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Ask Slashdot: Where Can You Get a Good 3-Button Mouse Today?
guises writes Ever since mouse wheels were introduced the middle mouse button has been sidelined to an inadequate click-wheel function, or in some cases ditched altogether. This has never sat well with me, a proper middle button is invaluable for pasting, games, and navigation. More than that, my hand categorically rejects two button mice — the dangling ring finger causes me genuine physical discomfort. I have begged Logitech on multiple occasions to make just one, among their many screwy specialty mice, to replace the Mouseman which I loved so dearly. I thought for a moment that I had been answered with the g600, only to find that they had put the right mouse button in the middle.
So my question to Slashdot is: where does a person turn for a three button mouse these days? I've only found two, both ergonomic and priced accordingly. I use the Contour and like the shape and wheel position, but would love to find something wireless and with a higher DPI sensor.
So my question to Slashdot is: where does a person turn for a three button mouse these days? I've only found two, both ergonomic and priced accordingly. I use the Contour and like the shape and wheel position, but would love to find something wireless and with a higher DPI sensor.
Just glue three Apple Mice together.
$69 for a mouse, especially a specialty one like you're wanting, is not that much. The only alternative is going to be buying a good used one from eBay.
Can't recommend enough the Performance Mouse MX enough.
While it does have the middle button integrated into the scroll wheel, once used to it you will find it completely intuitive. I middle click hundreds of times a day and only found it difficult during the first two weeks of owning the mouse. 5 years later I still prefer the Performance MX over anything else.
To middle click I typically shift my index finger over a centimeter or two. My hands are slightly above average size and ergonomically the PerfMX is perfect for me.
Not sure why a scroll wheel will not work for you, but check out the Logitech Couch Mouse M515. The wheel is not a middle, the button below the wheel is the third mouse button.
Just a Tuna in the Sea of Life
xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 3 2"
Can you share details on what the problems are with the clickable middle wheel? You mentioned it's "inadequate", but what makes it so? Just wondering because I use the middle-button/wheel all the time and it seems to work as well as the other buttons - no discomfort, no extra thought, etc.
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/oas/product-detail.html?oid=403895
I have a G600. I just checked, and you can reprogram the primary buttons to anything you like.
If you can't convince them, convict them.
The erosion of middle-button paste functionality is a continual frustration.
There are cultural differences between the Windows and Macintosh personal computing worlds, and that of X11 on Unix workstations. While always allowing customisability, we should hold on to the good ideas of the past, rather than dismiss them as being unfamiliar to the personal computer user.
What irks me especially is that the same forces that are driving us towards a Windows-like experience on the Linux desktop are also removing the ability to easily customise our environment, if only to retain the functionality that is being deprecated or dismissed. (I'm looking at you, GNOME.)
A lot of people are suggesting that the G600 might be reprogrammable, but they all note that they don't have the mouse, so they don't know for sure.
I do.
I just checked it, and you can reprogram the primary mouse buttons to anything you want. You can also set that as the mouse's built-in configuration, so you don't need to use the drivers and the settings will be persistent across computers. Have fun.
If you can't convince them, convict them.
They have an excellent selection of 3-button mice at Circuit City. What, don't you have a time machine?
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DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
Another commenter suggested that this might be driverless, in other words your configuration is stored on the mouse and is OS independent. That's pretty appealing if that's true, I don't suppose you could confirm that?
USB 3-button optical mouse for $12. Problem solved.
Yes, I can confirm that.
I have used the G600 for a long time now and the way it works is that you need a computer with the logitech software installed, reprogram all the buttons any way you want (you can move the right click button to the side shift-function button and then program the middle button however you want) then save the profile into the mouse memory which will let it remember those settings on any other computer without the drivers installed (with the exception of some game-specific macros).
Most of the recent logitech mice are capable of this.
Or you can do that all in the settings (at least on Linux and OS X)
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
Or instead of calling the person an idiot, try reading the summary?
"...the middle mouse button has been sidelined to an inadequate click-wheel function..."
But he doesn't explain why it is "inadequate". A middle button that functions as both a button and a scroll wheel is a clear improvement. The scroll wheel does not detract from the button click functionality, and in fact, improves it, since the middle button has a distinctly different tactile feel, so you don't fat-finger it by accident. The old three-button-no-scroll-wheel mouse died for a reason. It was inferior in every way.
Hello,
A couple of "large" trackball vendors:
BigTrack - http://www.bigtrack.co.uk/
Kensington - http://www.kensington.com/us/u...
You can also try visiting www.trackballworld.com and looking around at the various offerings there. I've never bought from them, so no specific feedback to give (or, in other words, caveat emptor).
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
Dexter is a good dog.
and occasionally less efficient - especially if you want to paste *over* something like a URL.
Select new URL, select old URL, paste, oh crap, delete old URL, got *back* and select new URL, paste.
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"
- Charles Darwin
More than that, my hand categorically rejects two button mice — the dangling ring finger causes me genuine physical discomfort.
I have a feeling you also missed this sentence. He is bemoaning the loss of the middle button as much for the form factor as for the additional features. The old three-button mice were designed to allow index-middle-ring fingers to rest on the mouse with the thumb and pinky around the edges. Everyone has a favorite mouse shape - ivory soap bar, ergonomic hockey puck, small and narrow, palm vertical, etc - his just happens to be the three-button mouse.
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But there are a number of times where explicit copy/paste is much nicer.
I don't know what DE you're using, but in KDE, both modes work, and they go into different buffers. So if you feel the need to do the explicit copy/paste with Ctrl-C/V, it works fine, and you can even highlight something else afterwards, then paste the two separately with middle-click and Ctrl-V.
No, having one buffer is not better in any way. It's stupid in fact. Better is KDE's Klipper, which keeps a history for this buffer and lets me choose things I previously highlighted or copied.