"Rob Halgren" wrote in message
...
This is precisely why I drink diet soda instead of coffee. I can
still read the keys, and they don't stick to my fingers. Otherwise I'd
be skroood. *grin*

But you still need to take care. A fellow I worked with maintained a home
ofice, and routinely let his five year old aughter play games on office
computers. On one occassion, he allowed her to have a soda and play on the
company's NEWEST computer. The soda was placed a little too near the new
computer's keyboard. You can guess what happened. A little elbow came a
little too close to the glass. Everything in the computer was fried:
motherboard, video card, everything. But he realized his own folly in
letting her have soda so close to the company's computers, so he didn't
scold her or take any action to discipline her, and he was willing to
replace the ocmpany's computer at his own expense. Can you imagine
replacing a machine you've had for less than one week in this circumstances?

The electrolytes in soda are high enough that it is an extremely good
conductor of electricity, and thus it is very effective at shorting out any
circuit it is poured over.

The ONLY way your keyboard is going to be really safe is if a) you ban
liquids from within a metre of the keyboard, or b) you install a keyboard
condom (a flexible plastic envelop molded to the shape of your keyboard -
flexible so that you can type with it in place, but guaranteed to keep
liquids out of your keyboard unless it is torn or punctured).

Cheers,

Ted