I actually prefer the older-style Trackman Marble (and Marble Wheel). But, in general, thumb trackballing is very nice. Not sure I'll ever get used to this SlimBlade (but I want to give it a good couple of months to see how I adjust)
Congrats Lal on converting, may the trackball gods bless you and your's :)
This thread makes me emotional. I used to swear by the Trackman Marble Plus. Zealously when the Trackman Wheel replaced it. Then one day several years ago a friend with my same conviction gave the Wheel a whirl and invited me to try it out - and yep, 1. too small and 2. buttons too damn close together - but the trackball mount had been improved and I envied the smoother ball movement, particularly because it lessened the amount you needed to spin the ball to move the cursor with the same speed and acceleration settings, but I couldn't get over the size and shape of the thing and stuck with my Marble Plus for another year. Then my job took me on the road and I needed another trackman to make working in hotels a bit easier, so I broke down and got the Wheel since the Marble was no longer available. Took a hell of a long time to stop clicking buttons accidentally due to squeezing my fingers so close together, but the smoother trackball movement eventually converted me.
I still have the Marble Plus in good working order that I mess with from time to time, but it might go up in the marketplace someday when I'm ready to part with it.
haha. that's the problem with being on a forum like this, there is a lot of pressure to keep buying stuff and trying stuff.
I have been resisting the desire to try out a trackball as well.
You could always put it up on eBay again if you don't like it.
I just thought about one possible problem though. It needs very extreme pointer sensitivity settings to be usable. With the standard setting I need to turn the ball like a dozen times to move the pointer from one side of the screen to the other (24"). In Windows I need to nearly max out the sensitivity slider in order to get along with just a single turn of the ball for a complete screen sweep. With this setting the trackball is very nice to use but it would probably render any mouse unusable that happens to be connected at the same time. As I'm using the trackball exclusively this doesn't bother me.
As for the trackball, by all means give it a go. Just realize that it will take a week or so to get used to it. Once you dial it in though you may not go back to a regular mouse.
Someone on another forum recommended this trackball mouse (http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html). It looks interesting in concept but seems rather expensive considering it's simplicity. I know that Kensington makes some very good products but I probably wouldn't want to purchase this without trying it first.
Someone on another forum recommended this trackball mouse (http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html). It looks interesting in concept but seems rather expensive considering it's simplicity. I know that Kensington makes some very good products but I probably wouldn't want to purchase this without trying it first.
Yea I keep thinking I should get one of those and try it out. I have used them on other peoples computers but you really can't evaluate a Track ball that way.
Yeah, and I really don't like touching other people's input devices. :)
EDIT: Wait. I just re-read what I wrote, and it's kinda gross. My statement still stands, however. ;)
Someone on another forum recommended this trackball mouse (http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html). It looks interesting in concept but seems rather expensive considering it's simplicity. I know that Kensington makes some very good products but I probably wouldn't want to purchase this without trying it first.
Yea I know what you mean but some times when you are helping someone you just have to do the driving. Which means you have to touch there input device :)
EDIT: I'll let you figure out what I mean :)
I've got one of these. It's alright. I got used to it pretty quickly. However, I find it uncomfortable to use without without the included wrist rest. The ball sits too high up from the desk, which means that I have to tilt my hand upwards. The wrist rest fixes that, but it also spoils the look of the device and adds clutter to my desk.
What mouse do you use?
I use the kensington expert and kensington orbit. Till recently, I used the G5 for gaming.
After searching for the Orbit, it looks interesting and it's certainly affordable. If I can find a good deal on one, I might try one to see how it feels.
The Kensington Expert actually looks like it might be quicker and easier to master, but I probably won't be buying one to find out.
I've been using the Logitech G9 and it's been working quite well. I never could get used to the Dry Touch grip technology on the G5, so gave up on it.
lol, the kensington expert is not a casual purchase. You really have to like track balls to get that one. Having said that, they are quite nice. The large ball has got to be the smoothest scrolling I have ever used.
So the ball itself is larger in the Expert? It's hard to tell anything from the photos.
All you IBM Model M users should love this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TrackBall-PRO-by-CH-Products-FREE-ship-w-BIN_W0QQitemZ350187513095QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item350187513095&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50 (http://cgi.ebay.com/TrackBall-PRO-by-CH-Products-FREE-ship-w-BIN_W0QQitemZ350187513095QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item350187513095&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50)
I'd call it the IBM Model M of the trackball world. It's built like a tank. For more details see the Black Unicomp thread in the mods section.
The ball is a true billiard ball size and weight. When bored I pop it open and stick a new ball in. I'll post some pics soon.
Personally I can't stand them (my wife likes it) but it is fun to idly spin this sucker. And it doesn't go popping out all the time like the Kensington's.
- Ripster
P.S. I think I paid $17 when I bought mine on Ebay - it was so covered in smokey grime it looked like it came from a Poker bar.
Thanks for that... it seems reasonable that a larger ball would give more accuracy and control, so I'll keep that in mind before going for either of them.
