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No-click Mouse?

Posted by michael on from the like-peanut-butter-without-chocolate dept.

TheRealZappa writes "For quite a while now I have been looking for a mouse that would not make any "clicking" sound when the buttons are pressed... Does it even exist? So to all you quiet-pc amateurs and hardware hackers... Can it be hacked? Can it be bought somewhere?" Sure it exists, I think they call it a "trackball" or "touchpad". Seriously, I've never had a non-broken mouse that didn't click.

7 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Touchscreen mouse? by bscott · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why not use the stuff they put on touchscreens? It works via the capacitance-change caused by contact with your skin, as I recall. Wouldn't click unless you failed to trim your fingernails...

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    Perfectly Normal Industries
  2. I don't know what brand you've been using... by Daniel+Wood · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Sure it exists, I think they call it a "trackball" or "touchpad". Seriously, I've never had a non-broken mouse that didn't click.

    I have yet to see a trackball that doesn't use "mouse buttons."

  3. Laptop mouse buttons? by Eye+of+the+Frog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm using a Thinkpad T20, and the mouse buutons are very quiet. Maybe the buttons could be modified for a regular mouse?

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    "Sexy Man" is not a moderation option. -- arose
  4. replace the switches by Perdo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Mouses use momentary on click plunger switches soldered onto a circuit board. Replace the switches with quiet momentary on plungers and cut them to proper height. Probably best to use plungers with stiffer springs to keep a tactile feel of on/off. Spray the moving parts with silicone grease and enjoy your silent mouse. Then put a fan in it to cool your sweaty palm

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    If voting were effective, it would be illegal by now.

    1. Re:replace the switches by dattaway · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If your mouse uses those cheap shiny disks directly soldered onto a circuit board, you can replace those disks with those soft, graphite contacts found in some of those cheap soft touch keyboards.

      Well, you don't actually replace the disk as it is needed to hold the graphite composite button in place. Pry that disk up, place a thin slice of the graphite pad underneath it. Make sure the graphite composite surface facing the board is carved into a concave shape. This will allow pressure to turn it on-off. Presto--no more click! Just soft pressure!

  5. Re:Apple makes one.. by TheTomcat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wrong.

    There's one of those beside me right now, and it still makes the clicking noise. They do have movable parts, and I've used one on a PC before (it was headless, and I needed a mouse for 5 minutes, so I grabbed the closest USB mouse).

    How it works is pretty simple: the whole top is a button and it is hinged slightly lower than the middle, so you can rest your hand on it, and when you apply pressure, it "clicks".

    They're kinda cool, and they glow all pretty (transparent), but the cord is like 6" long and they only have 1 button.

    S

  6. Why no click? by rubinson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not to troll, but why do you want a no-click mouse in the first place? The clicking sound is audio feedback that improves usability. Same reason that keyboards click. More feedback (tactile, visual, audio) is more useful.

    It's one thing if you're asking out of curiosity or just to see if you can do it. But if you think that there's a real, measurable benefit to a silent-click, I think that you might want to spend some time reconsidering.

    I guess the general question would be: "Under what circumstances would having a silent-click be beneficial?"