wdr@security.UUCP (William D Ricker) (06/29/83)
My officemate hooked up an optical mouse from Mouse Systems before
being shipped out to Hawaii. I asked him to comment on the net article
(I had to forward it to him, his machine is not on USENET). Below is
his response. He set up some cute mouse-picked menus on the alpha tube
and rubber-banding on the RGB tube in about a week, if I remeber correctly.
From bccvax!ki Thu Jun 23 18:28:15 1983
To: security!wdr
Subject: could you comment on this? I'll forward
Status: R
I hooked up a Mouse Systems optical mouse to an Interdata 8/32 running
version 6 UNIX. The mouse calibrates quickly, I think you just have to
get the right feel for the calibration movement. (I can calibrate in
10 seconds or less, but my boss seems to have a lot of trouble.) I
have never noticed any gross erroneous movements. I have never used
the mouse in rotation mode. As far as running off the pad is
concerned, I don't see why that's a problem. I frequently pick up the
mouse and put it back down in a slightly more convenient location.
Even with a mechanical mouse on a desk surface, the same situation must
exist (if the mouse is at the top of the desk, and the cursor initially
appears at the bottom of the screen, for example). The mouse may
indeed be more expensive than some mechanical mice (the Hawley mouse
actually costs more), but intuitively, an optical mouse should be more
reliable (Mouse Systems reports impressive MTBF). All in all, I'm
quite pleased with the mouse.
----------------
Mail any direct mail responces to me, and I will batch them to Kevin.
He has requested mail to him in Hawaii be kept to a minimum, since his
link is 300 baud/hard copy and a long walk from his office.
Bill Ricker
(617)271-3725 MS k203, The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA, 01730
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