Which rodent should I get?

enderender
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Ok, the time has come to ditch the Apple Pro Mouse. Gaming and OS X are just not working with it any more.



So what should I get based on the following requirements:

? Optical or dual-optical (doesn't matter to me, really).

? left and right mouse buttons and a wheel (preferably clickable). I would also like a thumb button (like the Logitech mouse).

? OS X support is a must!

? Not so huge that I can't stick it in my Ti PB case and take on the road (my Apple Pro Mouse is pretty much the largest I'd want to go)

? None of that weird track-ball crap. I want a mouse, damnit.

? Price is some consideration.



That Logitech dual optical mouse looked perfect until they mentioned that they don't support OS X (they even wrote it with a '10', meaning they REALLY don't know what they are doing, IMHO).



TIA

-Ender

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Ender:

    <strong>That Logitech dual optical mouse looked perfect until they mentioned that they don't support OS X (they even wrote it with a '10', meaning they REALLY don't know what they are doing, IMHO).



    TIA

    -Ender</strong><hr></blockquote>



    For now all the buttons except for the thumb button work. If you want a Logitech then just use the left, right and scroll wheel in the mean time and wait for USB Overdrive to be released. I've got the Mouseman Optical Wireless and it's great.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    enderender Posts: 353member
    Tell me about its scrollwheel. Does it scroll in most applications? Is it also a button? Can I define click and roll operations with it?



    And do most games recognize all of the buttons? All except the thumb button?



    Thanks

    -Ender
  • Reply 3 of 17
    sebseb Posts: 676member
    I always thought this mouse seemed pretty good. Kensington at least has a beta Mouseworks app for OS X.



    <a href="http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_mic_d1326.html#sys_reqs"; target="_blank">http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_mic_d1326.html#sys_reqs</a>;



    I haven't personally tried it, but kensington has always been prettty good about supporting Mac.



    You may, or may not, have to do the workaround on this <a href="http://kensington.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/kensington.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?"; target="_blank">page</a>. But, at least they supply you with the workaround.



    It glows blue. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />



    [ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: seb ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 17
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    I hate MS mice, I think they feel light and cheap. I think Logitech makes great products (with excellent ergonomics) although their drivers aren't the best in the world.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    sebseb Posts: 676member
    I take it back about the Kensington software being beta.



    Apparently its a final version.



    Hell, it's only $29.95. Maybe I'll get myself one. Way better than the buggy MS mouse, IMO. I like this Apple Mouse I got for free, but the one button thing is getting kinda tiring.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    About that Kensington Mouse: I had it for about a year. It was great and the software worked good in OS X. The reason why I replaced it was that sometimes my hand would hurt after using it for an extended period of time. With the Logitech mouse I haven't had any pain in my hand and it workd good. The only thing I like about the Kensington mouse better is that it has 5 buttons.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by seb:

    <strong>

    It glows blue. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    If you're talking about the LED on the mouse, it's not blue. The back where the light glows is blue but the light itself is red.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    sebseb Posts: 676member
    Yeah, I know. Guess I should/coulda clarified that. Blue LEDs just aren't in Mice. That would probably be a little expensive.



    It glows blue because of the blue plastic.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by seb:

    <strong>

    It glows blue because of the blue plastic.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    It doesn't though. You see the red even though there's blue plastic.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    sebseb Posts: 676member
    Really? dang. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />



    I guess red and blue would make purple, wouldn't it.



    oh well.





    [ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: seb ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Kinda, Seb. I actually had two of them. One on my iMac and one on my iBook. The one on the iMac, which was the older mouse, actually looked kinda purple but for the most part it looked like red, but not too bright. The one on the iBook, which was the newer mouse, was a bright red, no sign of any purple. It was weird.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    enderender Posts: 353member
    Well, I went to Staples today and picked up the Logitech MouseMan dual optical for $50. I like the ergonomics of it, and the thumb button is neat for games and stuff.



    So here's my experience so far:



    left click, right click, scroll wheel (for scrolling), and scroll wheel click all work in OS X. Thumb click is a bit strange, but it is recognized. In the Finder, it is like a left click on some things, but at other times it does nothing. Strange. But it doesn't really have a purpose that it could fulfill anyway IMO.



    Sacrifice recognizes the left click, right click, and scroll wheel (but not scroll wheel click).



    Red Faction for OS X (version 1.2) recognizes left and right click. No scroll wheel recognition.



    OmniWeb 4.1b works great except has no use for the thumb click. If you click the scrollwheel and then rotate it the page jumps like pageup/pagedown. If you just rotate the wheel, it is like pressing up/down on the arrow keys. Good functionality.



    IE 5.1 is the same as OW except clicking the mouse wheel does nothing different than not clicking it.



    I haven't tried the Quake/UT type games yet, so I don't know if they've written their own support for the extra buttons or not. I might do that later. I'll also try Giants later.



    Thanks for all the advice

    -Ender
  • Reply 13 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    How is the dual optical compared to a regular optical? I'm thinking of maybe getting that because I can sell my wireless optical to a friend and I don't need wireless. I was lucky though that I got it at CompUSA for $60 since most places I've seen have it for $70.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    enderender Posts: 353member
    The dual optical is very nice. My Apple Pro mouse would jump all over my screen if I moved it too fast (especially side to side). The dual optical's second sensor is positioned 45 degrees off of the first sensor, giving it the best tracking of any mouse I've ever used. I haven't had it skip around once (and I've been TRYING). One thing that might bother you is the size. My hands are fairly good sized, and I think that this mouse is just slightly too big for the best comfort.



    Updating my last post, I've been playing Giants: Citizen Kabuto for a while now, and it recognizes every function of this mouse perfectly. I like mapping the thumb button to the jet-pack, right click to sniper mode, scroll wheel to weapon select, and scroll wheel click to the zoom level (how much zoom the sniper mode has). This frees up the keyboard hand to go forward/back left/right and the turbo.



    I wish more games would utilize input devices as well as Giants. The OmniGroup really does things the right way; from their browser, to their utilities, to their games. I hope they continue such excellent work.



    Oh, and this is definitely not the mouse you want if you are a roadwarrior. It's significantly larger than the Apple Pro mouse. I may continue to use the pro mouse for my Ti PB when on the road, or I may look for a small two button/scroll wheel optical replacement. Too bad all the wireless mouse options I've seen have that huge (relatively) receiver. If it were just a small USB plug with little or no cord, with a small mouse, it would be virtually perfect for planes and cars.



    Ah well, gotta leave something for next year, eh?



    -Ender



    [ 01-06-2002: Message edited by: Ender ]</p>
  • Reply 15 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Sounds good. Maybe late this year I'll get one since so far since I've had my own computer I've gotten a new mouse once a year.
  • Reply 16 of 17
    jutusjutus Posts: 272member
    Just to add, I JUST got the same Logitech mouse, and it is by far the best solution for my needs. I'm coming from a MS Intellimouse, which is good for everyday use, but for gaming the low resolution of the sensor, and a noticible lag, really make a difference.



    Quake and Urban Terror recognize all three buttons and the scroll mouse.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    enderender Posts: 353member
    So does Oni, but you have to edit the key_config.txt file directly (use "bind mousebutton4 to ___"). By the way, anybody know what "mousebutton" is used to describe the rolling of the wheel up and down?



    -Ender
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