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Bluetooth Versus Wireless Mice

Meneguzzi writes "Having stuck with wired mice for years, I have recently been impressed by a couple of cordless mice I've used on other people's computers so much that I now want to buy one to use with my Mac Book Pro. However, while shopping around for the perfect cordless laptop mouse I was stuck with the question of whether to go for a bluetooth mouse or one of the many proprietary cordless mice with tiny USB receivers. To my surprise, there seems to be little literature systematically comparing these two options for attributes like precision, battery life (both for the mouse and the laptop), RF interference, and whatnot. As a Mac user, bluetooth has the advantage that it won't take up a USB port, and (in theory), would consume less battery than a USB port, but I wonder if this is actually true in practice. On top of that, I noticed that there are far fewer (and less fancy) options for Bluetooth mice than there are for proprietary cordless ones. Logitech, for instance, has a very basic Bluetooth Mouse, while its proprietary options are much fancier. So I was wondering what are the experiences from Slashdotters on this particular type of hardware, and any recommendations."

11 of 519 comments (clear)

  1. Wireless Mighty Mouse by MikeFM · · Score: 1, Funny

    You want what Apple suggests. Anything else sucks in comparison IMO.

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
    1. Re:Wireless Mighty Mouse by MikeFM · · Score: 2, Funny

      Eww. You've got to be kidding me. There is no mouse I'd rather use than my Mighty Mouse. Now if you were talking about one of those puck mice I might agree with you. :)

      --
      At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
    2. Re:Wireless Mighty Mouse by brackishboy · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now, now. Everybody knows that all generalisations are bad!

    3. Re:Wireless Mighty Mouse by Curien · · Score: 2, Funny

      > Turning up the speed makes it more difficult to be precise in my experience.

      That's why the Good Lord invented cursor acceleration. Amen.

      --
      It's always a long day... 86400 doesn't fit into a short.
  2. Murhpy by mrbene · · Score: 5, Funny

    Your decision to move to a system that requires an independent power supply (batteries) is an invitation to Murphy to send his law to your house / place of work at the most inopportune moment.

    Oh, and radiation. I'm sure it'll kill you too. Bluetooth will force you to visit your dentist too.

    Plus what are you going to fight off the ninjas with if you don't have a mouse cord?

    Holy surrealism, bantha!

  3. Re:Bluetooth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I have a wireless keyboard and mouse bundle, and I have never have any problems with batte

  4. Re:Bluetooth is the way to go by vrmlguy · · Score: 4, Funny

    especially now that everyone knows what bluetooth is because of cell phone headsets (even though those make you look stupid ;) ).

    You insensitive clod! Some of us think it looks stylish.

    --
    Nothing for 6-digit uids?
  5. Re:Bluetooth by Adlopa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cordd kyboards ar the most rliabl kind and thr's vry littl than can go wrong with thm. I'v bn using this old Chrry modl for yars and it's still as good as nw.

  6. Re:VX Nano by Spatial · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was going to get one, but according to reviews it has no middle button. Instead there's a gimmick to switch wheel modes. Instant fail; now how can I open all those porn tabs quickly? Ctrl-click can bite my ass, I've only got one hand free!

    Instead I got a MS Wireless 5000 BT mouse and I have to say it's pretty great. No lag, well weighted, comfortable and with good tracking and resolution. Four buttons too. It's easily good enough to play fast-paced FPS games with. I'm using it with my NC10 netbook right now.

  7. Re:VX Nano by hplus · · Score: 2, Funny

    It has a frictionless scroll wheel? Quick, call NASA!

  8. Re:Why on Earth a Mouse Pad? by mmarlett · · Score: 2, Funny

    Actually, he only used his with his laptop, which has an easy-to-use keypad. I, on the other hand, was doing things such as story editing, php code marathons, page layout in InDesign and image manipulation in Photoshop -- some of which can involve very fine-tuned mouse control. Actually, when I story edit, I highlight the paragraph I'm reading with a triple-click, so that uses some clicks, too.

    I'm so tuned into my keyboard shortcuts I sometimes can't talk other people through simple tasks because I don't have any idea where it is on the menu and really don't "know" what the keyboard shortcut is except by muscle memory. I once was extremely tired and said something very stupid to a coworker. I immediately gestured in the air with a thumb-down-middle-finger-flick-forward -- an air-Command-Z undo. Thankfully I was talking to a fellow designer who just burst into complete laughter because she knew exactly what I was doing.