Laptop GPS World

Optical computer mice have been around for a long time. Those who still remember the old type mice with balls would unlikely want to ever go back to using them. But are we really happy with the optical mice? For the most part, yes. They freed us from mouse pads as they work on a lot of surfaces well.

In my mobile setup I do use an optical mouse. It always sits just beside me on the seat, and it is there when ever I need its help. However, it not always works as well on the surface of the truck's seat as it would on my desk at home.

Very soon there is going to be a better mouse in a Best Buy store near you. Microsoft just announced two new computer mice based on world’s most advanced tracking technology, Microsoft BlueTrack Technology, which allows consumers to use their mice on more surfaces than before. Microsoft’s new proprietary tracking technology combines the width and power of optical technology with the precision of laser tracking to allow consumers to mouse on virtually any surface — from a granite kitchen countertop to the living room carpet.

View demo: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mo...track-demo.wvx

As soon as these devices appear in a store near me, I will very likely not be able to resist buying one.

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Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

That might be nice, but I'll keep my Logitech VX Nano mouse. It seems to work on the carpet just fine, along with anything else I can reach sitting here on the couch.

But the best thing about it is this;

That's the size of the USB receiver. It's so small it hides next to the laptop battery. I had another mouse with a standard size receiver and was always fearful of banging it on something. I quit worrying about it on the day I did hit something, and it actually cracked the receiver! I didn't want to find out if the next accident would wreck the USB port, I ordered the Nano.

I will also stick with Logitech. Microsoft still seems to think the universe is right-handed. Their mice don't work worth a hoot in the left hand. Logitech's mice work equally well in either hand. I need that. I have carpal tunnel and tendonitis problems from too much time with keyboard and mouse over the years. So I need a mouse that I can switch hands every few minutes and it needs to fit either hand equally comfortably.

Logitech gets it. Microsoft doesn't.

PetalumaLoco, thanks for the tip on the VX Nano. I'll have to go take a look at one. I like the way my current mouse works but the dongle is a big one. I like the looks of that teensy one on the VX Nano.

...ken...

I've always liked Logitech stuff.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/no.../3271&cl=us,en

And you'll really appreciate this link...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7214327AAxyEBn

That's a laser mouse, isn't it? I've never used a laser mouse myself, and I didn't know they performed better than optical ones on various surfaces. I sure like the tiny USB unit it comes with. I wonder why Microsoft decided to still use the larger, old style, USB unit . Perhaps I should consider upgrading to Logitech VX Nano instead! Thanks for the info!

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Marvin Hlavac

Laptop GPS software reviews | Stores offering discounts to our members: Semsons & Co. Inc. and Deluo Electronics

For the record, I'm not left-handed. Indeed, over the years I had become extremely right-handed in our right-handed world (my parents told me that I had no real preference as a child). I didn't realize just how much so until my physiotherapist recommended that I start using my mouse with my left hand because of severe tendonitis in my right elbow and the onset of carpel tunnel problems in my right wrist.

What a disaster!! I had virtually zero fine motor control in my left hand. It took me three weeks just to develop some basic control of the thing. It was two or three months before I really felt comfortable using it left-handed.

That was nearly 15 years ago. Now I'm able to use the mouse equally well with both hands. And there's a real bonus to this. In developing the fine motor control necessary to use the mouse comfortably I've become nearly ambidextrous in a variety of actions. This comes in very handy when doing repairs around the house (you can't always get into tight places with your right hand) and puttering around the shop (I do a lot of woodworking in the winter when it's too cold to golf up here in the Great White North).

I don't worry too much about whether the buttons on the mouse are set up for right-hand or left-hand use. I'm good either way. As I sit here typing this, the mouse on my desktop is set up for left-handed and the mouse on my laptop is set up for right-handed.

I highly recommend becoming a switch hitter for anyone who is experiencing wrist, elbow, shoulder or neck problems on their mouse side. I would have had to cut back my computer use drastically otherwise. The tendonitis was also beginning to affect my golf game.

...ken...

One of the few review bad points on my laptop (Dell Vostro 1500) was location of the USB ports, because the USB plugs hang way out. I'm really glad the Nano came about.

Ken

My wife is left handed, I'm a righty. She writes with her left, but does most other handed tasks with her right hand, including mouse driving. If I ever have to use a mouse (or scissors) left handed, I'm lost.

I kid my boss about his being left handed, I call him "wrong handed".