So that's what broke the PRF.

If you get one of those smart phones that runs Windows Mobile like Scott has, you can "Remote Desktop" to your laptop and use your phone to control it.

Then, you could sit with your phone right in front of your laptop and type on your phone's keypad and watch the words appear on your laptop screen. Problem solved!

Actually, remote desktop only allows control of the screen for one particular user (at least on XP) and kicks the other person out. So you couldn't see it on the laptop screen, you'd just have a login screen. VNC, PC Anywhere or Remote Assistance would work, but I'm probably being pedantic and you knew this already...

Either that, or get a speech-to-text converter application and a small mic for the laptop, and you'd be like a bizarro Stephen Hawking, walking around and converting spoken words into text on a computer.

Windows XP actually has a decent one built-in. You have only to enable/install it from the Control Panel.

Along with the compressed air trick, you could try blasting the key with some electrical contact cleaner, it's worked for me, this stuff in particular:

http://www.drillspot.com/products/32194 ... ct_Cleaner