mice and trackballs and tablets (oh my)...
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
Steve Hazel wrote:
I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs.
And me... There is nothing like a well designed trackball.
Steve Hazel wrote:
I'll probably go out and get a "bamboo fun - small" tablet today just to play with it.
I tried one of those... I couldn't get the hang of it. I kept accidentally dragging stuff and clicking just away from where I actually wanted to click.
*Developer Day Scotland - Free community conference Delegate Registration Open
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
I have a tablet that comes with a pen and a mouse, so when you are not drawing, you can use a mouse as normal.
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
I never liked trackballs, but I can comment on the tablet... The bamboo tablets are really fun to play around with in drawing programs, but I wouldn't suggest them for exclusive use. 1) As you said, unless you type with one hand, you'll be constantly picking it up and putting it down, and that's a lot slower than just taking your hand off the mouse. 2) It takes constant effort to keep the pointer in place (Holding the pen perfectly still), since it tends to move a little when you lift it away from the tablet. 3) Fast clicking is harder, because you actually have to tap the pad, moving most or all of your hand instead of one finger. 4) Right-clicking is a nightmare. To do that, you use a button on the pen itself, and just pushing the button tends to shift your hand, thus moving the cursor. 5) Maybe the expensive tablets have some sort of scroll wheel, but my bamboo doesn't. Even if it did, you'd probably have it on the pen, yielding the same problem as #4. Basically, tablets are designed for drawing... They're great for clicking and dragging, since that's how you "paint" a line in photoshop. They do NOT, however, replace a mouse/trackball. EDIT: This is from experience - I have a bamboo tablet... Just not much artistic talent.
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I have a tablet that comes with a pen and a mouse, so when you are not drawing, you can use a mouse as normal.
so a tablet doesn't replace nothin, just let's you get around the "drawing 2 pixel" frustration, then?
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Steve Hazel wrote:
I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs.
And me... There is nothing like a well designed trackball.
Steve Hazel wrote:
I'll probably go out and get a "bamboo fun - small" tablet today just to play with it.
I tried one of those... I couldn't get the hang of it. I kept accidentally dragging stuff and clicking just away from where I actually wanted to click.
*Developer Day Scotland - Free community conference Delegate Registration Open
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
There is nothing like a well designed trackball.
Which one? :rolleyes: Does it have a decent scroll wheel?
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
Steve Hazel wrote:
I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard.
Maybe you should start with a Microsoft Natural, or even a standard 101 key. That might change your outlook and need for other input devices. :laugh:
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Steve Hazel wrote:
I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard.
Maybe you should start with a Microsoft Natural, or even a standard 101 key. That might change your outlook and need for other input devices. :laugh:
oh i've got a keyboard. Here's an old pic[^] The large plywood platform shown has given way to a smaller one that only covers the right side of my lower piano keyboard. I could cover the complete right half of the piano, so there's enough room. Would just have to rebuild my keyboard shelf thingy. Which is something I'll probably need to do anyway. Another advantage of a trackball is the shelf could incline somewhat steeply if need be. (top 2 keyboard legs could grab onto something, too.) decisions decisions...
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oh i've got a keyboard. Here's an old pic[^] The large plywood platform shown has given way to a smaller one that only covers the right side of my lower piano keyboard. I could cover the complete right half of the piano, so there's enough room. Would just have to rebuild my keyboard shelf thingy. Which is something I'll probably need to do anyway. Another advantage of a trackball is the shelf could incline somewhat steeply if need be. (top 2 keyboard legs could grab onto something, too.) decisions decisions...
Steve Hazel wrote:
oh i've got a keyboard.
I assume so, but I was just joking at your reference to a piano keyboard, as in you using that for typing.
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oh i've got a keyboard. Here's an old pic[^] The large plywood platform shown has given way to a smaller one that only covers the right side of my lower piano keyboard. I could cover the complete right half of the piano, so there's enough room. Would just have to rebuild my keyboard shelf thingy. Which is something I'll probably need to do anyway. Another advantage of a trackball is the shelf could incline somewhat steeply if need be. (top 2 keyboard legs could grab onto something, too.) decisions decisions...
Steve Hazel wrote:
Here's an old pic[^] Seriously, you DON'T want to chop your fingers off building a keyboard stand. Your brain would go on irony overload.
Haha, too true. Good thing I learnt to use a table saw when I was a 'young laaitjie' (wee lad).
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Steve Hazel wrote:
Here's an old pic[^] Seriously, you DON'T want to chop your fingers off building a keyboard stand. Your brain would go on irony overload.
Haha, too true. Good thing I learnt to use a table saw when I was a 'young laaitjie' (wee lad).
Ya gotta admit. Tablesaws are awesome. Dude. Seriously.
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
I am a solid supporter of track balls. But there are good and bad ones. It's been years since I have tried alternatives, because I settled on the big old Kensington track ball and never found anything to match it with the possible exception of a touch pad. The Kensington ball will do the spin motion you like even better than any mouse and the big ball gives you incredible accuracy for positioning. The heavy ball makes it smooth and comfortable to use. Smaller/cheaper trackballs will send you back to a mouse because they are jerky and hard to position. I also like a laptop touchpad primarily because it is intuitive and you keep your hands closer to the keyboard for most activities. I have used tablet pads, but found them a pain because they were so disconnected from the keyboard and require too much motion to achieve the desired result. They may be good for graphics, but not the way I use a computer. Have fun!
