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New Joystick Style Ergo Mouse
Mr_Perl writes "For those of us who love to use a mouse to play games, except for the wrist pain after too much of it, 3M has come up with a joystick-mouse type thing that is in my opinion very comfortable to use." I'd love to try one of these out. Not available yet tho. update my bad, it is out. Now I gotta find one.
I can't remember who made it, but I distinctly remember owning a mouse like this.
It was mostly likely one of those really cheaply made jobbies, but if I recall it was awful experience. I never got the pinpoint accuracy I could with a regular mouse.
Next we'll have complete dashboards with dozens of controls for gamers, copied directly from fighter jet's cockpit...
Next thing we see cockpits will start copying their joysticks from the gaming industry...
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
Anir has been manufacturing these for a while.
http://www.animax.no/anirmousepro.html
War is one of the most horrible things a human can be exposed to. And one of the worlds largest industries.
A few colleagues (sp?) of mine have this thing, some love it, some loath it, what you miss most is the third mouse button.
Someone I worked with over the summer was using one of these, and, yes, I believe it was from 3M.
He really loved it. He had been having a lot of pain while mousing, and it was gone.
My roommate bought one because it was different, but it's not as easy to use as you'd figure. To get an idea, try writing with a pen like you did when you were in kindergarten (thumb on top).
Incidentally, shortly afterward, it became apparent that I tend to use my fingertips to control a regular mouse with greater precision. Perhaps you may find the same thing.
"They said I probly shouldn't fly with just one eye," "I am Bender. Please insert girder."
It's a shame it isn't an optical mouse, I doubt I'm the only one who hates the 'jumping' effect of ball mice when they get a little dust in them.
I would have thought smooth running would have been essential for game players
It looks like they listened to someone who studied ergonomics.. i would like one of those not just for games. In my daily work i am getting more and more stress on my wrist of my rightarm.
Mostly because of a non-ergonomical keyboard and of course to much working using a mouse..
So a mouse like this might help a little to relieve my wrist in daily operational work as well as my gaming evenings (strategy games are very heavy mouse controlled games..)
But i will have to wait and see.. some of the remedies for RSI were actually contributing to the situation or creating new situations alltogether.
Looks like a pain for those of us who are left handed.
Steve.
I keep wondering why anyone would introduce a new high-end mouse with a ball. The new breed of track-on-any-surface opticals are far superior to anything mechanical, especially if you work in a dirty (or dusty, or cat-infested) environment.
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
Huh? Not available yet? The article says available form 4th quarter 2000. My sister has been using one of these for several months, as she had to leave her cold fusion programming job 'caus of a severe autonomic nerve condition that developed from computer related RSI. she finds this 3M device to be good, in conjunction with Dragon Naturally Speaking to avoid using the keyboard.
Its not really that joystick like though since it is the whole base that moves.
The reason it is better for RSI is that the thumb nerves are supposed to be far less fragile
My co-worker had one for several months, he got it around a year ago. I'm not sure who made it, though.
Using a mouse has several distinct advantages in gaming. One of which is a nasty little response time that can be accomplished by simply "flicking" your wrist. This becomes an invaluable skill in fast-paced, high action games (Q3). With the Renaissance Mouse, your wrist becomes immobile so the mouse movement will be dictated by moving your arm.
I understand that immobilization the wrist will combat wrist pain, but there will be significant gaming trade-offs... Most hard core gamers I know would rather deal with wrist pain than become considerably slower at their favorite games.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." - Jack Nicholson
Why isn't it available yet, CmdrTaco? Don't you read your own linked pages ? there it says:
Compatible with PC's, Macintosh, and iMac computers with USB ports. PC's- operate using WIN 95, 98 and NT4.0. Win 2000 available 4th quarter 2000. Macintosh/iMac/iBook-operate using Apple O/S 8.1 or higher with USB upgrades. Plug and play only, no software.So it should be available for more than 9 months. Also look for the Where to buy button at the bottom of the page.
... whenever a text is transmitted, variation occurs. This is because human beings are careless, fallible, and occasiona
from Misco (http://www.misco.ca) for $94.95 and is available in 2 sizes.
:)
- No I dont work there, I just have a catalog in front of me.
An optimist believes we live in the best world possible; a pessimist fears this is true.
