Author Topic: Looking to get a trackpad or trackball (Read 5203 times)

YetAnotherDeveloper · « **on:** Sun, 27 February 2011, 18:27:54 »

In the past few weeks i have been having some pain in my pointer finger (first joint) on my mouse hand. I have been looking to use something during the day or at least while not gaming. I code almost all of the time i'm not gaming so i would need it to work well for that primarily.

i have looked at a few trackballs and they all seem good; the slimblade is cheap and easily purchased. I have also been looking at the apple magic trackpad.

any suggestion or feedback?

pitashen · « **Reply #1 on:** Sun, 27 February 2011, 21:22:27 »

Slimblade doesn't have good reviews overall. Altho I don't personally have any experience with it.
I have used Track Man (worn out and discontinued), Trackball Marble (still in service), and now the M570. They're all pretty good.

Trackball Marble: Finger based with big trackball, which gives you really smooth and precise control once you get the hang of it. However, I really wish they could somehow integrate scroll wheel into it similar to that of Cordless Trackman Optical (Not so good review and old wireless technology).

Trackman/M570: Thumb based with smaller ball. Still work pretty good once u get the hang of it, but your thumb would be quite stressed under long period of use (but nothing like smashing D-pad on ur Playstation game pad all day long though). You do get to have a more standard button layout and additional 2 programable buttons with M570.

Touch pad: My experience with touch pad is limited to the WACOM version but then it can't be too different as far as usability is concerned. Simply put, touch pad isn't ergonomic at all IMO for extensive use. You will still end up with a lot of wrist movements and the one I used also put quite a it of strain on fingers for some reason...

If you dislike Logitech and would really like to go for Kensington, skip the slimblade (i know it looks slick) and go for the Expert Mouse. Solid reviews as far as my knowledge goes.

hcry4 · « **Reply #2 on:** Mon, 28 February 2011, 00:33:11 »

A vote for m570.

Surly73 · « **Reply #3 on:** Mon, 28 February 2011, 07:09:31 »

I have a pair of work/home Kensington Expert Mouse track balls for just this reason - pain in the knuckle of my LMB finger.

You'll need to be careful about your selection. Lots of what people call "trackballs" still require the left index finger for LMB. I also passed on the Slimblade due to poor reviews at the time and just went with the ExpertMouse. The EM scroll wheel works very well and the buttons are in comfortable locations for me.

YetAnotherDeveloper · « **Reply #4 on:** Mon, 28 February 2011, 07:18:54 »

Quote from: hcry4;302023

A vote for m570.

yeah i think that main things that I'm trying to avoid is clicking with my index/pointer finger.

YetAnotherDeveloper · « **Reply #5 on:** Mon, 28 February 2011, 07:20:10 »

Quote from: Surly73;302085

I have a pair of work/home Kensington Expert Mouse track balls for just this reason - pain in the knuckle of my LMB finger.

You'll need to be careful about your selection. Lots of what people call "trackballs" still require the left index finger for LMB. I also passed on the Slimblade due to poor reviews at the time and just went with the ExpertMouse. The EM scroll wheel works very well and the buttons are in comfortable locations for me.

Yeah, i have read most some of the bad reviews but most seem to be based on the software which has been updated.

Surly73 · « **Reply #6 on:** Mon, 28 February 2011, 09:28:31 »

Quote from: ripster;302118

The Kensington has small balls.

I want my balls bigger and lower. Just like the ones directly below my keyboard.

CST LaserTrac

I've seen a lot of good press about those, but I wonder if they don't have enough button below the ball to be used by people specifically trying to stop clicking with their index fingers. I haven't used a CST L-Trac personally, so I'm not sure from the pictures. The Expert Mouse has significant button area coverage for the thumb with its diamond shaped buttons. Oh, it has a big ball too... And a better scrolling option, IMO, just because you have to reach over top of the L-Trac ball to scroll.

bigpook · « **Reply #7 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 04:58:03 »

Yeah, but removing the magnet does help though. Still not as smooth as it should be.
For that, there is the slimblade. Left/Right mouse button can be clicked with the pinky and thumb giving the index finger a break.
I have both the expert and the slimblade and prefer the slimblade.

YetAnotherDeveloper · « **Reply #8 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 07:31:47 »

Quote from: bigpook;302634

Yeah, but removing the magnet does help though. Still not as smooth as it should be.
For that, there is the slimblade. Left/Right mouse button can be clicked with the pinky and thumb giving the index finger a break.
I have both the expert and the slimblade and prefer the slimblade.

Yeah i just ordered both the slimblade and the expert mouse. my money is on the slimblade.

