Mouse or Trackball?

Loconut1389 writes "I've been an avid mouse user for years, but lately all of the wrist movements have added up and combined with a desire for some added precision when not using my tablet in photoshop, I decided to purchase a large trackball. Logitech makes a few with a small, thumb controlled ball, but it looked like you'd get a tired thumb and have no added precision. After searching around, it seems that the only large one really available is a Kensington for about $90. Only CompUSA seemed to even carry the kensington in-store (and had none in stock). After ordering one online and using it for a few days now, I don't know how I ever lived with a mouse. The trackball has better precision, less wrist movement, and even gaming is pretty cool/easy with it (can spin it to whip around real quick, etc). All that said, it seems like trackballs have all but vanished except in medical fields (sonograms, etc) and perhaps graphic arts. I'm left insanely curious why trackballs haven't resurfaced now that optical technologies have fixed the main problems of old trackballs (and mice). Do you use a trackball? If so, are you in graphic design?"

Comments

Trackball

[BWJones]

My favorite input device has been a Kensington Turbo Mouse. It's a large trackball, a design I have been using for years going back to the original 1.0. They are great in reducing Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) and allow more precision in control which is important for digital imagery work and image forensics.

For a traditional mouse, Apple's Mighty Mouse is pretty good, but it simply does not have the robust reliability that the Kensington track balls have. For most of the Kensington trackball's history, they used high quality bearings which were nice and robust, but dirt could get trapped in between stalling the cursor movement. Recently with the Expert Mouse however, they have gone to a glass/plastic? bearing with an optical tracking mechanism that is far superior to just about anything else on the market.

It is interesting that the trackball has quite a long history. I first saw them, other than Missile Command ;-) of course, on satellite imagery workstations back in 1990 and had to have one for my Mac systems. Unfortunately I had to endure a mouse with just about all of my SGI systems as the trackballs for those systems were either unavailable or just did not work as well as the mouse of hockey puck and digitizing board.

Re:Trackball

[R2.0]

"thoughtful husbands buy their wives trackballs as well as flowers"

My wife own all of my balls already, you insensitive clod!

Re:Trackball

[toad3k]

I've been using logitech trackman marble since I was a pretard (10 years). My first came when my parents bought one of these on a whim for our first computer. I reacted hostile initially because all my experience with trackballs up to that point were crappy wheel based ones.

There are good points and bad points.

Good:
    It has always been as accurate as the best mouse, even before mice went optical.
    The cord never ever gets in the way of your movement, because it doesn't move.
    Doesn't require desk space. My screen is flush with my desk, my keyboard sitting snugly on an open desk drawer.

Bad:
    You can't hope to achieve smooth 360+ degree rotation on an fps. You have to move your thumb at some point.

But the main advantage, and the reason why I will never go back to using a normal mouse is that I can place a trackball anywhere. Before I started this note I was reclined all the way back in my chair with my trackball on my chest navigating slashdot in complete comfort. I tend to use it on my knee alot too.

Also another advantage is no one wants to use it. So no one is using my damned computer when I'm not around. Also the ball is perfect for flinging at your coworker.

Avoid wrist movements

[Squiffy]

I use my fingers and arm more than my wrist when moving the mouse around. Never have any problems.

For a really big trackball...

[jnaujok]

...try looking at HAPP controls http://www.happcontrols.com/trackballs/trackballs. htm.

Admittedly, they make them for the video gaming world, but they are just USB (or PS2) trackballs. You can mount them directly into a table top. Nothing like a 3" trackball to work from.

Re:Trackball or Spaceball?

[Osurak]

Spaceballs the pointing device! Spaceballs the T-shirt! Spaceballs the Coloring Book! Spaceballs the Lunch box! Spaceballs the Breakfast Cereal! Spaceballs the Flame Thrower (the kids love this one)

Excercise

[Stringer Bell]

I'm a professional programmer, and spend about 50 hours a week typing, between work and home. I've found the best way to keep from having hand/wrist problems is to get regular exercise. I haul my ass to the gym 2-3 times a week like clockwork to lift weights and run. Since I've started, my hand problems have cleared up completely.