I surely won't buy one of those, looks rather big an what's that nonsense with "moving the whole base"? I'd prefer a more joystick-like handling, push up, cursor moves up, without moving the base.
C. M. Burns
...only right-handed people get wrist problems or want nice mice. This has been an annoyance to me for quite a while. While I can use the mouse on the right side, it feels more comforatble for me to use it on the left. I cannot find even one nice, three button wheel mouse designed specifically for lefties and yet I find scads of nice ones for righties. I am so tired of this (admittedly minor) discrimination and it's not even just WRT mice. I see it with other products too, but mice seem to hit closest to home.
Everyone needs to make a conscious effort to finding a mouse and mouse usage technique that minimizes the effort and stress on their body.
How I avoid pain when using mice:
Find a mouse that you can move with your fingers alone.
I use the Logitech Mouseman 3-button mouse at work and at home. I grip the mouse body between my thumb and my last two fingers. Usually, my pinky is actually touching the mousepad, and my wrist is resting on the desk. As a result, the majority of my hand and arm never move.
I can move the mouse from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen by simply ensuring my pinky is anchored on the mousepand and flexing my thumb. And I'm usually off a straight vertical from where I started (judging by window borders) by fewer than 10 pixels.
Finally, turn mouse acceleration/speed way up. Smaller movements yield the cross-screen movement I need.
Finding a mouse that requires fingers only and finding the techniques to use with that shape of mouse are the keys in my mind.
I haven't used it, but I suspect I'd really dislike this joystick mouse....way to much muscle required.
My fingers are agile, I'll let them do the walking.
I remember exploring new mice when they first came out. I have handheld rollarball, 2 handed rollarball, the first touch panel mice for your PC (the ones that are on some laptops now).
:oD
I had 2 joystick mice, one was the regular joystick size, the other was handheld joystick, one that you operated with your thumb.
All this on my 486DX66....
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This doesn't look comfortable at all. Movement would seem to require moving your whole arm. I haven't used one, but it looks like it would be really clunky to use.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
I almost bought a similar mouse a year ago (I forget who made it) but they aren't actually that nice to use. The design makes you use your whole arm to move instead of your wrist, and you lose the fine level of control that your wrist gives you. The result is that motion is pretty clumsy and inaccurate with this kind of design.
- Russ
As other people have said, this product has been available for quite a while. Here's one link (first four entries are the mouse from the article):
U
http://www.cdw.com/shop/search/results.asp?grp=MO
We've had this availble in the UK since around the end of 1999! A couple of people where I work have had it and we also certainly didn't get it from 3M!
Although it's a little weird at first and you look at it and can't imagine how it could be comfortable. It is acutally quite nice to use. But unlike a mouse which you can use standing, this is pretty useless if you doing anything but sitting.
The mouse mentioned in the article is called "the RenMouse".
Does anybody else feel the need to protect his new mouse with a rubber walrus protector?
Of course, when it stops working you can always shout "YOU BLOATED SACK OF PROTOPLASM!" at it.
I also suppose they will be bringing out the StimpyPedals as an accessory.
www.eFax.com are spammers
I've had a couple of these for over two years now; I like them ok. The top rocker switch is flimsy and tends to break. They were nice enought to send me a replacement, which also broke. I fixed both of them with some scrap plastic and epoxy (and a hacksaw!), and they've been fine since. I think they are better than regular mice, but my thumb still gets a little sore sometimes with heavy use. I'd like to remap the third button (on the side of the joystick part) to be the left click, but that doesn't seem to be possible with the supplied drivers. Also, my girlfriend hates it and can't get used to it.
Coworkers tried it out, theyre ordering them now. ALL wrist sorness and tiredness went away. I love it. Its awkward for the first day or two till you get the hang of it, but its perfect after that.
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
i know people have been saying they've seen these from other manufacturers, but i have seen this very model from 3M before. They had it at Software Etc. (or Babages, i forget which, they're owned by the same company) in the Springfield Mall in Springfield, VA. This was back in April/May.
