trackballs

[sam113101]

are trackballs nice for big screen resolutions*?
are trackballs nice in general*?

I've never used one but the fact that it stays in place and you don't have to move it up and down like a regular mouse makes me want to have one

are they accurate*?
do they move the cursor fast when you want it to move fast, and is it precise when you want it to be*?

trackball users, why do you like it so much*?
what trackball should I buy, I don't want it to be too expensive
and where should I buy it

[Morning Song]

Unfortunately, all the realy nice trackballs are on the very pricey side. (Kensington's, CST, CH DT225).

Second... well, there's a learning curve. You use different hand movements for a trackball than you do with a mouse (and even different motions depending on whether it's a thumb, index finger, or whole-palm type trackball). So you won't feel at home right away... it will almost certainly be a week or so before you really adjust.

But! Once you get there, you'll find that they cango between being ery precise and very fast. Especially the large whole-palm trackballs, i've found--since you can "spin" the ball with your hand to move the cursor all the way across the screen, or use a couple fingertips to roll it in much smaller increments.

Personally, it's hard to pin down exactly why i like using a trackball. (Kensington Expert Mouse 7 in my case). I think it's a combination of not having to worry about the edge of my mousepad or running over the cord, the freedom to use various different hand movements and grips depending on the situation, and the fact that i dont have to do anything special to hold it tight in place if i'm making a pixel-perfect click.

[NamelessPFG]

The one thing that has kept me from switching to trackballs is that the cursor handles very differently from a conventional mouse.

I'm used to getting the pointer more or less in the general area I want with a quick single movement, all in a split second. Necessary if you want to survive in a typical FPS. With a trackball, you have to let the ball's inertia carry the cursor to its destination, which for me took about a second or more with acceleration off (and I can't stand mouse acceleration except on trackpads, where it's a necessary evil due to their small size and general lack of TrackPoints on systems that have them). I just couldn't get used to that and sold my CH DT225 USB as a result.

The other issue was lack of buttons. I could've set up a Control Manager script with chorded button commands (making buttons 3 and 4 shift keys of sorts), but my G500's 7 discrete buttons and tilting scroll wheel have just spoiled me too much. Sometimes, I don't even find that enough.

They do require much less physical area to operate, though, which would be useful for cramped desks and the like.

I second the tip about rolling with the whole palm for large increments and using fingertips for precision work. Much, much easier that way. (But for me, fingertipping a trackball still doesn't feel quite like a conventional mouse, and thus I'm not as precise with it.) Of course, this doesn't apply to thumb-operated trackballs like a few models Logitech makes. Had to use one of those and just couldn't adapt, especially since the rest of my fingers being on two buttons and a scroll wheel tends to put me instinctively into conventional mouse mode.

Ultimately, it's a personal preference thing. You may like it, you may not like it, but either way, it'll take some adaptation.

(And just for the heck of it, I've thought a few times about getting an arcade-grade 3" trackball, surrounding it with arcade-grade buttons and a Tempest-esque spinner for the scroll wheel, and making a trackball mouse out of that for general use and MAME alike, though the cost would likely be prohibitive...)

[Voixdelion]

I love my Kensington Expert so much I started hoarding them and bought four used on ebay plus one NIB.  I have the version 5 (without the scroll wheel) but I preferred it to the newer ones because of the larger size of the ball (2.25 as opposed to 2") and the smoothness of the spin on the opto-mechanical bearings (where it rides on bearings that trrack X,Y axis by optical read of the markings on the bearing as opposed to on the ball itself)  The newer ones felt sort of gritty or scratchy by comparison and I can use custom pool balls for that personal touch since they are standard size.  I find that my trackball is more precise than a mouse, but I am not gaming with it, so I don't pay much attention to fps issues.  The other reason I like it is because it is much less expensive in terms of desk real-estate; significant for me especially since I can't deal without the numpad on the keyboard.  I do keep my optical wireless mouse around to switch things up from time to time, but primarily I really like the fact that I can mouse on ANY surface with the trackball because it is reading position internally.  I found this very noticeable on larger screens where I often found myself having to "row row row my mouse" when I met the end of the available surface area or my own reach before meeting the necessary distance I wanted the cursor to travel.  I liked the difference immediately, though I find it much less enjoyable/comfortable using the devices with smaller diameter spheres because I do have long hands and using the tips of my fingers on the little ones gets tiring more quickly for me. (I do, however, prefer a tiny trackball to a touchpad or pointing stick any day.)  I often long for my Expert mouse (or even the Orbit of either the optical or mechanical variety) when I am trying to use my mom's ibook since she has no proper table set up within ethernet cord reach of the modem...