Melting Away www.deals-house.com www.innovative--concepts.com
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Steve Hazel wrote:
oh i've got a keyboard.
I assume so, but I was just joking at your reference to a piano keyboard, as in you using that for typing.
Heheh. Ok, I'm followin' ya now. My midi sequencer DOES use the piano keyboard in sort of that manner. In addition to recording notes as usual, the VERY rightmost key is used as a "shift" key to edit stuff. While held down, a little help window pops up telling you what (other) keys do what functions. And, well, those keys DO stuff instead of record stuff while the "shift" note is held down. When released, the help window shuts and you're back to standard recording mode. I'm pretty happy with that :)
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I am a solid supporter of track balls. But there are good and bad ones. It's been years since I have tried alternatives, because I settled on the big old Kensington track ball and never found anything to match it with the possible exception of a touch pad. The Kensington ball will do the spin motion you like even better than any mouse and the big ball gives you incredible accuracy for positioning. The heavy ball makes it smooth and comfortable to use. Smaller/cheaper trackballs will send you back to a mouse because they are jerky and hard to position. I also like a laptop touchpad primarily because it is intuitive and you keep your hands closer to the keyboard for most activities. I have used tablet pads, but found them a pain because they were so disconnected from the keyboard and require too much motion to achieve the desired result. They may be good for graphics, but not the way I use a computer. Have fun!
Melting Away www.deals-house.com www.innovative--concepts.com
Snowman58 wrote:
big old Kensington
Do you mean the "slimblade" one? Or one of the others? (Here's the current kensington[^] lineup)
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Snowman58 wrote:
big old Kensington
Do you mean the "slimblade" one? Or one of the others? (Here's the current kensington[^] lineup)
I use the earlier two button version of the Expert Mouse. I think I have three or four of them around here! The only problem is that they occasionally (every couple years) need a good cleaning. The rollers will collect dirt and fuzz which causes skipping and it will sometimes block the optical pickup. Proper cleaning requires disassembly, but it’s easy. As I said, I have not tried any of the newer ones. I wasted a fair amount of $ trying out less expensive ones and never found one to match the Expert Mouse.
Melting Away www.deals-house.com www.innovative--concepts.com
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I use the earlier two button version of the Expert Mouse. I think I have three or four of them around here! The only problem is that they occasionally (every couple years) need a good cleaning. The rollers will collect dirt and fuzz which causes skipping and it will sometimes block the optical pickup. Proper cleaning requires disassembly, but it’s easy. As I said, I have not tried any of the newer ones. I wasted a fair amount of $ trying out less expensive ones and never found one to match the Expert Mouse.
Melting Away www.deals-house.com www.innovative--concepts.com
Ah, thanks much. I think i read in a review that that thing doesn't work on Vista. That's not a problem for me, though.
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Ah, thanks much. I think i read in a review that that thing doesn't work on Vista. That's not a problem for me, though.
I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. It's possible the Kensington software has not been updated, but I use it with the standard mouse driver. But I have never tried it with Vista, so as broken as Vista is, it's possible that it will not work.
Melting Away www.deals-house.com www.innovative--concepts.com
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
I have the Logitech and I really like it. Large ball, smooth motion, lots of extra button to program
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I have the Logitech and I really like it. Large ball, smooth motion, lots of extra button to program
Hmmm, let's sing that old refrain agin'... :rolleyes: Exactly which Logitech do you have?
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ok, i'm outa work and lookin' for new "experiences"... so i thought i'd start with input devices... I hear people (cough, shog9, cough) swear by trackballs. And I like the idea of a stationary input device that doesn't fry my wrist. But I also REALLY like the whizzin' scroll wheel of my current mouse. here[^] (by whizzin', I mean you start it goin and intertia will keep it goin for a while - like those tops you could stack on top of each other and wrecked hardwood floors when we were kids) I like the whizzin' since you can have your text editor scroll allll the way through a long source file by a "whizz start" and "whizz stop". Instead of "scroll scroll scroll scroll..." I see some trackballs have scrollwheels, but not the whizzin' kind. And it seems wierd to me that a trackball would HAVE a scrollwheel. Wouldn't it make more sense to just use the ball as the scroll wheel? You might have to go into some mode or somethin (yuck). I'm also looking for a device that when you're in a paint program and working with 2 pixels next to each other doesn't make your head esplode coordinating the dang thing. Here are all the trackballs I've found: clearlysuperiortech[^] logitech[^] kensington[^] QTronix[^] trackballworld[^] So far, I'm leaning towards a black "clearlysuperiortech" one. Or maybe the logitech "cordless trackman optical" - but it's not corded and has a bulky comm dock thingy. I don't have much desk space, my keyboard,etc sits on a small wooden platform on top of my piano keyboard. Also, I've
I love my Trackball Explorer[^]s. Unfortunately, they're discontinued and mine are wearing out. I'll end up switching to a Logitech soon, and don't yet know how i'll get along with that... The advantage of the scroll wheel on the TE is that it's under your thumb - you can scroll without repositioning your hand, holding a button, or moving the cursor. You can also click the button (when configured as the "middle" button) and still move the ball with your fingers to pan around in programs that support it. I've had one of those Bamboo tablets for a while. They're very useful for some things (quick and precise annotations) but the tablet is just a bit too small to use comfortably for long tasks.