..looking at the pics, reading text phrases like "Available in two sizes - small/medium or large - for optimal ergonomic fit" and the "Vertical Grips"-bla etc., i thought you link to some kind of pr0n-Shop
;)
Looks more comfortable than a mouse but I think I'd prefer trigger buttons instead of a thumb control. It's just too awkward. Even in games, nobody maps the thumb buttons to the most actively used action control. I'd suggest that going vertically down the front of the joystick would be: trigger - scroll wheel - trigger. One control for each finger.
I'm sure 3M was making a mouse exactly like this one that was on the .au market years ago.
Try moving your mouse around by resting your semi closed hand on it. Notice how much more effort that is required and what an uncomfortable method this would be. I don't move my mouse with my arm, I flick it around the entire screen, and have done so for more than 10 years starting with the original MS mouse (the pregnant ergo MS mouse is horrible for this though, the bump gets in the way), with three fingers moving with my wrist stationary on the mouse pad.
This 3M joy-mouse is not even optical! I rather love my Logitech Optical Mouseman Wheel, I don't even wish it were a wireless one, as I have the mouse cable, cable-tied with enough slack in a loop, to my keyboard cable where it enters the keyboard case, this way, it never gets caught or drags on anything (on a keyboard/mouse slide drawer). It may as well be wireless, since the days of feeling the cable rub and catch on things are gone.
I only wish it had a much higher sampling rate, so as to avoid what seems to be phasing effects that cause the opposite movement of what is done, when moved quickly and suddenly. It anoys me in Starcraft games sometimes!
War crimes, torture, lies, illegal spying... Would someone give Bush a blowjob, already, so he can be impeached?
Well, from the looks of it, it doesn't look very accurate.
Personally, when i used a joystick, i hold it very very low to the base, so my wrist rests on the table (such as in arcade games, and such). This allows for smaller movements, though restricts larger movements, but since its a joy stick, it doesn't have larger movements.
This stick, seems like you are pushing the mouse around with this stick... and with the button on top, it looks like your riding higher, losing the accuracy of riding lower on a normal mouse.
It also seems that you might need to use the whole arm or part of it to move, rather than just small movements from the wrist up.
Personally i use my Logitech Mouseman+ Wheel Ball Mouse, and i have no problems with my wrist, as i try to keep the entire arm (up to the elbows) as straight as i can.
And didn't like it at all! The problem is the weight of the hand rests on top of the mouse. In order to move it even on a good mousepad, you need to apply a lot of force. This makes precision clicking much harder to do than with the usual wrist-action mouse. Several other people at the same company tried it too and didn't like it.
:P
And that's so old tech too, it was available last year.
The best mouse wristwise that I've found is the tiny small model from Logitech.
"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
Worst mouse ever? Microsoft's intellimouse. I'd rather use a Mac mouse (okay, maybe not from the imacs).
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
They've had these for quite a while... not that new i don't think... but i guess they'd be fun to try at least...
I tried a similar mouse at least 2 years ago, but didn't like it.
I've used on of those made by 3M. a few users at our site are using them as we speak. As I couldnt stand it and have to bring my own mouse with me everytime I go to work on one of those system. I'm not sure how many ppl will like it.. Very hard to get used it.. and took some of our users a very long time. but one you go there.. you'll never beable to go back.. kinda like Mico$oft if you ask me.
PC's- operate using WIN 95, 98 and NT4.0. Win 2000 available 4th quarter 2000.
2000?
no linux?
well people eventually get things working under linux anyway... (just add 2 more quarters...)
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Can't see how that's gonna work for gaming, moving your whole arm is much less accurate and slower than just twitching your wrist and fingers alittle, of course I'm talking about Q3 and CS, where speed and accuracy is everything... well I actually wouldn't recomend that thing for any games I can think of atm, if they make a vibrating version you can allways give it to your gf when you go away for the weekend though :P
What's all the fuss about? Turkeys? They're just fat bastard chickens!
get a trackball if you are worried about RSI
These mice are sold over here for years now. They are quite different and not really comfortable to use as it might seems. I think the best way to describe the discomfort is: It's like trying to play a flight simulator with a mouse.
I got one when I was having problems with wrist pain at work in '99, and it worked a treat. My one was branded as an 'Anir'; I gather 3M are marketing them now, hence the appearence of being 'new'.
:-). I use 'MouseMan' and Emulate3Buttons.
