The receiver is pretty simple. It is a flat, oblong shaped device with two connections; a single PS/2 connection for the keyboard and a single USB connection for the mouse. The desktop set, like mentioned in the contents, supplies a USB to PS/2 adapter just incase you run out of USB ports. You can see by the bright green sleeve on the USB plug that Microsoft really wants you to install their software first, before plugging in the devices. This obviously is not possible if you are installing Windows, but the hardware works perfectly with out it. The software is only needed to add the extra functionality of the keyboard and mouse.

On the top of the receiver, you will find three green LEDs. These indicate, from left to right, Caps Lock, Num Lock and Function Lock. These, besides installing the supplied software, are the only way to tell if you have any number of these three engaged. Note that there is no Scroll Lock LED. For those that need this information, you will have to consult the on screen prompts that the Microsoft software provides you with. Also on the top, you will find an oval button. This is the sync button for the keyboard and mouse. If you forget how to, or never have, sync the Microsoft keyboard and mouse set, the bottom of the receiver displays pretty simple instructions.