Computer Bugs

Uh oh--another reason to fear our computers! Says PC World:

A computer keyboard can be a dirty thing, often filled with crumbs that help make it a reservoir for disease-causing germs. Ironically, keyboards have been identified as vehicles for spreading diseases inside hospitals, in particular.

But now, there seems to be increasing interest among IT vendors in doing something about the plague of dirty keyboards.

For instance, Aten Technology Inc. in Irvine, Calif., this month said it has begun applying antimicrobial nanocoating to its KVM switch devices, which are commonly used by multiple IT workers in data centers. The KVM switches --- the acronym stands for keyboard, video and mouse --- lets users control various systems from a single unit.

I'm sure this is true, but, you know, before I turn into Howard Hughes 2000, I think I'd like to see a single study that provides evidence of someone getting even remotely ill from a keyboard. After all, I commuted to work on the NYC subway for more than seven years, and I find it hard to believe that any given keyboard could be filthier and more disease-ridden than any surface in the subway. And let's not even get into the whole "doorknob" issue.