At the high end, the Microsoft Basic Wireless Optical Desktop stands tall, with its well-designed keyboard and a suitable optical mouse. Shortcut buttons line an uplifted front ridge, and you can easily distinguish their placement visually, but pressing them requires a potentially uncomfortable uptilt in your wrist.

You'll find no surprises in the main keypad; all keys are where you would expect them to be. And since the mouse is optical, you won't be stuck pulling lint from the rollerball, as you will with the mice in the other value suites.

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