What's your favorite pointing device?

[bigpook]

Yes, and I get rather annoyed when I have to use a mouse that doesn't have on. I guess it was more a case that I was curious why someone would pick a non-scroll wheel mouse over another

I bought a Kensington Orbit mouse, 2 button track ball ,no scroll wheel. I really liked it but without the scroll wheel I sent it back to newegg.

A month later I ordered it again : ) (yeah, I am a maniac) I really like this mouse. I gave it a go, while I can autoscroll in firefox with it, I need to press and hold both mouse buttons to do it. Sadly, that mouse is in my closet. It would be nice if kensington added a scroll wheel to the Orbit mouse. Like it has for the expert mouse.

I am old enough to remember when mice did not have scroll wheels. We somehow managed. But once you use a scroll wheel, its kind of hard to go without.

[Chloe]

It would be nice if kensington added a scroll wheel to the Orbit mouse. Like it has for the expert mouse.

I'd like this. I remember reading bad reviews of the scroll wheel but it was my favourite feature.

[bigpook]

I'd like this. I remember reading bad reviews of the scroll wheel but it was my favourite feature.

When you say bad reviews I assume they are in reference to the scroll ring on the expert mouse. Some people have said that it is not as smooth as a scroll wheel. And they are right. But the scroll ring that I have works fine. I opened the mouse to take a look at it and the scroll ring is plastic that is resting on plastic. I put a little bit of lubicrant, ( I forget which lubricant I used, and it wasn't a whole lot either) and that seemed to help. Not that it was too bad in the first place. I have been using it for awhile now and its been working out fine.

On another note, its hard to find trackball mice that can be used with either hand. I am a righty yet use the mouse on the left hand side of the keyboard. It just works better for me that way. YMMV.


On yet another note, the expert mouse is quite large, and the trackball is huge. I have fairly large hands and it works real well for me. My wife has very small hands, she tried it once, frowned and basically said "yuck, thats a crappy mouse"

[Chloe]

The main complaint seemed to be the plastic on plastic feel. It isn't like a mouse scroll wheel but I found it worked really well. I switched to trackballs from a graphics tablet so I didn't have a fixed idea of how a scroll wheel should feel. I also found the Expert much too large for my hands, and the buttons too stiff.

On another note, its hard to find trackball mice that can be used with either hand.

Have you tried the Logitech Marble Mouse? You might find it too small, but it fits my hands really well.

[itlnstln]

Other than optical/laser technology to get rid of the ball, the scroll wheel is, IMO, one of the best advancements in mouse technology, and the scroll wheels with the side to side tilt are even better.  Foward and back browsing buttons on the thumb are pretty much manditory for me, too.

[lowpoly]

I think there was a fix for the Expert scroll ring somewhere.

[bigpook]

The main complaint seemed to be the plastic on plastic feel. It isn't like a mouse scroll wheel but I found it worked really well. I switched to trackballs from a graphics tablet so I didn't have a fixed idea of how a scroll wheel should feel. I also found the Expert much too large for my hands, and the buttons too stiff.



Have you tried the Logitech Marble Mouse? You might find it too small, but it fits my hands really well.

: ) I have that mouse. And it is a nice mouse. What keeps me on the kensington is that the logitech marble mouse, while it has 4 buttons, the top 2 buttons are too small.
The one on the left(I use the mouse left-handed) is not even usable for me unless I contort my hand.
The nice thing about the kensington expert is that all 4 buttons are nice and big. That and the scroll wheel make it a win for me.

[bigpook]

I think there was a fix for the Expert scroll ring somewhere.

I read something here about that, something to do with magnets or something. When I had mine apart I didn't see anything like that.

[lodc]

i've been using the expert mouse for many years, have a couple at home and one at work.  it's not for everyone, but I can't stand to be without it  I have given other devices an honest try (including various logitech "little trackball" devices and a microsoft trackball explorer) but nothing compares imho.  I actually prefer a plain old mouse to the little trackballs.

[cmr]

i like a basic optical mouse with a scroll wheel. no side buttons, no tilt buttons etc. logitech and microsoft always seem to have one for around $10.

the only thing i hate more than a touchpad is any sort of trackball. just can't deal with them. if i have to use a laptop pointing device i prefer a trackpoint.

