I'm also very happy to never charge it or reconnect it to my computer through some GUI.

The vast majority of wireless mice and keyboards can work without using a GUI. And with your usage of "reconnect", with my Bluetooth mice I never had to use the GUI to reconnect it, they just reconnected automatically when I turned the mouse back on. I did have to pair it originally on the computer using the computer's Bluetooth settings, but that's only for Bluetooth devices and only for the initial setup. Mice and keyboards with dongles never required any kind of GUI and most of them even worked fine in low level environments like BIOSes on older machines and what not.

My $20 wireless keyboard/mouse combo has run for years off of one set of batteries, and is instantly recognized by any OS the moment you plug in the dongle.

Agree about the dongle thing, but years on a single set of batteries? That has to be an exaggeration, that or you somehow found the glorious golden mouse crafted by the gods themselves. I've never seen any device last for years on a single set of batteries, not even the lowest power of devices.

I used to use a M705 mouse from Logitech. It has a three-year rated battery life on a single pair of regular AA batteries.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/mice/m705-wireless-m...

This M550 mouse is rated for two years using the Bolt wireless adapter.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/mice/m550-signature-...

The K400 keyboard+trackpad I have routinely lasts at least couple of years despite only rated for 18 months, but it didn't get as much usage as a regular kb+m as it was mostly used as a couch keyboard or as a quick debugging combo for working on machines on a workbench.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/keyboards/k400-plus-...

My parents' Casio calculator is 40 years old, and still on its original battery. It does not have solar power.

It is still used weekly or so!

I think my Logitech trackball goes for months between charges.

Afraid it's true. The mouse says it's a Logitech M185 and runs on a single AA. The keyboard is a K270 and uses 2 AAAs (I think, I taped the battery door shut since it kept falling off). I got them along with my work laptop when I started my current job five years ago, and I've only had to change them once each.

I think I may have also replaced mouse or keyboard or both a while back, with identical models, so call that two battery changes in five years, if you want to be conservative. Maybe it helps that they're disposable instead of rechargeable.

No, it is correct, nothing magical about it. The Logitech M705 works for years without battery replacement.

If you travel a lot you might have to replace the USB dongle once a year, in my experience($5).