robert@shangri-la.gatech.edu (Robert Viduya) (09/17/90)
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the best way to clean mice feet is? Our visualization lab has been in operation over a year now and over the months, those felt pads under the mice have accumulated a lot of gunk; real sticky gunk that makes the mouse pad stick to the mouse. One of our users evidently got real frustrated and ripped the felt pads off. That fixed the problem for a bit but the mouse eventually scratched the mouse pad up so bad that the whole thing is now useless. I've tried a couple of chemical cleaners with no luck. I'm somewhat cautious trying them because I don't want the glue holding the felt pads to weaken. I've also heard a rumor that the felt pads can be replaced with white plastic (mylar?) pads that ride a lot more smoothly. Has anyone tried this? Will they scratch up the mouse pad too and, if not, where do we get them? robert -- Robert Viduya robert@shangri-la.gatech.edu Technical Services / Office of Information Technology Georgia Institute of Technology (404) 894-6296 Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0275
slehar@bucasd.bu.edu (Steve Lehar) (09/17/90)
Re: problem with sticky mouse feet I've found that scraping the felt pads on the mouse occasionally with a sharp knife seems to do the trick. The sticky stuff is generally so viscous that it does not impregnate the roots of the felt hairs, so that gentle scraping tends to roll it off in little chunks. If you have already treated the gunk with some kind of solvent, this scraping may not work, since you may have dissolved the stuff enough to let it really soak into the felt. -- (O)((O))(((O)))((((O))))(((((O)))))(((((O)))))((((O))))(((O)))((O))(O) (O)((O))((( slehar@bucasb.bu.edu )))((O))(O) (O)((O))((( Steve Lehar Boston University Boston MA )))((O))(O) (O)((O))((( (617) 424-7035 (H) (617) 353-6741 (W) )))((O))(O) (O)((O))(((O)))((((O))))(((((O)))))(((((O)))))((((O))))(((O)))((O))(O)
tima@agora.uucp (Tim Anderson) (09/18/90)
<problems with optical mouse sticking to the pad (Pepsi Syndrome) and scratching the opti-pad deleted...> And the tech-support hotline laughed at me when I stated that I'd rather have a mechanical mouse! Granted that when the opticals run they run better. Unfortunately in the 'real' world we have to deal with things like DUST, HAIR, COFFEE, COKE, dropping books on that stupid opti-pad, etc, etc... On my Microsoft (tm) mechanical mouse all I have to do is pull out the mouse ball, clean out the dust bunnies, put it back together and I have a new mouse. The opti-mouse, however, is junk if I happen to loose the opti-pad, scratch the opti-pad, or (heaven forbid) want to try to turn the opti-pad 90 degrees. I won't even tell you about the time that we accidently swapped the opti-pad with another mouse's opti-pad when moving 5 computers to a convention... A choice between opti and mechanical would be nice! tima@agora.hf.intel.com
blbates@AERO4.LARC.NASA.GOV ("Brent L. Bates AAD/TAB MS361 x42854") (09/18/90)
I prefer our optical mouse. I own a mechanical mouse and I don't like
it as much as the optical we have at work. We haven't had any real problems
with our mice. The only problems we have had is a short in the cord, but
you would have the same problem with a mechanical mouse too. The fewer
moving parts something has less likely you will have problems.
Around here we frown on people dumping coffee and coke on mice or any
other computer hardware for that matter. If you are abusive to anything
it isn't going to last as long. As far as the mouse sticking to the pad,
I just rub it with my thumb or finger nail occationally to clean it off
now and then.
--
Brent L. Bates
NASA-Langley Research Center
M.S. 361
Hampton, Virginia 23665-5225
(804) 864-2854
E-mail: blbates@aero4.larc.nasa.gov or blbates@aero2.larc.nasa.govdwatts@ki.UUCP (Dan Watts) (09/19/90)
In article <1990Sep17.170954.12509@agora.uucp> tima@agora.hf.intel.com (Tim Anderson) writes: ><problems with optical mouse sticking to the pad (Pepsi Syndrome) and > scratching the opti-pad deleted...> >< reasons for wanting mechanical mice deleted...> >A choice between opti and mechanical would be nice! > >tima@agora.hf.intel.com A third solution, is to get a track ball. I've got the Itak Mouse-Trak for all my systems here (SGI, Apollo, Sun). I don't ever have to worry about having enough desk top to run the mouse in (never have more than a few inches at any one time :-). I've found it to work quite well and would recomend them to anybody. -- ##################################################################### # CompuServe: >INTERNET:uunet.UU.NET!ki!dwatts Dan Watts # # UUCP : ...!{uunet | wgc386}!ki!dwatts Ki Research, Inc. # ############### New Dimensions In Network Connectivity ##############
drb@eecg.toronto.edu (David R. Blythe) (09/22/90)
In article <1990Sep17.170954.12509@agora.uucp> tima@agora.uucp (Tim Anderson) writes: ><problems with optical mouse sticking to the pad (Pepsi Syndrome) and > scratching the opti-pad deleted...> > >And the tech-support hotline laughed at me when I stated that I'd rather >have a mechanical mouse! > >Granted that when the opticals run they run better. > >Unfortunately in the 'real' world we have >to deal with things like DUST, HAIR, COFFEE, COKE, dropping books on >that stupid opti-pad, etc, etc The mouse that comes with a DECstation seems to be a good compromise between optical and mechanical-ball mice. It is mechanical with two little button thingys that hang down from the bottom that do something magical (sorry I don't really know how it works). Its seems to track quite well. Anyway it has no felt pads nor rubber ball to clean, but it does however to work a little better and avoids scratching the desk top if you use it with a rubber or cloth pad. Its made by Hawley. drb