Slashdot Mirror
No-click Mouse?
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.
I have yet to see a trackball that doesn't use "mouse buttons."
Perhaps you could inject some silicon under the buttons, i guess that would stop the clickdown sound. Anyway, I just listened carefully to my mouse and it makes 2 clicking sounds, one when the button is pressed and one when it is released. Try to examine an old mouse, rip it into pieces and see where the sound comes from ... Another solution is to waer headphones while sitting in front of your computer ...
Life sucks.
just break the catch that clicks under the mouse buttons, i've done that a few times on accident, pulling up the buttons(nervous habit). you lose some tactile response, but i don't see how to get around that, smooth motion is usually what is quiet.
Wouldn't that seriously impair your ability to click on link?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
You may still be able to get a Cirque 'glide-pad' touchpad for a mouse - while it has buttons, you can use a tap on the pad as a click, and re-assign the buttons to different actions (such as cut and paste). Under Windows, the drivers provide the 'click' throught the PC squeaker - but this can be turned off.
I haven't seen any for sale for a few years now, though. (On the other hand, I have several, and NONE of them have failed in years of every day use - though the touch surfaces are all well polished and slightly concave now. They're the most reliable mouse I've ever encountered.)
Liquor
Sanity is a highly overrated commodity.
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
If voting were effective, it would be illegal by now.
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
Maybe the clicking sound late at night keeps his SO awake? It's a good idea not to annoy the SO.
--
I don't want to rule the world... I just want to be in charge of mayonnaise.
I've seen a mouse like this before. It's the StupidaMouse, the mouse with no buttons ("so users will stop clicking on things and crashing their computers"). [HTML]
In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
Secondly, I wanted a no-click mouse so that repeated clicks on record nav or field property buttons wouldn't be confused by my co-workers as me playing FreeCell.
Yeah, that's it!
GTRacer
- Never mind those MineSweeper times - they came preloaded!
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
I'd pay a hundred dollars for a mouse like this.
I'd give it to my roomate, and then I would be free of the 'click click click click click' of Diablo!
headphones and being connected - the solution:
When I have to use headphones, I usually connect a mic with some mixing level and play it on the headphones as well. As a result, I'm still connected to the enironment can can hear people around me and key clicks. Lets you enjoy the best of both worlds.
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
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.
Once again proving Michael is stupidest editor on Slashdot. Michael, it's THE BUTTONS that are clicking, NOT THE MOUSE BALL. Why do you think a trackball or touchpad would not have clicking buttons? Is there some intrinsic property to a very large ball that would cause it not to have clicking buttons?
Do you actually read what the people are asking before adding your inane comments?
Yes, this is Flamebait, go ahead and mark me down. But it's worth losing the 3 points to make this point.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
I seem to recall that Mouse Systems made simlar mice for other systems as well, including Macs and PCs, so you may have some luck finding an old Mouse Systems mouse with clickless buttons that will work with a relativly modern computer.
There are also a couple of PS/2 style mice from IBM that have silent buttons: both the standard wedge shaped PS/2 mouse (Model 6450350) and the Psersonal System/2® Mini-Mouse (Part No. 95F5443) have silent buttons, and can easily be used on any modern PC with a PS/2 mouse port. Both of these mice are simple opto-mechanical two button jobs, so anyone needing a multi-button or scroll-wheel fix is SOL.
Finally we have the early Microsoft Serial Mouse (FCC ID: C3K7PN 9939) with a 25-pin serial connector and buttons that curved over the front edge of the mouse. This mouse also had clickless buttons. Upon disassembly one finds that the buttons are simple dome microswitches, which must mean that you can get such microswitches in both clickfull and clickless versions. Again, this is a simple opto-mechanical two-button mouse.