The last couple of days I spend stressing about my internet speed. We have the fastest package from our provider, Ziggo. Currently it offers 50Mbit download and 5Mbit upload, but they are upgrading to 120Mbit download and 10Mbit upload. As a matter of fact I already got a letter that my neighborhood has been provided with the upgrade but with my laptop hooked up directly to the modem I only get around 90 to 100Mbit I guess I should be happy with that.
I never really looked at my speed as long as everything downloaded fast in my opinion. When they announced the upgrade, I got a new modem, Ubee, to install. Since the new modem my internet got noticeable slow, when downloading torrents it was almost impossible to open websites. Then they finally released a new firmware for the modem that fixed the problem. But according to their own speed test I was only getting 30Mbps. I never thought it would be the router, a Linksys WRT160N, as it is supposed to be able to handle a lot of Mbps.
So I went back to hardware geek mode, reading and posting on forums about N protocol, 5Ghz band, all possible settings on the router to increase speed. And having thoughts a few time about 11 years ago when I was already happy being able to download one MP3 file and here I was bitching that 30Mbps is nothing.
In any case turns out my current router is not suitable for speeds over 100Mbit, it doesn’t support 5Ghz band and using N protocol is useless if you have iPhone’s, Blackberries, wireless printers and laptops without N protocol. The router will just use the most backward protocol. But even with all settings on max the router kept stuck at 30Mbits.
I had a friend drill a whole in the wall for a cable and now I clock speeds of 90Mbits down, which is the limit of the router.
Meanwhile I’m researching which router to buy that will support a gigabit network higher then 120Mbps, most probably the D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router. I don’t want to spend a lot on a router as I only use it to split internet, I don’t need all the extra you get with routers like the Draytek Vigor 2130n.
Oh, those first world problems.
Last year I bought the Logitech Revolution VX to use with my Mac Mini setup. I chose the VX over the MX due that I have small hands.
The VX was a breath of fresh air after using older bulkier versions and wired versions of Logitech mouses. I spend long hours behind the computer, mostly surfing/reading, editing photos and coding websites. I comfortable mouse is important for me.
Then last month suddenly the left button started acting up, when I wanted to change a file name I normally click once on it to edit the name, but every time I clicked the file it registered a double click and opened the file instead of just making the file name editable. I thought at first it as the Logitech software, LCC, that handles Logitech hardware on Apple. So I uninstalled it and tried USB Overdrive, but the problem persisted. In short my VX had a defect left click exactly like mentioned on the Logitech forum.
Logitech Marathon Mouse M705
After some quick research I decided that the Logitech Marathon Mouse M705 would be my next mouse.
Mostly because it has about the same build as the Revolution VX and long lasting batteries. The Marathon was just released in Europe last month so luckily one or two store already had in stock. The current mouse stock at the moment of my purchase really left no other choice then the Marathon as there wasn’t anything new nor did they sell Revolution VX anymore.
The Marathon feels more sturdier in the hand then the VX, compared to it the VX rattles a lot more then the Marathon. The buttons are dark plastic which is more nicer then the chrome look on the VX. Also the Marathon body has a more matte finished plastic that feels nice in the hand.
The only con of the Marathon is the normal click-to-click scrolling to hyper-fast scrolling button. It is situated just above the scroll wheel, so it feels like a bump under the finger when scrolling. They could have made it that button sticks out a little less.
And last the Marathon uses the Unifying receiver, it can be paired with up to six compatible Logitech mice and keyboards. Plus it so small sized it can nicely fit with the latest Apple keyboards.
I don’t use LLC anymore but now I use SteerMouse. It works flawlessly, only the 4th and 5th button, the back and forward button thus must be programmed to work as such in web browsers, in my case Firefox; CMD Right Arrow and CMD Left Arrow. Make sure you don’t have LLC or other mouse management app installed at the same time, they interfere with each other.
Long term expectation
After using the mouse daily now for almost a month I expect it will start having same hardware issues as I had with the VX. The right button doesn’t feel sturdy and already is very sensible on click, so it will were out fast and overtime start doing the same thing as the VX.
Logitech gives a three year factory warranty if I’m not mistaken. I lost the purchase receipt of the VX but I’m planning on calling their customer support soon to see if they will replace it considering it’s a known issue with their products. I hope they do because the VX is not a cheap mouse and I had expected it to last longer than two years.
To be safe I already put the Marathon receipt together with all my other hardware receipts and I’m even saving the box to be sure. Because I’m not planning on shelling out 60 euros again next year on a mouse.
But all in all I’m happy with the Marathon it works well, thanks to the fact it uses two AA batteries it feels just heavy enough. And it has the same ergonomic build as the VX to minimize pain in the hand after long hours behind the computer.