[iMav]

I was going to buy a wireless mouse to try to see if I like them any better...but couldn't find anything decent that was bluetooth.  I thought the Logitech MX Revolution felt great in my hand...but it requires the use of a USB dongle (which is ridiculous).  

What are everyone's favorite bluetooth-enabled pointing devices??

[lodc]

I was going to buy a wireless mouse to try to see if I like them any better...but couldn't find anything decent that was bluetooth.  I thought the Logitech MX Revolution felt great in my hand...but it requires the use of a USB dongle (which is ridiculous).  

What are everyone's favorite bluetooth-enabled pointing devices??

I have sitting on my desktop a Logitech "MX LASER" M/N M-RBA97 which is Bluetooth.  It looks a lot like the Revolution in shape, a bit less shiny and the left hand side and top are slightly different.  Looks like it would feel very similar in your hand though.  I don't use the thing so I can't tell you much more than that (it was a misguided gift, i only leave it out so that a "special someone" feels appreciated.. hope she doesn't notice it hasn't had a charge in months ) .  Good luck.

[Chloe]

: ) I have that mouse. And it is a nice mouse. What keeps me on the kensington is that the logitech marble mouse, while it has 4 buttons, the top 2 buttons are too small.
The one on the left(I use the mouse left-handed) is not even usable for me unless I contort my hand.

The two little buttons are small. I have them mapped to the middle mouse button. When I am using it with my right hand, I only use the left one and the two large buttons.

[Chloe]

What are everyone's favorite bluetooth-enabled pointing devices??

I'd like to try Bluetooth but I don't know if it will work on Windows 2000.

[bhtooefr]

Most bluetooth dongles either come with a bluetooth stack or let you download one if you have a version of Windows before XP SP2. And, those BT stacks will run on 2000, IIRC.

[lodc]

The main complaint seemed to be the plastic on plastic feel. It isn't like a mouse scroll wheel but I found it worked really well. I switched to trackballs from a graphics tablet so I didn't have a fixed idea of how a scroll wheel should feel. I also found the Expert much too large for my hands, and the buttons too stiff.

FWIW, the buttons will completely change after a couple months use (well a couple months of my use.. basically they just need a long break in, I'd guess it could be less time for hardcore mouse users).   I've had to break these in at home and at work, and the initial feeling both times was that the buttons were too stiff, however they settle down to a very nice place after a bit.

The feel of the scroll wheel changes after time as well.  I never took any magnets out of either of mine, but both now spin freely and smoothly with just the faintest hint of the notchy action they initially had.

[Therac-25]

I was going to buy a wireless mouse to try to see if I like them any better...but couldn't find anything decent that was bluetooth.  I thought the Logitech MX Revolution felt great in my hand...but it requires the use of a USB dongle (which is ridiculous).  

What are everyone's favorite bluetooth-enabled pointing devices??

I've got that one.  The only reason I got it was because I found it in a half-off sale, and I figured wtf.  

It's "okay".  I wouldn't buy it again if I had the choice.  The middle scroll wheel doesn't behave like anything you've used before.  In X11, this means that I have to resort to 1+2 to make button 3.  They also had vicious qc problems early on -- I ended up taking it back twice to get one that worked properly.  That was nearly 1.5 or 2 years ago or something now?  It's been a while.

For Bluetooth, at least from major vendors, your pickings are slim unless you enjoy some of the abominations that are sold to the Mac market.  I have a budget "Logitech Travel Mouse" that's bluetooth that I use at work that's pretty not bad.  It seems to be out of favour to make bluetooth stuff these days, except for laptop gear.

As for pointing devices, I've had two Microsoft Intellimouse Opticals (both the first and second revisions of them) which I've had for 8+ years.  Not so much because I like the shape, just that every other mouse I've tried in the meantime has died or otherwise failed.

I've been seriously looking at some of the high DPI razer mouse, but after my abominable experiences with their keyboard (and a negative experience with the first run of Razer Boomslangs nearly a decade ago), I'm not sure I'd take the chance unless there was a serious discount.

[andb]

I have a Logiteck Trackman FX, see thumbnail below, which I bought in 2001 I think. Its seen about 4 weeks worth of use. The main problem was the lack of a scroll wheel. I'm curious if these are still popular, I consider it much better than the small ball variants.