This is it.Show Image(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=912&stc=1&d=1239075697)
You're thinking of the "Orb of Ecstasy". The trackball of the future.
- Ripster
Oh, don't try and shut down this thread. I wanna keep it going just so I can keep making fun of you trackball guys.
Head over to :http://WWW.TRACKBALLWORLD.COM
A FREE telescoping backscratcher with every order (caution, be careful to not scratch your balls with this).
Here's another that looks to be "Billiard Ball Compatible" with a 2.25" diameter (the magic number for US balls - I'm talking pool here).
http://www.trackballworld.com/40-155.html (http://www.trackballworld.com/40-155.html)
- Ripster:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
It actually kinda is. I started reading "The History of the Trackball" before I stopped myself and thought:
"wait a second, I don't really LIKE trackballs".
- Ripster
Trackballs are an acquired taste, no doubt. And its ok to laugh at them : )
The problem is that once you get acquainted with them it is really hard to go back to a mouse :) I don't even own a mouse any more all I have are Trackballs.
If I ever tried a trackball, I know I would want a big one. The Trackball PRO looks pretty cool, but the serial could be an issue. The Kensington Expert looks good as well, but, as said, neither of those are casual purchases. For now, I'm going to stick with my regular mice.The VX Revolution is my favourite mouse, but I still prefer the Logitech Marble Mouse trackball.
I want to look into the Logitech VX Revolution. I tried one of the Logitech mice in Best Buy that was built like that one, and I have to say that the buttons were a little weird for me since they are one piece that just bends down. I prefer the traditional kind where the buttons are separate pieces of plastic. The bending of the Logitech buttons just felt weird.
Especially useful for overweight hackers.
Well, I can still use a mouse when I need to but yes, its trackballs all the way. I can see where a gamer would have a problem though, but for everything else I use a trackball.
I think I am starting to repeat myself here : P
I will stop now.
bigpook
Trackballs work for gamers:Show Image(http://www.aldissandmore.com/images/centipede_arcade_game.png)
Missle Command is classic; one of my favorite games of all time. My dad was nuts playing Centipede, though.
I had both on the original Atari 2600 in all of its luxurious wood grain glory.
I went ahead and ordered the Kensington Expert (http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html) so we'll see how that goes when it arrives in a few days. I'll sell it here, or on eBay if it turns out that I don't like it.
Thanks to all for the suggestions.
lol, the kensington expert is not a casual purchase. You really have to like track balls to get that one. Having said that, they are quite nice. The large ball has got to be the smoothest scrolling I have ever used.
Just curious, bigpook... did you have to remap your buttons on the Expert for operation under Linux, or did it work out of the box?
Yeah, I saw that auction, but I wouldn't want to mess with a serial port.Isn't the serial port mouse scan rate 30Hz, as opposed to USB 120Hz?
Out of the box the left/right bottom and scroll ring worked.
I used the left/right top in firefox where the top left was universal scroll and the top right was go back a page.
I can see where a gamer would have a problem though
Really not as much as you think. Moving your wrist and clicking is no more accurate than moving a ball once you get familiar with it, and have used it for a while. I generally find my ability to "snipe" in fps's much better, because I can click a button, and all the while being sure I will never move my cursor (I usually had a hard time with this by 'twitch' shooting and moving my mouse all over the place. Coupled with the ability to go from one side of the screen to the other with ease, and still keeping the sensitivity on my mouse really low, I'd have to say I'm happier with the change. This was so long ago, I can hardly remember how it was on a mouse. (This is speaking with a thumb trackball). I will say that switching is definitely daunting...but it's paid off 10 fold in the end. You might finding yourself favoring a trackball once you can "spin" the ball freely and get your cursor from point A to point B without having to pick up your mouse, or without having to turn the sensitivity up high. I guess it's different strokes for different folks, but I'm a huge fan :D
Pook, you just need a PS3 trackball...
http://ps3maven.com/wireless-keyboard-with-trackball-for-ps3/ (http://ps3maven.com/wireless-keyboard-with-trackball-for-ps3/)Show Image(http://ps3maven.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ps3-death-1.jpg)
Sorry, couldn't resist. This is the thread that will not die....
- Ripster
I've garnered a great deal of information from this thread as well, and just a few weeks back, I'd never have thought I'd be interested in trackball devices.
Regarding the ball moving around in the socket, I've noticed the same happens with my (wired) Logitech Trackman Wheel Mouse, and it irritates me slightly.
Hey, the Kensington Expert arrived today, and just like you guys said, it truly is HUGE! :)
Anyway, it seems very usable, and adaption seems much easier than it is with the thumb manipulated trackball, at least for me. The scroll ring is easier to use than I'd thought it would be as well, except that the movement doesn't feel all that smooth. Perhaps that gets better with some time for break-in. The ball itself glides very smoothly.
Yes, just from my limited use I'd say that the scroll wheel is the weakest link, although like you say, it does get the job done. Too bad it doesn't turn as smoothly as the ball glides.