Trackball vs. Mouse

messiah

Anybody out there prefer a trackball over a mouse?



And if so, why?



I've always steered clear of trackballs - considering them to be some sort of weird off-shoot - but I recently fondled one at my local computer store and was quite taken by it!



I've also heard that a lot of advanced users swear by them.



How do they deal with dragging and dropping etc.?



Cheers,



Cam.

psgamer0921

I think that if you have to move around alot, a trackball is better. Dragging and dropping is MUCH better, because you don't have to pick up the mouse if you run out of mousepad, and risk taking your finger off the button

faust9

I like my trackball because it doesn't cause my wrist to hurt. It allows me to use different fingers to move the ball and click buttons and the like.

messiah

What about things like drawing paths in Illustrator/Photoshop?

nguyenhm16

Quote:

Originally posted by Messiah

What about things like drawing paths in Illustrator/Photoshop?

Then you should get a Wacom tablet. Mice/trackballs suck for that kind of stuff.

performa636cd

i use a trackball and i love it. my only gripe is that it isn't wireless, but i tihnk it's still worth using. i like the track ball b/c it saves desk space and you can move the cursor extremely fast w/o setting the sensitivity so high. also, if i need to use the mouse, it's a peice of cake. if you ask some mouse user to try a track ball...they're screwed. i got over the "trackball learning curve" by playing a few hours of starcraft with it

cake

I've always used trackballs.

I guess it started about 12 years ago when I started editing audio using Pro Tools. Every workstation had a Kensington Turbo Mouse back in the day.



I hate using a mouse. Very impractical IMO.

Hell, I even game with a trackball - my friends think I'm nuts, but I have 11 buttons on my Kensington Expert Mouse Pro.

That allows me many ways to deal out death in UT, UT2004 and now Doom 3.



Trackballs forever!

jiminy c.

I'm looking for a trackball. Which trackball do you suggest? Price is no object.

cake

Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro





About $100 and well worth it.

kingofsomewherehot

I'm still using an old Kensington Orbit ... smaller than the turbo-pro, but same mechanism and only two buttons. The newer ones are available with an optical sensor... I can only think that would be even better.

placebo

Quote:

Originally posted by Cake

Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro



About $100 and well worth it.

My question is: which part of your hand to you use that with? I hate thumb trackballs (no control at all).





I personally like this Logitech design:







You get extremely precise control. You can even play UT pretty nicely with them.

performa636cd

i second Placebo's recommendation. that is the exact trackball i use. i can even swich it back and forth b/w my mac and PC no problem. i use it for my games, such as starcraft and rainbow 6:3



cheap, simple, reliable!

psgamer0921

Anyone use one of these?

This



That's what I've got

whisper

Quote:

Originally posted by Placebo

My question is: which part of your hand to you use that with? I hate thumb trackballs (no control at all).





I personally like this Logitech design:







You get extremely precise control. You can even play UT pretty nicely with them.

Thing I don't like about that one is that sometimes -- just often enough to be annoying -- I'll try to flick the cursor across the screen and instead end up flicking the ball across the room. But I've only used one of them, so it might just be that that one's messed up.

cake

Quote:

Originally posted by Placebo

My question is: which part of your hand to you use that with? I hate thumb trackballs (no control at all).



I personally like this Logitech design:



You get extremely precise control. You can even play UT pretty nicely with them.

My thumb always rests on the bottom left button. My index, middle and ring fingers rest across the arc of the trackball itself.



I've used Logitech's and the smaller (than what I use) Kensington Orbit and they just don't have the same feel or control for me.

The Expert Mouse Pro's trackball itself is very heavy, quite big and is very solid feeling. This "heft" make percision and control a breeze.

placebo

Quote:

Originally posted by Cake

My thumb always rests on the bottom left button. My index, middle and ring fingers rest across the arc of the trackball itself.

Yeah, same here. It takes a little getting used to, clicking with your thumb instead of your index.

chych

Never liked the kensington turbo mouse myself, it is angled up and causes my hand to bend upward, which put stress on my wrist over time. Also you really have to reach to hit all of the buttons on it.



Definetely go for a middle/index finger track ball, not a thumb one, will be better for your hand. The logitechs look good, but I don't like their button scheme (no scroll wheel, lack of big buttons). I personally use a microsoft trackball explorer, which has 5 buttons with scroll wheel, but the buttons aren't really hinged/made that well, but I've definetely settled on this trackball and have had no wrist issues that I used to have with mice. Though you still have to clean this trackball, even if it is optical.

splinemodel

Quote:

Originally posted by nguyenhm16

Then you should get a Wacom tablet. Mice/trackballs suck for that kind of stuff.

Mice are fine for drawing paths. In fact, I prefer a mouse over a tablet for making beziers or nurbs curves. For raster drawing or digital airbrushing, though, the tablets are nice.



Bottom line: if you have good finger control, the trackballs are OK. personally, I have prematurely arthritic fingers that were never particularly dextrous to begin with. I can't use a trackball. But my wrists are quite dextrous, so mice and pens are fine.