If you do a lot of typing or gaming using a keyboard, you can do yourself a lot of good by getting an ergonomic keyboard.

Along with the Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse, the Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard has been released in preparation for Windows 8.

First up in the new Windows 8 range of peripherals is the Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse, a rather odd looking Bluetooth-only mouse.

Is this budget keyboard and mouse package good value?

Microsoft's 'me too' gesture-controlled mouse isn't its finest hour

The Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse is yet another innovative addition to the long-line of classic designs that the Microsoft Hardware group has blessed the world with over the years.

If there's an area where the BlueTrack technology, which Microsoft is rolling out across it full range of mice, is really going to see a firm benefit it's in the mobile sector.

You might recognise this five-button, wireless wonder from Microsoft's latest wireless desktop kit where it's bundled alongside the 2.0 version of its Wireless Keyboard 3000.

Bluetrack keyboard and mouse set for the price conscious

Microsoft has clearly thought about the needs of the media PC user when designing this set. It’s made sure that good quality and ease of use are placed alongside great build quality and a host of features.

Microsoft cops probably more criticism than any other company in the world. People just seem to like moaning about Windows and Office, and let's face it, it's easy to see why. But one thing Microsoft cannot be criticised for is making rubbish peripherals. Because it makes great ones.

The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 doesn't seem to have the same feel of long-lived solidity as the old Intellimouse. There's something a little too complex about the over-designed ergonomics that forces your hand into a rigid, RSI-inducing claw shape. And if you're a sinister lefty then you can definitely forget about this little rodent.

We were initially worried by the Sidewinder's angular stealth bomber aesthetic - after all, when was the last time you gripped something pointy and thought to yourself, 'Mmm, this is the very pinnacle, the apogee if you will, of comfort.'

With the Mobile Memory Mouse 8000, Microsoft has finally got us excited at the idea of a new mouse.

We wonder if devs are complicit in wearing PC gamers down until they finally accept that using an Xbox 360 pad is a best way to play a PC game - the number of times we've been asked to hit a green B button is greater than the number of cooked evening meals we've enjoyed.

If you've been part of the WSAD brigade for a long time, then switching to one of Microsoft's comfort range may come as a bit of a surprise. The first few games of Quake we played involved us fumbling with the oddly shaped keys

Microsoft's latest squeaker looks like a mis-shapen potato and, despite claims that it feels as comfortable as a handshake, we'd be inclined to say that shaking hands with Mike Tyson would be better.