Where have all the trackballs gone!

[Josh]

Heh, I say them to be creepy. It makes for interesting conversation. Mouser will tell you that IRL I am meek as a kitten ;-)

And yes, I know that comment will come back to haunt me.

[Edvard]

...
I always loved the feel of those big trackballs that the arcade games (like Asteroids) used, and I've seen them occasionally on TV (science/computer-type topics) but never knew where to buy them.
...

-TRDaggett (November 07, 2010, 10:58 PM)

Muahahaha...


Also:
http://www.xgaming.c...-trackball-assembly/
http://www.happcontr...kballs_amusement.htm
http://www.ultimarc.com/trackball.html

[TRDaggett]

Muahahaha...

-Edvard (February 11, 2011, 10:11 PM)

That's^ one I'm definitely going to look seriously at.
BTW, as I looked at the image [above] I realized that when I wrote "Asteroids" I should have said "Centipede".
The big heavy ball was perfect for controlling the cursor, and combined with my cat-like reflexes I was a formidable
Centipede killer..... at least that's how I remember it.

[mouser]

new good review of logitech m570:
http://www.everythin...trackball-20971.html

[Deozaan]

I've been using the Logitech M570 for about 4 months now and I really like it.

That review says it may be hard to find the mouse buttons with your fingers. I personally have not had this problem. It's very easy to locate the position of the buttons. The left mouse button is on the left of the scroll wheel, and the right mouse button is on the right of the scroll wheel. I don't see how that can be hard or confusing.

My biggest problem with the mouse is that after a few days the ball feels like it starts to drag and doesn't slide around as smoothly. This is because, as stated in the review, the casters have collected dust and grime. It is indeed very simple to pop out the ball and clean, nonetheless, the frequency in which I have to do this is a bit annoying.

As a gamer, I do occasionally have problems with games being less sensitive to the mouse than Windows is. In other words, it takes more effort to move the mouse around in games than in Windows. But most modern games allow you to adjust the mouse sensitivity in the options so this isn't that big of a problem. Also the Logitech SetPoint Software has a Gaming Mode detection that is pretty good at alleviating this. (I just realized I didn't have this enabled.)

The battery does indeed last a long time. As I said, I've been using it for about 4 months now and the indicator says I still have about 81 days left of juice. I think it is advertised to last up to 18 months. But I'm probably above average when it comes to time spent using the PC. I wish it had a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery inside it like my Logitech K800 keyboard, but I guess I won't mind having to change the battery approximately every 6-7 months. My previous wireless mouse (Logitech Laser MX-1000 IIRC) did have an internal rechargeable battery that needed to be charged every few days and worse: it had to stand on a dock to charge, so it couldn't be used while charging. So this is still a big improvement.

No need for a mouse pad. No need for space to move the mouse around in. In fact, the mouse doesn't even need to be on a flat surface. If I have it plugged into my netbook on the go, I can simply rest the mouse on my knee or a couch cushion or wherever is handy. I've actually used it vertically, perched against my chest (with my hand "over my heart" as if honoring the flag) because there was nowhere else handy for it to go.

It's great. I love it. I would recommend it to just about anyone.

[justice]

Except if you're lefthanded 

[Josh]

Except if you're lefthanded 

-justice (June 18, 2011, 08:24 AM)

But who suffers from that problem? ;-)

[Ath]

But who suffers from that problem?

-Josh (June 18, 2011, 08:28 AM)

About 10% of the world's population is left-handed (source^w) but that doesn't mean they suffer from it

[Josh]

But who suffers from that problem?

-Josh (June 18, 2011, 08:28 AM)

About 10% of the world's population is left-handed (source^w) but that doesn't mean they suffer from it

-Ath (June 18, 2011, 08:33 AM)

If you cut it off, then you learn to become right handed by necessity Worked for me!

[Ath]

then you learn to become right handed by necessity

-Josh (June 18, 2011, 08:35 AM)

I added a second mouse to my PC's (work and home) and placed it on the left side of my keyboard (I'm normally right-handed) to relieve the strain/pain in my right arm in a busy period at work. It took a few weeks to get used to, but I'm still using it as an extra mouse or when my right-hand wireless mouse's batteries are empty. And the occasional visitor at my desk sits on my left side, so they can use it to point out or assist with something, if needed.

If you cut it off... <clipped> Worked for me!

-Josh (June 18, 2011, 08:35 AM)

Hm, I'm not sure if I would want to take that sacrifice

[ewemoa]

I'm still using a Kensington Expert Mouse (haven't figured out why its named that when it's a trackball...) and it seems to work ok in both left- and right-handed configurations.  From a balance perspective, somehow it seems to make sense to me for the pointing device to be on the left side as most (?) keyboards that have a numeric keypad have that on the right side.

(As a former Thinkpad user, I'm fine for some kind of pointing device to be in the middle of my keyboard, but the skin on my fingers doesn't seem to agree with me on this matter.)

[dyiosah88]

Yah me too, I really like using trackball, I wish manufacturer release a new line of it.