Trackball to complement my HHKB

[tomten_alle]

Hello,
This is my first post here, so I will try to behave.

I have recently bought a HHKB Pro 2, witch is awesome. However now my Mx Revolution looks out of place! It is shiny and not at all geeky! I think trackballs are a elegant way of interacting with computers, but since many trackballs (read Kensington) has bazilions of features most trackballs are not as elegant as they should be.

Since trackballs should improve accuracy, I think I need a optical/laser trackball. Also I dislike everything wireless, running out of battery sucks! What alternatives are there? Is CST the only alternative?

In short what, is there a ultra minimalist optical/laser trackball?

[fossala]

I have a slimblade and find it very nice to use, I use it along side a kinesis.

[tomten_alle]

I have a slimblade and find it very nice to use, I use it along side a kinesis.

Does the Slimblade require drivers? How does the twist motion for scrolling work, is it a natural motion or does it feel awkward?

[oneproduct]

Wireless trackballs should be pretty good on battery life. The Logitech M570 claims that it can run for 3 years on one battery. I've had mine for about a year now and the battery it came with is still good.

Not sure what you mean by minimalist, but here's the more common options:
Kensington Slimblade: 4 buttons, scroll by twisting ball, $80
CST L-Trac X: 3 buttons, flywheel, can add custom buttons, $160
Logitech M570 Wireless: 5 buttons, wireless, right-handed only, thumb ball rather than finger ball (these are harder to be precise with), $60
Kensington Orbit Wireless Mobile Trackball: 2 buttons, touch surface to scroll, finger ball, $40
Logitech Marble Mouse: 4 buttons, no scroll, $20

Does the Slimblade require drivers? How does the twist motion for scrolling work, is it a natural motion or does it feel awkward?

You need the software they provide to get the 3rd and 4th buttons to work. Scrolling is incredibly natural, but you want to "pivot" instead of twist. You can see in the video review I did here: http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:25064

[fossala]

Does the Slimblade require drivers? How does the twist motion for scrolling work, is it a natural motion or does it feel awkward?

It took a couple of days to get used to but after that it is fine, I only use my thumb to "twist" the ball so my hand doesn't move from the normal position. The scrolling is hardware based so drivers are not needed but I think there are some available on mac and windows to change the buttons (I use linux so wouldn't know how good they are). If mine where to break I wouldn't think about getting another one.

[tomten_alle]

You need the software they provide to get the 3rd and 4th buttons to work. Scrolling is incredibly natural, but you want to "pivot" instead of twist. You can see in the video review I did here...

Great video!
The scrolling of the Slimblade looks very nice, though having a 2560*1440 display the resolution of the trackball is insufficient. Which on do you find yourself using more?

It took a couple of days to get used to but after that it is fine, I only use my thumb to "twist" the ball so my hand doesn't move from the normal position ... The scrolling is hardware based so drivers are not needed ...

Another point to the Slimblade.

[fossala]

My resolution is 3360x1050 (Dual monitor) and it is fine. Also in Linux you don't need any drivers.

[oneproduct]

I own all the ones I listed before and the slimblade is my favorite. I have to use pointer acceleration in Windows to make the slimblade not feel too slow though. With it it's fine. Gamers don't like that but if you are a serious gamer then you won't be using a trackball. Artists also don't like it either but if you are doing art you want low DPI. I don't really feel that the Ltrac's high DPI is all that useful.

[tomten_alle]

My resolution is 3360x1050 (Dual monitor) and it is fine. Also in Linux you don't need any drivers.

I use a Mac, it appears drivers are not an issue.

I own all the ones I listed before and the slimblade is my favorite. I have to use pointer acceleration in Windows to make the slimblade not feel too slow though. With it it's fine. Gamers don't like that but if you are a serious gamer then you won't be using a trackball. Artists also don't like it either but if you are doing art you want low DPI. I don't really feel that the Ltrac's high DPI is all that useful.

Great, now I really can not decide!

This is a hard decision, trackballs are expensive.

Scoreboard:
CST: Resolution, ergonomics (except for scrolling)
Slimblade: Scrolling, availability

[oneproduct]

If you do decide on the Ltrac, I could sell you mine for $95 plus shipping which would probably be a fair amount cheaper than buying a new one. I'm not sure how much shipping to Sweden would cost, but I'll check if you are interested.

[tomten_alle]

If you do decide on the Ltrac, I could sell you mine for $95 plus shipping which would probably be a fair amount cheaper than buying a new one. I'm not sure how much shipping to Sweden would cost, but I'll check if you are interested.

I am not ready to buy one yet, thanks for the offer!

Is the CH DT225 an alternative? I can not seem to find any information wether it is optical or mechanical.

[czarek]

DT225 is an awesome thing. Until you get the big monitor at least. With 24" I could use it but just barely. On 30" it is real pain...
KEM does the job though. I believe CST would be great too, but for me deal breaker is the fact that it has only 3 buttons and if you want more you have to stick some external ones. It's good for some but I find it less elegant than having all buttons integrated.

[tomten_alle]

DT225 is an awesome thing. Until you get the big monitor at least. With 24" I could use it but just barely. On 30" it is real pain...
KEM does the job though. I believe CST would be great too, but for me deal breaker is the fact that it has only 3 buttons and if you want more you have to stick some external ones. It's good for some but I find it less elegant than having all buttons integrated.

I think if software require more than 3-mouse buttons, it is not worth using. Mouse/trackball for me is a pointing device, two or three buttons are convenient; more buttons and its purpuse is less clear. For me elegant pointing devices are just pointing devices, thusly I subject to you argument.
Really I think only one mouse button is required, right click and so on can easily be controlled through the keyboard.

Though, I guess I can rule out the DT225 also.

Perhaps I must build myself a custom trackball. Is there any ball assembly (with ball assembly I mean Ball, bearing and sensor) I can buy and build a case for?

[RTbar]

right click, left click, browser back and browser forward is a pretty common arrangement which requires 4 buttons... and right clicking on a link, to open in a new window or tab, would be a pain to do each time with the keyboard

[tomten_alle]

right click, left click, browser back and browser forward is a pretty common arrangement which requires 4 buttons... and right clicking on a link, to open in a new window or tab, would be a pain to do each time with the keyboard

Yes, you do have a point. I still don`t find extra buttons elegant. It is a preference I suppose. This is off topic however.

[javifast]

Logitech M570 here and very happy with it so far.

[czarek]

Yes, you do have a point. I still don`t find extra buttons elegant. It is a preference I suppose. This is off topic however.

For me button 3 is Mission Control and button 4 is Launchpad (I use those 2 for running and switching between open apps) but it's just personal preference. I could use keyboard for that but why if it could be done with a pointing device?

[burlburrbrian]

Aesthetically speaking, which trackballs would you guys recommend to match a white HHKB? From what I've seen, it looks like either a DT225, an Ltrac-X, or a white Kensington Expert Mouse would match the HHKB vibe.

[tomten_alle]

Aesthetically speaking, which trackballs would you guys recommend to match a white HHKB? From what I've seen, it looks like either a DT225, an Ltrac-X, or a white Kensington Expert Mouse would match the HHKB vibe.

Perhaps the DT225, both have that retro look.

Sooner or later I will get an L-trax and that is final.

[pitashen]

Perhaps I must build myself a custom trackball.

make sure you do show us the finish product!