Hi Tom,
I've had a similar setup for a while. I'll give you a brief history of the stuff I've tried:
I decided against using IR, so the Silitek keyboard that I already owned was out, even tho it works quite well if you maintain a reasonable line of sight. So, I started out with the Intel Wireless Series mouse, keyboard, and gamepads. The keyboard is OK; it has good range (works from 20' back) but no Win2K support means the extra function keys are useless. Overall, the whole series is quite a flop. The mouse goes through batteries weekly, the gamepads have fairly slow responses sometimes, the drivers are terrible.
Next, still using the Intel keyboard, I got a Logitefch Cordless Trackman FX trackball, I've also tried the regular cordless trackball with wheel. Both work really well, and have great battery life. The drawback to these is their range. They seem to max out around 10 to 12' from the receiver. They claim a 6' range, so I got a bit of a bonus there. I tried the Logitech Trackman Live, which claims a 30' range, but that was a big disappointment - it seems to have the same range as the cheaper ones, and no USB.
2 days ago, I got the Gyration Gyroremote and keyboard combo (check
www.gyration.com for info). It's pretty ridiculously expensive (getting it into Canada cost me about $500 CDN, but you can find them in the US for about $250 US for the combo, check pricewatch.com). The remote uses some kind of gyroscopic motion sensing technology to proportionally move the cursor on screen as you move the remote in midair. It works great, and has a really high-quality feel to it. The keyboard is also a well-designed piece, and comes with a protective shell. The key travel is fairly short, though, so if you're planning to type something this long with it (as I'm doing right now), you may wish you had a full-size keyboard. For casual use, it's quite perfect. Both the Gyroremote and keyboard claim a 100' range. Haven't tested that claim, but I know it works from any room in my house.
Finally, ATI just released the Remote Wonder. It's a UHF remote that works well with ATI products and can also be configured for other software. It also acts as a 2-button mouse. It's really cheap - about $50 US I think, and has really good range. As a mouse, it's a bit cumbersome to operate, since you have to hold a button down for each direction you want to move until you reach the desired spot. Give it a test run first. I tried it out, and it comes with the AIW Radeon 7500 that I'm getting next week, but I doubt it'll get much use now that I've got the Gyroremote.
As for gaming use, I'd recommend getting a good gamepad with a really long cord! The wireless stuff is great for regular typing and mousing, but for fast action movement I don't think any of the stuff I've listed here will satisfy a serious gamer.
HTH!
EDIT: Uh, disregard the word 'brief' in my first line!
