Category: Hardware

Replacing Your Wireless Mouse / Keyboard Receiver

January 26, 2015August 23, 2025 Andrew Comeau

Listen to this article or continue reading below. (Audio generated with ElevenLabs)

Wireless mice and keyboards are a great way to reduce the tangle of wires on your desktop but what do you do when that tiny USB receiver, the one about the size of your fingernail, goes missing? That’s what I asked myself the other day when I lost the receiver (also called a ‘dongle’) for my Logitech wireless mouse. The mice aren’t that expensive but I hated the idea of tossing one just because the receiver went missing so I did a little checking.

Hardware

HDMI to VGA: Using your VGA monitor on your HDMI laptop

October 21, 2014February 14, 2023 Andrew Comeau

Looks like the trusty old VGA interface is on its way out and while you’ll still see legacy systems and devices using this 25 year old standard for monitor connections, the newer laptops and computers are starting to pass on VGA connectors in favor of HDMI which, among its other benefits, allows for thinner devices. When I bought my new laptop computer, I never even thought to check if it had a VGA monitor port on it and, sure enough, it doesn’t. Instead, it has an Active HDMI port on the side. This wasn’t a problem until I tried connecting it to a projector during a meeting a few months ago and found out that projector’s HDMI interface didn’t work.

Hardware, How-to, Reviews

StarTech USB to VGA Review / Windows 8.1 Display Issue

August 24, 2014November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

A few months ago, I purchased the StarTech USB to VGA adapter for my system. I got tired of the single display and going with a USB adapter was a lot easier than modifying the computer itself to support two displays.

Going by the reviews on Amazon, I decided on the USB32VGAEH model which supports USB 3.0, VGA displays and includes a pass-through USB port. There are also models that will enable you to add a new DVI and HDMI display through a USB port.

Hardware, Reviews