Surly73 · « **Reply #9 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 07:44:40 »

Quote from: ripster;302501

I've got one of those too. I don't like the scratchy scroll wheel even after I did this mod.

I totally agree the scroll wheel/dial could be better engineered with a smoother feeling. It's functionality is great, but could be implemented better.

What exactly is the mod? Link?

roadblock2thesun · « **Reply #10 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 18:41:35 »

this may not affect you but there are no win xp 64 drivers for the expert mouse. This has caused me a huge headache at work... didn't even think to check before buying.

Surly73 · « **Reply #11 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 20:06:24 »

Quote from: ripster;302729

The orange text (dark theme) is a link.

I have no idea how I missed that - temporary colour blindness.... *sigh* Time for bed, I've been next thing to falling asleep since noon. Thx

Surly73 · « **Reply #12 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 20:08:35 »

Quote from: roadblock2thesun;303126

this may not affect you but there are no win xp 64 drivers for the expert mouse. This has caused me a huge headache at work... didn't even think to check before buying.

I've used the EM under x64 windows without an issue.

Now, that being said, I haven't tried to load the Kensington software since XP days. Regular Vista/7 mouse drivers let me do all the button mapping I need since I have no interest in chords.

Also note that (finally) Mouseworks has been replaced with TrackballWorks, which specifically lists x64 support. I still haven't found a need to install it.

http://us.kensington.com/html/1466.html#trackballworks_win

YetAnotherDeveloper · « **Reply #13 on:** Tue, 01 March 2011, 21:17:15 »

I just got the slimblade in the mail; i'm new to the trackball thing so i'm trying to get used to it. I do like it and the software is great, i really like how you can assign button combinations to other functions/key commands.

As for the quality, its really nice. The buttons do stick a little but they already seem to be getting better; I guess its just because its new and what-not.

Surly73 · « **Reply #14 on:** Wed, 02 March 2011, 07:10:41 »

Quote from: YetAnotherDeveloper;303202

I just got the slimblade in the mail; i'm new to the trackball thing so i'm trying to get used to it. I do like it and the software is great, i really like how you can assign button combinations to other functions/key commands.

It takes a while to get used to it. Even given many hours I've never become as good with precise actions as I am with the mouse. When precision is required, suddenly my time to execute will increase 10x over using the mouse. Since I was only using a trackball for RSI relief and not personal preference over a mouse, I always left a mouse hooked up and nearby. I'd still switch to it for precise operations and then move back to the trackball for the coarse activities.

YetAnotherDeveloper · « **Reply #15 on:** Wed, 02 March 2011, 08:18:13 »

Quote from: ripster;303131

Win7 64bit is safe.

yeah i'm using it on win7 64bit and the software works great. so far i have no issues with drivers/software from kensington. I do think i have a damaged mouse though, it seems that one of the "bearings" is pushed in just a tiny bit and when moving the ball that direction it drag on the plastic. It almost not noticeable but still enough for me want a replacement. I have already requested an RMA and will just replace it for a new one.

sadbox · « **Reply #16 on:** Wed, 02 March 2011, 18:41:27 »

Quote from: Surly73;303357

It takes a while to get used to it. Even given many hours I've never become as good with precise actions as I am with the mouse. When precision is required, suddenly my time to execute will increase 10x over using the mouse. Since I was only using a trackball for RSI relief and not personal preference over a mouse, I always left a mouse hooked up and nearby. I'd still switch to it for precise operations and then move back to the trackball for the coarse activities.

It does take a while. The only way that I could finally kick my mouse habit was to use my trackball and ONLY my trackball. You just tend to get better at it over time.

Surly73 · « **Reply #17 on:** Thu, 03 March 2011, 07:58:36 »

Quote from: blue6249;303786

It does take a while. The only way that I could finally kick my mouse habit was to use my trackball and ONLY my trackball. You just tend to get better at it over time.

Been there, done that, still didn't work. For me I ended up with no option but to keep a mouse nearby, or live with taking forever to do some things. For precision I'm talking about selecting partial words/numbers out of a string, working with a very dense spreadsheet zoomed out, some Visio operations like multi-selecting and moving, picking proper spreadsheet ranges for manipulation and that sort of things. Browsing, launching, general desktop use and Photoshop weren't a problem. My trackball proficiency grew and then plateaued at a level which remained below mouse ability for some actions. C'est la vie...

It was enough of a difference that when the RSI cleared up and stayed away the EMs went back in their boxes and I switched back to mice 100%.

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Author Topic: Looking to get a trackpad or trackball (Read 5203 times)