But re-reading the thread and remembering that the original drivers support setting one of the buttons to activate page scrolling based on the ball, I think I'll see if I can make something like this work in Linux, if it does, I'd be happy to put this crazy thing back into use. It would definitely look cool next to an unlabled HHKB.

[bhtooefr]

andb: If it's got three or more buttons, and you don't mind tying this feature to the middle button, tp-scroll will work beautifully. It may be meant for ThinkPad TrackPoints, but it works on any pointing device with three buttons. (Basically, it makes a middle-drag a scroll. But, unlike the real Windows TrackPoint driver, the middle button is still functional as a middle button.)

[Therac-25]

I have a Logiteck Trackman FX, see thumbnail below, which I bought in 2001 I think. Its seen about 4 weeks worth of use. The main problem was the lack of a scroll wheel. I'm curious if these are still popular, I consider it much better than the small ball variants.

But re-reading the thread and remembering that the original drivers support setting one of the buttons to activate page scrolling based on the ball, I think I'll see if I can make something like this work in Linux, if it does, I'd be happy to put this crazy thing back into use. It would definitely look cool next to an unlabled HHKB.

Since you have an HHKB, you can probably enable mousekeys in Gnome (assuming you use it...) and from that you should be able to use something else to get key combinations working as mouse events.

The original intent of this feature is to control the mouse pointer with the numeric keypad.  It enables a generic keyboard -> mouse event mapping system, though, so you can probably easily get a key combination working as a scroll wheel.

Note: I haven't worked out the specifics of this.  This just came up when I was trying to do something with the idiotic XF86Search button on the Logitech MX Revolution -- despite being a mouse button, it comes through as a keyboard event.  Yay for idiocy.

[andb]

What I would really like would be a click to enable scrolling, a click to disable. Holding to activate would drive me nuts. I'll have to google around a bit. Also, yes, I'm currently using gnome, but thinking of moving over to fluxbox, as I need nearly none of the gnome features.

[Therac-25]

What I would really like would be a click to enable scrolling, a click to disable. Holding to activate would drive me nuts. I'll have to google around a bit. Also, yes, I'm currently using gnome, but thinking of moving over to fluxbox, as I need nearly none of the gnome features.

I'll investigate the specifics sometime (as I need to fix my "search" key on the mouse), but i meant you should be able to do something like ctrl+meta+somethingorother to scroll up, and ctrl+meta+somethingelse to scroll down.

[Therac-25]

Two modifier keys sounds a bit much.. I also think I'd like to be able to lock it in scroll mode.

I was just making that up as an example.  Assuming this system lets you map arbitrary key commands to arbitrary mouse commands, you could use any keysym -> any button (scroll up and down are typically mouse buttons 4 and 5).

That "lock in scroll mode" should be possible, for varying degrees of "possible".  The challenge with alot of modal stuff like that is making sure you catch the "exit this mode" indicator properly.  It could probably be done at the window manager level fairly easily, depending on your window manager.

I'm going to at least take a look at it tonight to get my middle mouse button generating a mouse event, not a keyboard event.

[bhtooefr]

The challenge with alot of modal stuff like that is making sure you catch the "exit this mode" indicator properly. It could probably be done at the window manager level fairly easily, depending on your window manager.

Or make it modal in hardware, modeless in software. Cherry makes alternate action switches for a reason.

[joqueza]

I thought about that a while back, because I'm really addicted to scrollwheels, hate it when I have to use scrollbars again. This is also a problem with integrated devices. So for example in this ridiculous imaginary version of lowpoly's great mod, scrolling would be Fn + trackball.

Show Image

I also think I'd like to be able to lock it in scroll mode. Here, the blank bottom right key is my Lock key. Locks shift,
Fn, scroll, etc. (whatever modifier it is pressed with).

P.S. Ring finger should be for scrolling AND middle click, like with modern mice. Unfortunately no such original trackman (is there?), but I'm going to try the one with the wheel.

Sorry to ask, but what keyboard is this? The ball in the middle looks very interesting

[bhtooefr]

It's a photoshop of lowpoly's trackpoint mini keyboard.

