piebia@ee.ualberta.ca (Edward Piebiak) (03/21/91)
Some time ago, I posted an article requesting peoples experience with optical mice as a replacement for the "small-balled" mice that Apple shipped with some of their new computers. Well, here is a summary of what netlanders' opinions were: Pros: - resolution is much better with the optical mice. - mouse never gets dirty. - doesn't "skip or jump" due to mechanical sticking. Cons: - MUST have the reflective mousepad. - mouse must be oriented in line with the grids of the mousepad or tracking is off. - if the mousepad gets scratched or dented then the mouse *may* start moving funny. and the number one complaint about optical mice.... - the feel is quite different and you can't high score on Crystal Quest!! Other than that, people either love optical mice, or they hate them. It seemed that it all depended upon how picky one was on little things. Personally, I don't worry about Crystal Quest too much; I spend *way* too much time on nethack as it is. General Comments made: - Mouse Systems A+ mouse was highly recommended. (by optical mouse lovers). - Little Mouse from MSC Tech was also suggested and also highly loved. - grey (big) balled mice are probably the best option overall. (all things taken into consideration). - black (small) balled mice really chew!!! (If you didn't know this already....). Conclusions: - If you know someone with an optical mouse or have access to a Sun SPARCstation, go play with them for a while. I did and I really liked it. - None of this would be required if Apple shipped a grey balled mouse with my IIsi instead of a black balled one. Sorry for not getting around to summarize this thing sooner, but project courses do have a nasty habit of taking all of your time. Thanks again to all the people who made suggestions and comments. Ed Piebiak piebia@bode.ee.ualberta.ca