Windows 2000 added support for new keyboard keys (VK_VOLUP, VK_VOLDOWN, VK_BACK etc'), so win2k, XP and win2k3 don't need any extra drivers for most multimedia keyboards/mice (including all Microsoft peripherals that I've come across).
However you'll still need to autostart some background process if you want an OSD. I can think of a number of design patterns that would avoid this problem and perform better.
I kinda like the OSD for the volume on my multimedia keyboard (it resembles a television volume OSD and looks quite nice), although it takes more than a second to appear if the disk is very busy (and also delays applying the volume change, which stinks).
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Windows 2000 added support for new keyboard keys (VK_VOLUP, VK_VOLDOWN, VK_BACK etc'), so win2k, XP and win2k3 don't need any extra drivers for most multimedia keyboards/mice (including all Microsoft peripherals that I've come across). However you'll still need to autostart some background process if you want an OSD. I can think of a number of design patterns that would avoid this problem and perform better. I kinda like the OSD for the volume on my multimedia keyboard (it resembles a television volume OSD and looks quite nice), although it takes more than a second to appear if the disk is very busy (and also delays applying the volume change, which stinks).