:-)
:-)
While a lot of so called RSI symptoms are typically stress related (and I've experienced plenty of that) I was finding that moving my wrist left and right on an ordinary mouse eventually became fatiguing and painful. I never do that with this mouse, and I use my thumb for left and right clicking, which is also good. So good in fact, that when I started using a regular mouse on my home machine, the pain came back, so I got one for home, too.
The good stuff:
- It's fairly easy to get use to. I have no patience, even for MS natural keyboards, but I was into this mouse in a few hours. Your bandwidth may vary...
- They come in left and right versions in a few different sizes.
- All three buttons work in X
Cavaets:
- No roller button thingy. Never used one anyway, but they're pretty cool and I'd like one.
- No wireless optical. I can dream, can't I?
- They're not too good to use if you're standing. I use a regular mouse when I'm noodling around with playlists at parties.
- They're not too good for gaming, but only because the mounting that holds the left/right mouse buttons can break under abuse. In my case this was a particularly, uh, 'exciting' moment playing Theif. I fixed it with 24hour araldite and a bit of metal tube from a hobby store, but it's never been quite the same since. Being 'ergonomic' it cost me 5 times as much as a regular one, so I'm reluctant to throw it out and get a new one just yet
Overall, it's definitely the least worst piece of ergonomic equipment I've bought.
*puts on pr0n goggles*.. eww! that looks gross! where'dja get that, from smutsticks dot com or what? yeah, this isn't the first time someone comes up with an exciting new toy and names it innocently like "shampoo bottle" or "electric massager". oh, it's ergonomical allright.. or should I say organomical?
Microsoft Intellimouse Optical
HardwareZone did a review of this a couple of days ago. They weren't too happy about it.
Their study states "There was, however, a slight difference in movement times with the new design about 16 hundredths of a second slower. "
160 ms! Slight?
I just tested my stimulus-response time (visual cue until key press). In ten trials, my average reaction time was 261 ms. That 160 ms represents a very dramatic slowdown.
I doubt my r/t is very special. I imagine a die-hard gamer would be faster than me, either through training or innate ability.
If this mouse-stick really makes the user 160ms slower, it will be way too slow for many types of games, regardless of any ergonomic benefits it may have.
You can never equivocate too much.
There's litterally hundreds of pointing-type devices out there, many to reduce repetitive stress injuries.
:)
However, what I think would be REALLY nice is not to use your hands for pointing at all, but what you're already pointing at your target with: your eyes.
I've seen on T.V. already examples of how one's eye movements can be tracked on a screen (usually done for marketing research in comercials, to track what a viewer responds to). Now, if you could incorporate this into a monitor somehow, instead of dragging the pointer across the screen using your hand, simply look where you want, then use some other method, say speech, to control clicking.
This would be really nice, especially in say, games. ahh the headshots...
IAN
I believe that what many of us may be remebering is teh gravis mousestick for the Macintosh. If not, how is this different, other than the obvious PC support?
Why buy this when there's a hacking solution to the problem? I thought of this years ago.
Case in point: I was suffering from a case of RSI some years ago (before I figured out how the height of my chair and mousepad affected my wrists). My wrists were killing me every time I reached for the mouse.
The solution? A 50-line program written in C that (in Windows, sorry - my OS of choice at the time) polled my joystick, and translated its commands to the mouse pointer. Button 1 became 'click'. Button 2 became the left mouse button, and I linked Button 3 to 'double click'. Took me about an hour to whip up the program, and then I used it for about a month before my injury subsided and I was able to buy a better chair and adjust my desk height properly. It worked well, and it didn't cost me anything other than a smidge of time.
It made everything feel like a video game, though, so that was a bit weird. I've probably still got the program in my archives, but I'm at work and the file's at home somewhere.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
My right shoulder hurts from mouse use. Does anyone know of a good way to cure this?
Thanks.
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
I think we all know what that wrist pain is realllllllllly from
Anyone else remember the Windows 3.1 software that let you use a joystick as a mouse?
How is this different?
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
I have seen these before made by logitech at an assurence firm. People there knew about RSI claims ;-)
/Dread
It is in essence a frozen in one position joystick, with a regular mouseball below.
It was used by an employee to relieve stress from the wrist joint as it required movement of the _arm_ joints (elbow and/or shoulder) to move the whole thing.