[cb951303]

For people using Linux: X server lets you define an emulated scroll wheel. If you have a 3 button trackball without a scroll wheel when you setup your X with emulated scroll wheel, you press and hold the middle button and scroll with trackball. Really nice feature. Feels better and faster than normal scroll wheels.

[Biggs]

I was going to buy a wireless mouse to try to see if I like them any better...but couldn't find anything decent that was bluetooth.  I thought the Logitech MX Revolution felt great in my hand...but it requires the use of a USB dongle (which is ridiculous).  

What are everyone's favorite bluetooth-enabled pointing devices??

ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse FTW!

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4407

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNSX23yDZ5s

[zwmalone]

This looks awesome, I love the trackpoint!

My all time favorite pointing device is the sadly discontinued Microsoft Trackball Optical which (again sadly) cannot be had for less than $80

[bytehead]

My all time favorite pointing device is the sadly discontinued Microsoft Trackball Optical which (again sadly) cannot be had for less than $80

Show Image

Wow.  I just picked one up for about $40 off Ebay.  I got it for the wife who is fine with the Logitech version with one exception, she wants the extra buttons.

[huha]

I really like my thinkpad's trackpoint, especially with the quite unpopular soft rim cap. It feels weird at first, but greatly enhances both precision and speed, which is quite important on the 1680x1050 display.
As far as mice go, few things can beat the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 2 (I didn't lilke the Explorer 3).

-huha

[cchan]

I really like my thinkpad's trackpoint, especially with the quite unpopular soft rim cap. It feels weird at first, but greatly enhances both precision and speed, which is quite important on the 1680x1050 display.
As far as mice go, few things can beat the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 2 (I didn't lilke the Explorer 3).

-huha

I like my TrackPoint IV with the normal cats tongue cap. The texture is a bit hard when it's brand new,but it wears down nicely in the first month.

[huha]

I like my TrackPoint IV with the normal cats tongue cap. The texture is a bit hard when it's brand new,but it wears down nicely in the first month.

The cats tongue feels really weird on my Thinkpad (I suppose it's a Trackpoint IV with the Thinkpad being a Z60m), but feels quite well on my Unicomp Endurapro.

-huha

[cchan]

The cats tongue feels really weird on my Thinkpad (I suppose it's a Trackpoint IV with the Thinkpad being a Z60m), but feels quite well on my Unicomp Endurapro.

-huha

I like it on my X60, but it does feel like i hit the cap some when typing. At least more so than the soft cap it came with. But a far more pressing problem is the half-broken spacebar. I need to replace this board because of that damn thing.

[huha]

If it's still under warranty, just call IBM, they'll send you a new keyboard. It can be swapped in a matter of minutes, so that's no big deal.

-huha

[cchan]

If it's still under warranty, just call IBM, they'll send you a new keyboard. It can be swapped in a matter of minutes, so that's no big deal.

-huha

I don't think its under warranty, I picked it up used anyway. A new one is like thirty bucks so that's not a whole lot.

[ch_123]

I never really liked my Kensington Expert Mouse when I first got it. Was going to send it back but never got around to it. However, recently I dusted it off and figured out to use it without causing serious pains in my arm Now I've been using it almost exclusively over the past week.

[CreamyNutButter]

color=orange]Trackpoint?  [/color] PUKE!  That is the absolute worst last resort device.  It is disabled on my Thinkpad and most times, I'll try figuring out the keyboard shortcuts before I enable it.

I also have a ThinkPad and I hate the TrackPoint. It's terrible for gaming and the rubber cap pops off a lot.

[ch_123]

I also have a ThinkPad and I hate the TrackPoint. It's terrible for gaming and the rubber cap pops off a lot.

I'm a massive trackpoint fanboy and I hate them for games too.That said, they're much better than touchpads, and I can use them pretty reliably for FPSs if I have the sensitivity cranked up. But for general purpose use, they're awesome.

[Rajagra]

I also have a ThinkPad and I hate the TrackPoint. It's terrible for gaming and the rubber cap pops off a lot.

Isn't the point of a trackpoint to supplement a mouse? And for emergencies when you don't have one.

I've avoided them in the past, but think I would love one now that I get the idea.

