geekhack

geekhack Community => Input Devices => Topic started by: lorem3k on Mon, 13 February 2012, 17:55:11

Title: Trackball with separate scroll wheel?
Post by: lorem3k on Mon, 13 February 2012, 17:55:11

I've been thinking about purchasing a trackball, but it seems that most of them don't have a scroll wheel. I'd prefer an ambidextrous layout with the ball on top rather than a thumb-ball like the Logitech M570. The "Scroll Ring" on some of the Kensington balls looks nice, but I'd prefer a traditional scroll wheel. Do I have any options other than the Logitech?

Title: Trackball with separate scroll wheel?
Post by: boli on Mon, 13 February 2012, 18:01:15

Hmm, I bought an M570 recently for my living room HTPC. I got tired of moving the mouse around next to me on the couch, so I thought I'd give a trackball a try. Since it's my first one I have no point of reference, but it feels pretty good. I think I wouldn't have minded a larger ball, possibly for finger use. Either way, for this application I'm quite happy with it. Don't think I'd want one on my main computer to play games though. ;)

Will be watching this thread out of interest, a scroll wheel is nice to have - I use it to scrub position in VLC. :)

Title: Trackball with separate scroll wheel?
Post by: kidchunks on Mon, 13 February 2012, 19:54:59

http://www.clearlysuperiortech.com/

I have the L-Trac (CST2545W-RC) and I love it!

Title: Lorem Ipsum
Post by: davkol on Tue, 14 February 2012, 12:53:10

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Title: Trackball with separate scroll wheel?
Post by: DesktopJinx on Wed, 15 February 2012, 19:41:42

I know you said you wanted a wheel, but...

I wasn't so sure about the Kensington scroll ring, but I'd lost my old Logitech marble mouse and wanted something small and left-friendly, so I gave it a shot. Now I wish I had one at work, and I wish there was a way it could be incorporated with mice. The wheel is a repetitive-motion nightmare by comparison. I think of it this way --

scroll ring : scroll wheel :: bicycle : kick scooter

Consider trying a scroll ring. It's smooth, speedy, accurate, good for short and long scrolls, and lends itself to different techniques.

Title: Trackball with separate scroll wheel?
Post by: boli on Thu, 16 February 2012, 02:23:34

Interesting comparison, DesktopJinx. :)

I found [VIDEO] Clearly Superior Technologies L-Trac X vs Kensington Slimblade (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:25064) by chance and thought the Slimblade's way of scrolling was intriguing as well.