Best Mouse For Programming?

LosManos writes "Which is the best programming mouse? Mandatory musts are wireless, and that it doesn't clog up like old mechanical mice. Present personal preferences are for: lots of buttons, since if I have moved my hand away from the keyboard I can at least do something more than move the pointer; sturdy feeling; not too light, so it doesn't move around by me accidentally looking at it." What would you recommend?

Comments

Mouse?

[gameboyhippo]

Since when can you use a mouse in Emacs or VI?

Re:Mouse?

[Java Pimp]

I got all excited thinking I was going to get a first post with "You don't need a mouse for VI". Great minds... ;)

There, fixed that for you.

Re:Mouse?

[psnyder]

A vim Paperclip Assistant in action.

Re:Mouse?

[Fatalv]

I use a mouse in emacs and vi. I found a 9 button mouse and bought 12 of them. I now have xmodmap setup so that I can simulate all 108 keys of the keyboard. I rarely even touch the thing anymore!

Re:Mouse?

[psnyder]

There's a very good summary explaining why learning vi/vim is well worth the steep learning curve, entitled: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi?.

... with vi, your keyboard becomes a huge specialized text-editing gamepad with almost a hundred buttons. Each of them has at least two functions, shifted and unshifted, so you have almost two hundred functions at a single keypress (not counting Shift).

Re:Mouse?

[kk49]

I got all excited thinking I was going to get a first post with "You don't need a mouse for cat". Great minds... ;)

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

Re:Mouse?

[JonLatane]

But if you don't have a mouse when you're using vi, what will you throw when you realize you just destroyed your file because you were in the wrong "mode?"

Re:Mouse?

[Neil Hodges]

I got all excited thinking I was going to get a first post with "You don't need a mouse for butterflies". Great minds... ;)

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

Re:Mouse?

[Macman408]

[content removed]

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for you.

There, fixed that for everybody else.

Re:Mouse?

[Z34107]

I second the logitech G5. They're cheap, I love the adjustable weights, and just enough buttons for my taste. Middle-click for opening and closing tabs, and two side buttons for forward and back.

But, mousing in an IDE? Even in Visual Studio, the only button that gets any use is the left mouse button, and maybe the middle-click scrollwheel button for opening and closing tabs. Everything has a keyboard shortcut.

I'd recommend a good keyboard instead - I have an IBM Model M I whip on for nostalgia, but I'm very happy with my Das Keyboard II. THAT will make more difference in programming! Unless you're using Lego Mindstorms :P

KVM?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've found most KVMs make it so my wireless input devices don't work. :(

IBM Trackpoint

[bvanheu]

I use a keyboard with an IBM trackpoint so i don't keep moving my right hand between keyboard and mouse. It takes a little to get used to it, but it worth the try! http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/healthycomputing/trkpnt.html

Wireless? You've already ruled me out

[mdarksbane]

I never want to have to worry about replacing batteries, recharging, or waiting for the mouse to make up from sleep on anything as core to my workflow as a mouse.

Personally I think that any good gaming mouse works well for coding. You've got your extra buttons (which mostly just give you an extra forward/back in your browser) and good accuracy. I'm a fan of my Razer Diamondback, although by this point the grippy paint they put on it is coming off so it looks a bit shabby.

I would say with 100 certainty that your keyboard is ten times more important than your mouse for programming. The mouse just has to not get in your way.

Re:Wireless? You've already ruled me out

[IsaacD]

I never want to have to worry about replacing batteries, recharging...

but if the electricity is out, you can't use your mouse!

Hack the Gibson!

[eln]

I do all my programming by floating through a giant VR simulation of the computer's memory with various bits of code randomly located in countless giant towers. I don't see why you would need a "mouse" for such a thing.

Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse?

[MpVpRb]

I have been programming since 1971.

Back them I used punch cards.

Then, teletypes.

Now, I use a mouse and keyboard.

I definitely consider myself a "real" programmer.

Times change, so do tools.

Are you bored?

[iamapizza]

Quite possibly the worst ask-slashdot question ever. While we're at it, let's also discuss the best mousepad for programming as well as the best type of wood for desks for programming.

Re:Are you bored?

[Joe U]

While we're at it, let's also discuss the best mousepad for programming

That would be my Windows Vista mousepad that I got at the Vista launch party. It features desk grippyness and mouse paddyness, and a giant windows logo, so I never get tempted to install Linux.

A keyboard

[Rix]

You're welcome.

Why a mouse?

[Niris]

I don't get why you would need a mouse for programming.. programming languages are typed, no?

Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse?

[MpVpRb]

Uh...

Scroll wheel

Scroll bars

Select for cut/copy and paste

Menu options

Setting and going to bookmarks

Navigating the various browsers and dropdowns

Hovering over a variable in the debugger to see its value

Many more..

Yes...they all probably have keyboard equivalents, I just consider them awkward workarounds.

Remember, you can pound in a screw with a wrench if you really want to...

A mouse is sometimes the right tool for the job

Well this answered mt ask slashdot question

[geekoid]

I was going to ask:
"What question can I ask that so lame as to be pointless, and will still enrage enough people to cause a flamewar?"