I like trackballs too. It's a mystery to me as well why they're not more widely available.

Re:Trackpoint?

[Chanc_Gorkon]

I like my little mousy nipple! :D The Trackpoint is awesome.

Re:Logitech's Marble F/X

[gardyloo]

Forgot to mention that Logitech's driver for them, though, is a piece of shit. Consistently crashes Windows XP, and is outrageously huge. If you look carefully, you can find their old driver versions posted here and there on the web (which actually work, and aren't 45MB downloads).

      In linux, though, I just have

                InputDevice "LogitechMarble" "CorePointer"

    and

  # The following is for the Logitech Marble Trackball:

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier "LogitechMarble"
        Driver "mouse"
# Option "CorePointer"
        Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
        Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
        Option "Buttons" "9"
# Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
        Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
        Option "EmulateWheel" "1"
        Option "EmulateWheelButton" "8"
        Option "EmulateWheelInertia" "5"
        Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
        Option "ChordMiddle"
        Option "XAxisMapping" "6 7"
        Option "YAxisMapping" "4 5"

in my xorg.conf file. Works perfectly. Wish I could get the Windows behavior to be the same!

You speak my mind on this issue.

[seebs]

I use the Kensington Expert Mouse (4-button, spinny wheel for scrolling, big ball) for nearly everything at home. My travel device is a Logitech Trackman Marble; it has the bonus that the ball stays in it at odd angles and you can put it nearly anywhere. Either is unequviocally and totally superior to any mouse I've ever used.

My Expert Mouse developed a minor nuisance, I forget what, and I asked Kensington about it. They sent me a new one as a replacement, free. Right there, we see the price difference between the Expert Mouse and cheap crap mice evaporate.

I hate mice. I love trackballs.

If you're doing a lot of graphics, you might also pick up a tablet.

Re:Trackpoint?

[Mechanik]

I like my little mousy nipple! :D The Trackpoint is awesome.

I prefer to call it the Computer Clit(TM).

Re:Trackpoint?

[Anonymous Coward]

Obligatory xkcd link.

Trackball = more tendonitis for me

[spineboy]

I had the large 3" ball from Kensington with 4 buttons. I used it for a year, but kept on getting wrist tendonitis, even after trying many different positions and or supports. My wrist and fingers went back to normal after switchiiiing back to a mouse.

I've been using a mouse for computer work, with a fair amount of gaming for 13 years now with no problems.

I suspect that there will be a subset of the population that does better with trackball devices, but the market has shown which device people prefer - the mouse.

Giant Crayola Trackball

[GWBasic]

Once, when I first had wrist pain, I bought a giant Crayola trackball. It was 5-6" in diameter. Overall, it was very comfortable to use, but because it was designed for children, the buttons were on the top of the trackball instead of the bottom. Also, it required a serial port.

I ended up hooking it up to my Fraternity's jukebox computer. The drunks loved it.

Re:Trackpoint?

[GodfatherofSoul]

What's a clit?

Re:optical mice have their own issues.

[lahi]

OK, your method ensures a clean desk, which is neat, but perhaps you should try lifting the mouse and reposition it at the opposite edge of the mousepad when you reach the edge and the pointer isn't "there yet". It won't hurt anything, if that's what worries you. I am curious: what would you do if you added another monitor? Upgrade to an A2 sheet?

-Lasse

Outta my yard

[Bandman]

I know you're not going to believe this, but way back in the 80s and 90s, there used to be these little rubber mats that you could, get this, pay for, to put your mouse on. Is that crazy or what? "Mouse Pads" they called them, and you used to be able to get them with pretty much anything you wanted on them, it was a hoot I tell ya. The crazy stuff we did when we were kids.

Re:Trackpoint?

[zm]

You must be very intelligent....