September 4, 2006
NOW THE OTHER BROTHER JUST HAS TO EXPLAIN THE WHEELS & STUFF:
Computer mice just keep on getting better (Craig Crossman, 9/04/06, McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
The computer mouse has seen many technological improvements, but I maintain there are three that stand out.• The first was the use of light to replace the clumsy little rubber ball that would deposit dirt and other matter into the friction wheels so that they would eventually stick and cause your cursor to move erratically on the screen.
The first optical mouse required a grid mouse pad, but thankfully today's models work on most any desktop, and the better ones use lasers for more accurate tracking on a variety of surfaces.
• The second significant advancement was losing its tail. While corded mice still exist, the cordless ones offer the best mousing experience.
• The third was the addition of more than one button. Today, the two-button mouse is pretty much the standard, with Apple Computer ironically being the last one to embrace it. Today's mice come with all kinds of buttons in different places, doing all sorts of things, many of them user-definable.
Finally, the scroll wheel was added. Usually positioned between the two buttons, you can roll it to scroll the contents of any open window up and down.
Logitech has taken all of these milestones and improved on them even more in its newest mouse, but it has also come up with what I believe is a revolution in this new computer mouse's scroll wheel. It's SmartShift Technology, and you can find it as well as the other good things in the Logitech MX Revolution mouse (www.logitech.com, $99.99).
As a Mac user, with the exception of a mouse at work that we mostly used along with proprietary software, I'd pretty much never used anything but a one-button mouse. But we recently got a new Mac laptop and the adapter on the mouse from our old one was so bent I couldn't use it, so when Logitech asked us try out their VX Revolution cordless laser mouse it seemed like a no lose proposition--if I didn't like it we were just going to buy another one anyway. Well, we won't need one. This thing is great.
There's just a tiny adapter that fits in the laptop's usb port and then the mouse itself is quite sensibly designed. The design is quite sensible with the entire pad where you place your fingers being the button and various controls and toggles for scrolling through documents easily accessible. I'm not even sure what they all do, but it performs typical tasks admirably.
My one complaint is that it didn't come with the drivers for a Mac (the cd includes only Windows software) and they weren't easy to find at the company's site. However, tech support emailed me the address from which to download the software within 24 hours and we were off and running.
The Mac mouse is a dog.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at September 4, 2006 10:14 AMI hvae two essential buttons on the side of my 5-yr old pc mouse -- one goes back a page, and one goes forward a page.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at September 4, 2006 11:16 AMTrackpads and trackballs are better. But the worst devices are those humped keyboards that are so big they require a separate desk to support them.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at September 4, 2006 11:25 AMI use a Logitech wireless USB mouse w/my laptop. It's far and away the best accessory I've bought to use with the laptop.
Posted by: Pete at September 4, 2006 11:31 AMAfter a touch pad, mice seem like lumberinng relics.
Posted by: erp at September 4, 2006 11:34 AMWe switched most of our office computer system over from PCs to Mac just after OSX came out, and while none of the staff had much trouble adjusting to the Unix-based layout, they went into open rebellion over those gawdawful one-button mice that came with the G4, G5 and eMac hardware.
I ended up have to go out and get a bunch of Logitech two-button mice to replace the Apple mice, which I believe are now stuffed in a box somewhere. However, when I'd mention this from time to time to some of the long-standing Mac afficianadoes -- at least those who are overly-defensive about any innovation on a PC being better than the ideas Mr. Jobs and his fellows came up with -- their attutide was "We can do the same things with our one-button mouse as any two-button one can. All you have to do is hold down the 'shift' key." Well, yea, but isn't it easier just to do everything with one hand instead of with two?
(As for the cordless mice, I opted against those, since we have about 6-7 kids under the age of 10 whose parents work at the office and who are allowed to use a vacant computer to go to the Disney of Nickelodeon websites if they have to hang around after school or day care. No telling where those mice would end up if they weren't tethered to the computer by the USB plug.)
Posted by: John at September 4, 2006 12:05 PM100 bucks for a mouse is way too much. Try Microsoft's wireless laser mouse. It has 3 buttons and one wheel. You can program the buttons. As long as it touches a surface, wherever the surface is, it works. You can use it on your bed, on the floor, on your tummy, or even on your head. It's light and just fits in your palm. It costs 30-65 bucks in Costco. Mine costed less than $30 when it was on sale somewhere on the web. For some reason Wal-Mart doesn't carry it. Turn off the "battery is low" warning when you use the mouse, there's plenty of battery life left when the warning comes on.
Posted by: ic at September 4, 2006 1:47 PMThis is the first time I've ever disagreed with erp. I use a WACOM touch pad which is unsurpassed for creating graphics (it even includes a wireless mouse), but I still use a standard mouse for web surfing, word processing and spreadsheets. It's just much easier and more efficient.
Posted by: David Rothman at September 4, 2006 1:54 PMDavid, I think you may have the same problem as my husband. Your hand is too big for the small touchpad. Being petite has its advantages.
I may also be using a particularly good product, Synaptics Touchpad V5.1. It's the only one I've ever used so I have nothing to compare it to, but I use Excel a lot (we run a small accounting practice) and after disabling all the "helpful" built-in formats and setting up the files to suit our needs, I can do almost anything (except typing) with one hand. Other programs and surfing ditto.
This is the first time you've ever disagreed with me? Wow, just how tall are you and where were you when I got married ?????
I prefer trackballs, but have trouble finding them to suit my large hands - currently I'm using a Microsoft "Explorer" Trackball which I quite like.
Also, like all right-thinking people I use an IBM Model M keyboard; they haven't been manufactured as such for about 10 years, but are nigh-indestructable and widely available as surplus. Failing that modern replicas are available, but will run around $100, for those requiring USB keyboards...
Posted by: Mike Earl at September 5, 2006 12:34 AMMike Earl: I glad there is someone else as deadender as I am. I have 3 of the Model M's which I salvaged mucho years ago, They are indeed indestructable and have the best "touch" of any keyboard I've used. (I also use a Logitech 3 button PC mouse with a cord and no fancy scrolling wheels or other doodads.)
Posted by: jd watson at September 5, 2006 1:03 AMYep, I have a Model M stockpile too! Used Model M's were pretty affordable last I checked, but there's also a company that makes new equivalents: http://www.pckeyboard.com/adobepage.html
Posted by: Guy T. at September 5, 2006 9:03 AM