Did Well for about 3 months ****updated July 28, 2001***
Written: Jan 27 '01 (Updated Feb 13 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use, fun, takes up less space.
Cons: After 3 months, the cursor was unresponsive and it needed cleaning nearly every day.
The Bottom Line: Did well for about 3 months, then the tracking got bad. daily cleanings helped a little but were not enough. I got rid of it.
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| Saxguy's Full Review: |
Update
I stared having trouble with the units after 3 months. The cursor was not as responsive to movements of the ball, necessitating daily cleaning of the ball. Even with the daily cleanings, it still didn't track all that well.
Anyhow, I got an optical Logitech mouse on Ebay and I am going to use that now. I do not recommend this unit. I will leave the former epinion shown below, for purpose of reference.
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I recently needed a new mouse because my son permanently borrowed my Logitech trackball. He liked it better than the mouse that Dell included in his system package. So, he followed his long-standing tradition of the in-home upgrade (headphones, boom boxes, shelf systems), and I was left with my semi-functional Gateway mouse.
I enjoy buying nice things for my son, even when they’re mine first. I can share.... I just wish I’d get some warning!(g)
Anyhow, when the Office Depot nearby announced a going out of business sale, I figured it was time to get another trackball. Trackballs function like mice. The difference is that the trackball unit stays put and the user moves the cursor by rolling the little ball that is inside the trackball unit. The Kensington Orbit and the Logitech each have 2 buttons on either side of the ball. The advantages of the trackball are that it takes up less room on the desktop because no movement is necessary. Also, I prefer rolling a ball with my fingertips as compared to dragging a
mouse across the pad.
I chose the Kensington unit because it was a little less expensive than the Logitech and because I have previously had good experiences with Kensington products.
I bought it for $22, reflecting a liquidation discount of 10%, and had it hooked up in less than 10 minutes once I got home. I had my choice of a standard (serial) interface or a USB interface. I chose the USB because I had an available slot on my desktop. I kept the included adapter, in case I get more USB devices and have to plug the trackball into the mouse slot.
There was no included software - it has to be downloaded from the internet. That was no problem for me and the download and installation was quick and easy. I did notice that the version of the software that was for the USB interface was not as new a version as the one for the serial interface. So far, I’ve observed no problem at all with functionality.
The only customizing I’ve done was to install the Comet Cursor program and choose the Peanuts character, Woodstock to replace the standard arrow.
I have not needed to clean the mouse, but it’s easily done by removing the trackball, which is easier than a standard mouse. I was always taking apart the Gateway and cleaning it to try to get it to work.
I consider myself to have average to low-average dexterity and have had no trouble at all using trackballs. Now, as for dragging mice across pads and pulling at the cords to get that extra fraction of an inch - now THAT is annoying.
So, I’d recommend that any computer user consider a trackball, but I do not recommend the Kensington Orbit Trackball.
Thanks for reading. God bless!
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