He claimed it did not slow him down, or was less precise then regular mouses, although I would not want to play Counterstrike with it. I do believe his claims for less wrist pain.
fwiw
Reg
Personally I don't get any wrist pain from using a mouse, and I have the pointlessly heavy Intellimouse explorer!
I would have thought that keeping your hand in the air would cause more overall arm pain?
I worked with CAD users and when I upgraded there machines many had this mouse and did not want the SUN mouse that came with the new machines.. Not sure who made them though
CS majors, we are the geeks that run it all. Without us things die.
I recall a lab one time that had a computer or two that had handicapped access (Colo. State Univ) computers.
For people with fine motor skill impairments (various reasons, MS being one of them...multiple sclerosis, not microsoft) there was a similar setup to what was described above. A thrustmaster joystick was setup (they have the best scripting s/w joystick wise because it "emulates keyboard inputs".
To whatever mouse/key clicks were used most.
you have to realize this is best that a TM joystick was used because you can control the "dead zone" and the movement requires some force (compared to average sticks..sidewinder et al).
A buddy of mine's wife bought him one (flight-sim-aholic dude) and he commented that "it was a really 'stiff stick'...but what do you expect from a company called "Thrust Master"?".
Heh, still cracks me up.
Moose
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
You can get it at microwarehouse...
So, yes, it is shipping now... contrary to popular belief...
BlackNova Traders
What I really love about this mouse/joystick is that my high anal dexterity allows me to both browse for porn and use it as a dildo at the same time.
Yours,
Jon Katz
Comfortable for only *right-handed* people!!!!
I remember that Gravis had a joystick mouse a bit like this a few years ago.
Speaking of gravis, I still have my original gamepad sitting next to my box. Don't use it much now, but it's cool to have a gamepad for a pc developed when the best had to play was cga/ega games. Still, Commander Keen was cool... I'll try to check those old floppies and play it again.
These have been around for ages, check out:
i ce
http://www.backcare.co.uk/browse/ErgOffDeskProd/M
I have tried it, its just a new flavor in the same old tired mouse design.
I have a few different mice, If I use one for a long time I start getting sick of it. Maybe the shape isn't quite right? but its this way with all my mice plain and ergo!
No 2 people's hands are the same right? Your hand is always moving, when you lock it into a certain position it will always feel uncomfortable after a while.
I am wondering, is there an adjustable mouse out there. One that you can move and tweek to your liking. I think this would be a really interesting device.
2 cents are better than no sense.
Combine with a pair of one-handed keyboards like the BAT and you are well on your way to increased productivity with vastly lower stress on your wrists and arms.
Burris
One must wonder if stuff like this is designed to get rid of all the old non-optical mouse equipment lying around in the warehouse.
It's not bad. Sure, it's something to get used to. Your hand has essentially been trained to move a mouse in the same plane as the palm of your hand, and in this case you are moving the mouse at 90 degrees to what your hand thinks is natural. Give it some time, and in about 15 minutes I was quite at ease with the new mouse. You stop noticing it.
Yes, you can sometimes have trouble moving the mouse if you allow your hand to press hard down against the "bottom" of the "joystick". If you do that, the mouse will stick some and is hard to move. But that would be the same with a conventional mouse if you pressed down really hard. Most people use a conventional mouse with the ball of their hand on the tabletop, and they move the mouse with their fingertips (not a lot of downward pressure there.) The key here is that you have to re-learn how to move the mouse.
My biggest adjustment to the new mouse was not trying to break the thing in half. The first thing that went through my mind when I gripped it was "joystick.. I should be able to tilt it to move things." So in the first 5 minutes in using the vertical design, I almost snapped the handle off because I was trying to "bank" the handle to move the mouse. When instead I should have just moved the mouse.
Actually, I managed to break one of those back in 1996, the handle suddenly popped off. Not a huge loss, I always hated that thing anyway. Just couldn't get used to having to use my entire arm to move the mouse pointer. Looks kinda cool, but it is a really bad idea :-(
This type of mouse has been on the market for quite some time time now. Stangely, I have only seen women using these and women say these mouses are a lot more comfortable to use.
This is however what I've observed. Have anyone else observed this???
