The ultimate mousetrap. No cheese neccessary
Written: Jul 09 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: no frustrating dirty mouse to deal with, easy to use, reliable, easy to clean
Cons: One step below mental telepathy, "marble" has slight flaw, it's not cordless
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| brucec32's Full Review: Logitech Marble Mouse (904360-0215) Trackball |
Take your standard mouse. Yank it, don't simply disconnect it, YANK it out of your computer. Now. Done? Ok, you can deal with the destroyed serial port later. The principle involved was worth it.
The day of the standard, corded mouse is over. You know, the sweep it over a Ritz cracker-littered mouse pad with a photo of your sister's bratty kids printed on the face, kind of mouse . They're an anachronism. Soon, if you still use a standard mouse, you will be seen as computer illiterate. Or even worse, as the type of person who thinks AOL is a great internet provider, or that Billy Joel is a rock-n-roll singer.
I've been using trackballs for about 5 years now. My early version was clunky and definitely not streamlined, but it worked. Then <sniff>, one day it just died. I got used to using my index and middle finger to move the trackball, and my thumb and ring finger to click the buttons, so I went with this Logitech Marble mouse, because it mimiced the setup with which I was familiar. They also make versions where you use your thumb to roll the trackball, and your index and middle finger to push the bottons. I've read that kind is good, but takes time to get used to, so I went with the old reliable method.
The Logitech Marble mouse works just fine. It uses a ball with a printed set of dots on it and a laser to read them, so you don't have to mess with dirty rollers and contacts. If it does get dirty, you just pop the ball out (no, it won't fall out on its own) and clean it.
Clicks are easy and smooth, and setup consisted of simply plugging it in. It comes with both a P/S 2 and serial adaptor, so you can use it on any computer. There is no included (or needed) software, but you can download software from their website to give it a degree of programability.
Ergonomics are good, with your hand resting on the top of the sleek unit, your wrist straight as it should be.
I paid only about $20 for the mouse, new, on Ebay, so I can't vouch for their current market price. I do know that they are priced much lower than logitech's latest series of ergonomic trackballs.
The trackball works smoothly. One tiny flaw in the ball(that may be why it was for sale on Ebay) causes an almost imperceptible bump in the rolling movement, but it's not a big problem. It's a tad more touchy than my older trackball, but can be adjusted for sensitivity via Win 95/98, and, with practice, it soon becomes almost a part of your body, grasshopper. Be the ball, see the ball, buy the ball.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
brucec32
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Bruce C
Location: Atlanta, GA
Reviews written: 131
Trusted by: 72 members
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