Look, Ma! No Wires! A loving look at the Microsoft 3000 Mouse for Notebooks
Written: Aug 09 '09 (Updated Aug 09 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Works as well as a wired optical mouse; nice design; ambidextrous mouse
Cons: None. (See review for important info on how to save battery life)
The Bottom Line: If you find using your notebook's touchpad to be somewhat vexing, this nifty wireless mouse allows you to use your laptop just as easily as you would a desktop computer!
alexdg1's Full Review: Microsoft 3000 Mouse (BX3-00035)
Even though most notebook computers produced nowadays come with a touchpad (also sometimes called "mousepad") that allows users to replicate traditional PC desktop and/or laptop mice, I suspected that it would be more practical to order a wireless optical mouse along with my Compaq Presario CQ 60-410US when I purchased my first laptop about a week and a half ago from Amazon.
Because the shipping speeds of the three notebook computer-related items varied, I actually received my Microsoft 3000 Wireless Mouse last, which gave me a chance to determine if I could get by without a mouse and just rely solely on the computer's touchpad.
To be sure, for people with really great dexterity and/or a limited available work surface, a mouse is not really necessary when using a notebook computer similar to mine. All one needs to do is move one's fingertip gently on the touchpad along X-Y-Z axis and the onscreen cursor will move just as it would with a mouse, and the "mouse" buttons on the bottom of the touchpad will replicate the functions of the mouse buttons one uses to "left click" and "double click" on Web pages, games, word processors, and all the things people need mice and similar devices for.
Of course, having the notebook "in hand" (as it were), I wasn't going to wait till the mouse arrived; I'm not the most patient person in the world, and I figured that if I didn't need a mouse right away, why not give the notebook's touchpad a try?
This I did, and I managed to learn how to use it well enough not to screw anything up. I was able to input my password (to log on to Windows), open apps, install programs, browse the Web and even show Mom (who never ventures into my office) the start sequence of Sid Meier's Civilization IV.
However, since I've been using mice (both the hated trackball types and the nicer optical ones) since I learned to use PCs in the 1990s, I knew that for certain things (such as actually playing Sid Meier's Civilization IV or editing copy on Movie Magic Screenwriter 6), using the touchpad would be difficult and sometimes tedious.
So, after a day's pause from using the notebook (I have yet to use it for anything beyond brief Web browsing sessions and chatting on MSN Messenger), I decided to try out the Microsoft 3000 Mouse.
Basic Features: (From the Package)
Designed for Comfort - Designed by ergonomic experts for comfort in either hand.
Snap-In Receiver: Use the snap-in receiver to turn off the mouse and save battery life.
Microsft High Definition Optical Technology: Microsoft High Definition Optical mouse products are more precise, more responsive, and deliver smoother tracking
My Experiences: Though I had a tough time opening the plastic bubblepack package the Mouse 3000 is encased with (I thought I was going to need a tactical nuke to do so), setting it up was not difficult at all.
First, I pressed a button on the rear of the mouse and opened the battery compartment. I carefully inserted a single AA Duracell battery (included with the mouse), then closed the compartment. Presto! The red "activated" light came on, which told me that the mouse was ready to go.
I then took the Snap-In receiver device which gives the mouse its signals and (again) carefully inserted it into one of my notebook's USB ports.
Finally, I turned on the computer, and (after it booted up) with moving the mouse around the tabletop with my left hand, I watched the familiar arrow shaped cursor moving across the screen in matching moves.
I then used my notebook to browse the Internet for a bit: I checked my e-mail account on AOL, played Mafia Wars on Facebook for a bit, then tested the mouse to open my Screenwriter program to see if it could do so. It did, but because it was just a test run and I had no screenplay files to work on in the laptop, I closed the program.
Because the Microsoft 3000 optical mouse has the same dimensions as my wired optical mouse, I found that it fits my hand nicely and works just like the one I'm using now on my desktop Compaq Presario. It has the same layout (two buttons on either side and a wheel in the middle for scrolling and other functions) as the wired mouse, but there are no wires to worry about or limit my hand motions.
The Microsoft 3000 is also ambidextrous in design, which means you can use it with either hand rather than have to go to Windows and set it up for either lefties or righties.
There are, of course, several things to remember. First, it does run on a battery which Microsoft says will last over six months if used normally, but it stays on unless you insert the USB snap-in receiver into a nook in the mouse's underside to turn it off.
Second, since you have to remove the receiver from the notebook after every use, you need to remember to reconnect it to the USB port before you boot up the notebook. I tried doing it the other way this morning and it simply doesn't work that way. You need to connect it to the computer so the mouse starts receiving input from the notebook when you turn it on; otherwise the mouse will not respond to any movement or click commands.
My mouse, according to the package, is designed to work with various versions of Windows (Vista, Windows XP/Windows 2000/ME/98, as well as some versions of Apple's Macintosh Mac OS X v 10.2 -10.4; it doesn't support earlier versions of the latter operating system, though.
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