[ch_123]

They're not really an emergency device, they're quite comfortably for things like web browsing. Also the whole idea is that you have quick access to a pointing device while you are typing instead of having to move your hand away to click something.

[DrunkenDonut]

For a lot of these things, implementation is key. I've played around with some really good and really bad trackpoint-like devices as well as trackpads. Both the hardware and software influence how the device feels and tracks. Add inconsistent OS behaviour into the mix and you're in for a ride.

[keyb_gr]

On a Vista-equipped X60t, I preferred the trackpoint to a cheap USB mouse - the latter was too slow even with the speed cranked up all the way. In return there were some aiming problems but I guess a bit more practice would fix that. Don't ask me how that standalone trackpoint mouse was meant to be used though, it makes about zero sense.

Normally I'm quite happy with conventional mice at higher speed setting. Teflon feet sure are handy though.

[CreamyNutButter]

Isn't the point of a trackpoint to supplement a mouse? And for emergencies when you don't have one.

I've avoided them in the past, but think I would love one now that I get the idea.

LOL, actually my trackball turned out to be terrible, yet I turned the sensitivity up and the TrackPoint is an awesome FPS device now.  I was completely wrong and I now love the TrackPoint more than any other pointing device.

[timw4mail]

I like my MX 400 the best, followed by this oversensitive monster:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826193039

As far as trackpads go, I like my MacBook's trackpad above my Eee's...even though they both support gestures.

I don't like trackpoints, or trackballs, though. Too strange for me.

[Hak Foo]

The Rosewill looks very comfortable; I sort of wish I had gotten it in lieu of the G5 (damned non-clicky side buttons)

[timw4mail]

The Rosewill looks very comfortable; I sort of wish I had gotten it in lieu of the G5 (damned non-clicky side buttons)

It is comfortable, just WAY too sensitive.

[afton]

I'm using Evoluent VerticalMouse 3 now which takes time to get used to
but it's convenient and doesn't give me wrist pain after extended time using
it, unlike the standard cheapo mouse.

OrthoMouse is on the way and I will post a comparison review later.

[ch_123]

Ever tried a trackball?

[outofideas]

I used an IE 3.0 for years, but finally decided to try and find something new.

I grabbed a Razer Deathadder and a Logitech G9 thinking I'd use one or the other for gaming, and keep using the IE 3.0 for everything else.   But after getting used to the higher DPI mice, the IE 3.0 felt quite sluggish on the desktop.

Both of the new mice were pretty awesome for gaming, but I couldn't get used to the extra pressure needed to click the middle(scroll wheel) button on the G9, so it got sidelined.   However for text work, I loved the G9's free spinning scroll wheel.  Logitech seems to be the only source of free spinning scroll wheel mice, so I tried a few more of their models.

I used a VX nano for about a month, it is very close to good enough.  The small size didn't bother me at all.  The only issue was the middle button being separate from the scroll wheel.   I banished it to the laptop, where the small size mostly offsets the not quite perfect scroll wheel/middle button.  And of course the nano's "nano" receiver is perfect for a laptop, since you can leave it plugged in 24/7 with no risk of snapping it off.

Then I tried a VX revolution, but it didn't do it for me.  The middle button required too much pressure, though not as much as a G9.  And it just didn't feel as nice to use as the nano.

Then I found a deal on the MX 1100, and gave it a try and I'm very happy with it.  Scroll wheel nirvana at last, free spinning, with the wheel acting as the button, and not being too hard to press.  And a tad more DPI than the nano.



more notes on Logitech mice:

I didn't try a MX revolution since it sounded like it's battery tech just wasn't up to par.  It has a non-replaceable li-ion battery, which sounds like it only lasts a few days.  And like all li-ion batteries dies after 3-5 years.

All the other Logitech wireless mice I tried, use easily replaceable AAs or AAAs, which last for months.  I'm using low self discharge NiMH batteries(Sanyo Eneloops) with them, which easily last 2+ months per charge, and are trivial to swap out with freshly charged batteries when needed.

I sort of looked for a bluetooth mice as well.  But I get a vibe that bluetooth has update rate and/or latency issues inherent in the protocol that make it sub-par for mouse performance.   And that's probably why no "great" bluetooth mice exist.