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Best Mouse For Programming?

Posted by timothy on from the keep-it-away-from-cigarettes-and-drugs dept.

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?

12 of 569 comments (clear)

  1. Mouse? by gameboyhippo · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

    1. Re:Mouse? by Java+Pimp · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

      --
      Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
      Kull: She told me she was 19!
    2. Re:Mouse? by Fatalv · · Score: 5, Funny

      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!

    3. Re:Mouse? by psnyder · · Score: 5, Informative
      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).

    4. Re:Mouse? by kk49 · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

      --
      You can have your god back when you are old enough to handle the responsibility.
    5. Re:Mouse? by Macman408 · · Score: 5, Funny

      [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.

  2. Wireless? You've already ruled me out by mdarksbane · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Wireless? You've already ruled me out by IsaacD · · Score: 5, Funny

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

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

  3. Hack the Gibson! by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  4. Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse? by MpVpRb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  5. Are you bored? by iamapizza · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    --
    Always proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
    1. Re:Are you bored? by Joe+U · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.