboard and mouse combo at home if you are a hybrid employee.
Ideally, all hybrid employees should have one keyboard/mouse combo they leave at the office, and one combo for use at home. Moving peripherals back and forth between locations is a hassle and often results in missing receivers. If you need a combo for your home station, please let the IT Committee know!
Tell the IT Committee when you need a new keyboard or mouse.
Please do not borrow keyboards and mice from other workstations, even if the workstation isn’t currently in use. If you’ve found that your equipment isn’t working and you need a prompt replacement, there is always a backstock of new keyboards and mice available in the server room cabinet – just let the IT Committee know if you need to take one so we can update our inventory!