#find
This is news? The Anir Vertical Mouse has been around for years.
I own both both a Mac version and a PC version and they now have a USB version available. They come in 3 sizes for both left and right-handed people.
My experience has been that it Really does help with carpal tunnel problems. However it requires that your desk be at the proper height - otherwise you end up trasferring some of the strain to your shoulder.
My experience is that it is a bit more difficult to use on the PC than the Mac due to the PC's lack of speed sensitivity. Likewise, the vertical mouse is not the greatest for Gaming.
Nevertheless, its a great alternative to living with a painful disability.
I used one of these this summer at work. It was, in fact, from 3m, and it was called the Renaissance mouse. Dude, the things sucks. It tips forward when you move forward quickly, and it is very awkward, your elbows start to hurt at the end of the day because you cant rest your arm on anything. You have to have your whole right arm in the air everytime you use it.
here is the url:http://www.elfa.se/elfa/produkter/se/20/201936 2.htm
A guy from work had one of these last year, and now mr bubble boy thinks it's something new?! /. slowly getting closer to top of the list of Lamest Sites.
The journey is better then the end.
By looking at the picture, it seems that :-)
this joystick can be used for all these 3 purposes
(at the same time)
You're an idiot. These things have been out for ages. Why can't slashdot get thier shit together and find REAL news?
That mouse looks painful to use...
;) Still, I think I might be better off than many touch typers who are often straining their fingers to reach the keys. I know I can type for several hours at a time with no noticeable discomfort. Mousing is what causes me the most trouble, and it's usually pretty minor and comes after many hours of computer use.
I play a lot of games in my spare time. My favorites are NASCAR Heat and various FPS mods. Being poor, I have no steering wheel, so I use a Sidewider Precision Pro for Heat, and I use my trusty Kensington optical mouse for FPS. I can tell you that, after playing Heat for two hours with a Sidewinder, my hand, wrist, and arm hurt a *hell* of a lot worse than they do after two hours of Quake or UT. Most of the strain comes from keeping my arm elevated instead of being able to rest my wrist on the desk and my elbow on the arm of my chair.
I know I'll develop carpal tunnel syndrome eventually, but I'll live with it. I live, work, and breate computers and don't plan to give it up anytime soon, so I guess it's a small price to pay for all the enjoyment I get out of them.
I do have one possible advantage over most other users I know...my odd method of typing. I never learned to touch type. I type with my hands elevated and first two finger joints held vertically, and use a lot more arm and wrist motion while typing than touch typers do. I primarily use my middle fingers to hit keys, though sometimes I use my left index finger when it is convinient. I do type without looking at the keyboard and can average 40-50 WPM, BTW...not bad for just using three fingers.
DennyK
We used this type of mouse a few (3) years ago for a co-worker suffering from RSI ...
Nothing new to report.
.K
The day MickiSoft stops sucking is the day they announce their first vacuum-cleaner !
--Bud
Seems like the thing locks a computer to be used by either right-handed people or left-handers (if they produce such a version). So I hope this thing will not take off for use at universities, internet cafe's etc. I can just see the signs: "Right Hand Section this way..."
-.sig sauer-
I switched from a mouse to a track ball to relieve elbow problems. This thing would be worse than a regular mouse for me. Looks to me as though it would force the user to suspend the whole arm above the level of the desk to ensure that the unit stayed at the proper angle to the desk, to avoid lifting hte roller off the surface. At best fatiguing.
- Sig this!
I have a super-comfortable Futer Power optical mouse, this mouse is designed mostly as a both-handed. It is identical on both sides, and it's comfortable for me (I'm right handed), but because it's the same on both sides, it will probably be for you. (btw, it's one of the cheapest optical on pricewatch.com).
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
We solved the right handed / left handed problem at home by using a PS2 mouse and a USB mouse. If you are a southpaw, find a nice mouse that isn't flavored either way and place it on the left. It's funny when we get visitors. They see two mice and think it adds special functions, especialy if we feed them a line about moving with one mouse and shooting with the other in quake.
The truth shall set you free!
Clearly the next step in human interface device evolution is direct brain control. Your synapses are in constant use daily and millions of times per second, therefore, the "wear" on them would be minimal. It should be noted, that no such device should include a force feedback effect.