Updating a Keyboard - Corsair Raptor K30

My favorite keyboard and the one I have used for many (10+?) years is an HP 3758 like this one:

Unfortunately it has a PS2 connector which is no longer included on modern motherboards (see the image). There is an adapter that can be purchased to allow connecting a PS2 keyboard to a USB connector but I don't trust them so it's time for a new keyboard.
I did some research and decided I wanted one that had a similar feel to my HP. This was not an easily achievable goal. The keyboards that come with new PCs are too "soft" for me, but I didn't want to move all the way to high end mechanical gaming keyboards that have the old IBM "click" - and a high end price.
I eventually discovered the first generation Corsair K30 gaming keyboard which was not mechanical but was rated high for its feel. I also found that they were being phased out and that my favorite mail order parts site: newegg,com had them on sale. I ordered one.

It arrived in a nice box like this. Inside was a small manual and quick start guide.

 with the keyboard.

This is an early generation gaming keyboard in that it has dedicated "gaming" keys on the left side that, using the manufacturer's software, can be programmed to auto generate custom key combinations for various games. It also has gray AWSD keys that can be used as arrow keys by left handed people.
I turned off the computer, disconnected the old keyboard, connected the new keyboard, booted up the PC, browsed to the manufacturer's download site, downloaded the K30 software, installed it and, for good measure, rebooted the machine. It came up and, as it should, recognized the new keyboard. I adjusted the red backlighting and it looks like this now:

It took a while to get used to the slightly smaller main key area, but the more I use it, the more I like it.

Celluon Epic Bluetooth Mobile Projection Keyboard

Have you seen the commercial on TV that shows the girl in the cafe appearing to use a keyboard that is projected on to the top surface of the table she where is sitting? Well that is a real thing and it is called the Epic Mobile Projection Keyboard. It's from a Korean company called Celluon and it uses Bluetooth to attach to your device and then projects a keyboard onto a flat surface that you can use to type. It comes in a box that looks like this:

It's a small device that uses a lot of different technologies; Bluetooth to connect to your device (pc, tablet or phone), USB to charge, laser to project the image of the keyboard and Infrared to figure out what key you are pressing.

Remove it form the packing and on one side is the On/Off switch and the charging port (mini usb) and bluetooth sync button (which doesn't show up too well in this pic).

The other side has the laser, projector, and infrared sensor.

When you first unpack it, it has to be charged. Hook it to any usb port/charger and the red (charging) light comes on.

After a short wait the red light goes off and the green (charged) light comes on. It is now ready for use. Note: the directions say a fully charged unit will last for 120 minutes.

Once it is charged, you follow the simple (included) instructions to sync it to your bluetooth device, set it up and it's ready to go.

The unit projects a near full sized keyboard to any flat surface. You can then practice for a while to get used to the new way of typing. The best surface seems to be flat, non-reflective and firm.

We set this up with an iPad and it worked great! The learning curve was pretty short and once we figured out the best kind of surface and the best way to orient, we were all successful in using this as a real keyboard.
I recommend this device.

It's a Free Upgrade from Windoes 8 to 8.1 - Here's how.

Assuming you have Windows 8 running on your PC, first, go to Google and look for "Upgrade windows 8 to 8.1" or similar. Find the link to the official Microsoft Windows upgrade page and click on it.The page should look like this:

Notice on the bottom of the page is a link to "do" the upgrade. When you click on it your machine will be checked to see if it has all the latest patches and updates. If it doesn't, and it probably won't, you will be sent to the update page in Windows. It looks like this:

Click on the "Windows Update" bar and the download/update process will begin. Depending on how long it has been since the last update was performed, you could have a wait. Windows will inform you as it goes through the process of downloading and applying each patch.

Once the downloads are complete and all the changes/patches have been applied, Windows will reboot. If you are not automatically brought to the Microsoft Store, click on the tile on the main page. The Microsoft Store page will look like this:

Click on this tile to start the updating process.

Click on the Download tile/button to begin updating to Windows 8.1. You will be at the Installs windows where you will see a series of notices as the process takes place.

At the end of this process you will see a page where you are told you have to restart Windows. Click on the Restart Now tile/button.

Windows will restart a number of times. At the end, you will know you have successfully updated Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 when you are asked to accept the Terms and Conditions at this page:

When you click on the "I accept" tile/button. The machine will reboot one more time and come up running Windows 8.1. You will immediately notice some changes to the Desktop tiles. From now on, this is how you will update any changes to Windows 8.1.

My Cloud @ Home - PogoPlug

I currently have a cloud setup in the basement.

It consists of an old PogoPlug linked to the basement switch with a Samsung 500 GB drive attached.
You access it by going to www.pogoplug.com and signing into an account I set up at installation. This is my second PogoPlug as the first died shortly after installation. Although the unit is past end of life it still works and looks like this when you log in.

Notice the unit appears to be offline, but it still sees the attached storage. These are the default folder and files as I haven't uploaded anything else yet. (Still Testing.)

This is the screenshot of what you see when you select the "cloud" storage. Right now I have a basic free account which comes with 5 GB. I haven't turned on Sync yet as that's another test.