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Silent Mice for Silent PCs?

UnrefinedLayman asks: "In the quest for a silent PC, one item that seems to be consistently overlooked is the mouse: it's one of the more noisy computer components if only by virtue of the fact that it is a staccato noise. I don't notice my fans or hard drives very often, given that they are constant background sounds whose levels don't noticeably change. My mouse, on the other hand, makes a very audible *click* each time I use it, and while providing a pleasant tactile feedback, it keeps my girlfriend awake during my late-night work sessions. So I turn to the Ask Slashdot community: have you found a silent mouse for your silent PC? Numerous Google searches have yielded little. It's not as though it's impossible, as touch pads for laptops have been around for quite some time, and the iPod makes great use of the technology. ThinkGeek also sells a force-free keyboard with a "mouse replacement" built into it, but while the keyboard technology looks very promising, I prefer to stick with a mouse (not to mention something a bit cheaper). Mouse manufacturers have long touted optical mice as being superior to their trackball cousins for having no moving, mechanical parts, but it seems like they're overlooking the most obvious and still mechanical function: the buttons themselves! So what say you Slashdot? Are there force-free, truly non-mechanical and silent mice out there to be had?"

14 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Blast it! by Ske · · Score: 5, Funny

    You just made me notice how loudly my mouse clicks. *sigh* Thanks for ruining my weekend! (-;

  2. Come on over to my house... by R2.0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    And you can have your choice of keyboards:

    IBM Model M
    Omnikey 102
    Ortek MCK-142

    All nice & clicky...Oh.

    Nevermind.

    --
    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  3. ok so you want a silent mouse by nuggetman · · Score: 2, Funny

    will you at least be happy with a scroll wheel and not worry about three buttons?

    --
    ...and that's all there is to it.
  4. Silent Mice for Silent PCs by Caktus · · Score: 4, Funny

    My mouse, on the other hand, makes a very audible *click* each time I use it, and while providing a pleasant tactile feedback, it keeps my girlfriend awake during my late-night work sessions.


    You dont't snore, do you?

    1. Re:Silent Mice for Silent PCs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I wish I could s/work/porn/g

  5. Any of you... by sockit2me9000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...singing "Silent Mice" to the tune of "Silent Night"? Cause I am.

    1. Re:Any of you... by cybermace5 · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, I got as far as "Holy Mice" and decided it had gone too far.

      --
      ...
  6. Other hand? by Kj0n · · Score: 5, Funny

    My mouse, on the other hand, makes a very audible *click* each time I use it...

    Why do you use your other hand?

    *ducks*

  7. The mouse isn't the problem by peeping_Thomist · · Score: 5, Funny

    If your gf is busting your chops over this, you have much more serious problems than a loud mouse. Lose the gf, keep the mouse.

    --
    Anything worth doing is worth doing badly -- G.K. Chesterton
  8. Re:A modest proposal... by stienman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Thing is, I think he was talking about his sister, not his SO.

    Well, let's see...

    "My mouse, on the other hand, makes a very audible *click* each time I use it, and while providing a pleasant tactile feedback, it keeps my girlfriend awake during my late-night work sessions."

    Hmm. If you're from a redneck community I could see you interpretting "girlfriend" as "sister," but I like to avoid that kind of assumption until I see more evidence...

    -Adam

  9. Women by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Try this, it works great for me: Go to bed when your SO goes to bed.

    Actually, that's probably what she's really asking for anyway. I'm sure when you fix the mouse clicks she'll complain about the keyboard. Then when you fix that she'll complain about the excess heat coming from the processor. Then when you freak out on her for being absolutely crazy she'll say "but I only wanted you to come cuddle with me instead of working on your computer."

    Of course, if you wanted that advice, you wouldn't be Asking Slashdot. So drop the female and make a robot, or something.

    1. Re:Women by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Dear Slashdot: my robot keeps me awake all night with her constant mouse-clicking. I ask her to come to bed, but she just keeps working away. What say you, Slashdot? Do your robots come to bed when you ask them?

  10. Re: by b!arg · · Score: 2, Funny

    What if you got another girlfriend that wasn't so annoying.

    --

    Everybody dies frustrated and sad and that is beautiful
  11. Re:WTF by Tackhead · · Score: 2, Funny
    > I keep my girlfriend awake at night too but not with my mouse...
    >
    > She isn't complaining! And after 14 years together that makes me proud!

    Just because it plugs into a PS/2 port doesn't make it a mouse. Now take that pager motor out of your :CueCat before someone sues you, you pervert.