Kensington 33374 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer
by Kensington
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List Price: Our Price: $33.31 You Save: $16.68 (33%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Kensington 33374 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer
Customer Review: How to disable your F5 key.
Summary: 3 Stars
Overall, this is a great presentation remote. It fits nicely into your hand, takes AAA batteries, includes a laser pointer, has only four buttons, and is plug and play. I would have given it 5 stars except for one glaring fault: pressing the button for the laser pointer also sends the signal for the F5 key to the computer. In some presentation programs this is fine, since it corresponds to the full-screen button. In others and in most other programs, it produces effects that vary from mildly distracting to intolerable.
I knew this when I bought the remote. I'd hoped to rewire it, but I failed. If you too bought this remote or are planning on it, here's my suggested hack: disable your F5 key.
In Windows XP, this can be accomplished by setting F5 as a global keyboard shortcut... EDIT: My previous hack stopped working suddenly. I was forced to remap the keyboard instead. The following two webpages include details on how to do this.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/archive/w2kscan-map.mspx
http://www.usnetizen.com/fix_capslock.php
In KDE on linux, you can set a keyboard shortcut for F5 with no associated command. To do this, go to Control Center -> Regional & Accessibility -> Input Actions, click the New Action Button and choose Keyboard Shortcut -> Activate Window, switch to the Keyboard Shortcut tab and input F5 as your desired shortcut.
Of course, the down side to this approach is that it disables the functionality of your F5 key. I re-enable the F5 key after each presentation.
Customer Review: Simple, sweet, works very well.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my second "clicker." This one replaced my Targus model, which died on me after a year. So far, with about 3 weeks of classroom use (I teach biology and anatomy & physiology), I've been very pleased with the replacement. As others have mentioned, this product's best attribute is its simplicity. Plug it in and it works, and anyone can use it with almost no instruction. I love that the USB antenna fits in the base of the model (you don't lose it), and that this is also the power switch (you don't forget to turn it off). Range has never been an issue. Laser is plenty bright for my purposes (I think those green lasers are obnoxiously bright and distracting--this one's just fine and of equal intensity to any other typical red laser pointer).
My only complaints are 1) it's very slightly larger than my Targus was, 2) it doesn't come with a protective pouch of any kind to keep it from getting banged around it my briefcase, and 3) I don't like the fact that the laser pointer button doubles as a "start the presentation" button. If I'm showing a handout in MS Word instead of powerpoint, for example, every time I use the laser pointer, it pulls some an annoying dialog window (F5). It's easy enough to fix (you just unplug the USB thingie), but it's annoying nonetheless. Overall, though, I'm very happy with this purchase. I hope it lasts longer than the last one...
Customer Review: Great Presentation Aid - Highly Recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Kensington 33374 Wireless Presenter is exactly what I was looking for to untether me from my PC while giving PowerPoint presentations. I give quite a few presentations in both my "day job" and as an instructor in my wife's small business and I like to walk around when talking. This handy device is so easy to install (just plug in the USB dongle, windows did the rest) and use that I didn't even have to read the directions to get it working.
The small unit fits comfortably in my medium sized hands and all four buttons are in easy thumbing position. The top button with the laser symbol can be used to start the presentation (it works like the "F5" key in any application) and also activates the fairly bright red laser pointer, the two middle buttons advance or backup the presentation (the "Page Down" and "Page Up" keys), and the bottom button "Blanks" the presentation (the "b" key). The range is very good and easily covers the room sizes I typically work in.
I like that the USB connector is stored inside the body of the device and it shuts off the unit when inserted. It also uses standard AAA batteries and includes 2 Energizers to get you started right away.
This is a well designed and easy to use tool that does exactly what I want it to do - Highly Recommended!
Customer Review: Perfectly simple and simply perfect!
Summary: 5 Stars
With technology, as in writing and speaking, I believe in simplicity. This Kensington remote is intuitive and extremely easy to use. Only 4 buttons: slide forward, slide backward, black screen, and laser pointer. When not in use, the piece (see, I don't even know the term for it) that fits into the USB port on your computer stores inside the remote. When you put it into the remote, it turns off the remote.
I use a MacBook laptop. The Apple Genius (to PC users, that's a smart person in the Apple store who dispenses free advice) suggested this remote to me, since I use PowerPoint for Mac. I'm grateful for such straight-up advice.
Note that there is a newer and more expensive version of this remote. It has a memory that can store your presentations IN THE REMOTE so you can leave your laptop home and just "plug in" to someone else's computer. Pretty neat! But, since it's considerably more expensive, I'll just stay one step behind the latest-and-greatest-gee-whiz curve and happily use this version.
By the way, compare prices, as you can find a 100% swing in the price of this little unit. The reputable Internet retailer I went with (again recommended by the Apple Genius) had the lowest price AND free shipping.
True value for your money!
Customer Review: Free Yourself from the Podium
Summary: 5 Stars
As a teacher and lecturer I was excited to learn of this remote control for presentation software. (Note that "presentation software" really means Microsoft PowerPoint. The presenter does not work with WordPerfect's Presentations software; I can't comment about its use with other software.) Before buying this presenter I was tied to a podium as I felt that I needed to be within arm's length of the forward and backward buttons on the computer. However, this presenter has a range of 60 feet and includes a laser pointer, which allows me to roam around the room. The presenter uses two AAA batteries and the power is controlled by the USB plug that is stored in the pointer itself. Storing the USB plug in the pointer turns the pointer off, while removing the plug from the pointer turns it on. The USB plug needs to be inserted into a computer, and then receives the signal from the presenter / pointer to control the presentation. The most complex part of using the device is installing and changing the batteries, which is not complex at all. The presenter has a nice rounded, contoured shape and is comfortable to hold. Using this remote presenter is a truly liberating experience and a benefit to those who use PowerPoint for presentations.