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Jinn · 03-27-2007, 04:52 PM

I take mousing very seriously.

Lasereth:

Your video card wisdom aside, you're really quite wrong about ball mice. They're incredibly imprecise, in the strictest meaning of the word. Certainly there is more friction, but that doesn't imply accuracy. You could make the same argument for an analog control stick on a video game console versus a digital control pad. The analog stick offers more "friction" in the sense that it has a finite set of states (8) it can be in. This could be a good thing, as minor movements are ignored and it collapses into the nearest state. However, with a digital input, your possibilities for input direction number in the hundreds (depending on the precision of the controller), so you have much more control. The downside to this is that minor movements make dramatic differences, so you must be much more precise in your movement.

I do, however, agree with your sentiment that early wireless mice were wretched, and the latency made certain games frustratingly unplayable. I used one of the Microsoft optical mice once, and I will never use it again.

Additionally, ergonomics is important to me, because I typically gamed for 12-18 hours at a time, comfort was important. Using standard "block" mice like the Dell, Microsoft, and even some Logitech mice wears on my hand and lessens my grip.

Some "ergonomic" mice are bad, also, because of their weight distribution. I've held mice that were simply too light and flew across the mouse pad with little resistance, and mice that felt like bricks dragging across concrete. Weight, however, is a very different thing for different people, depending on your mousing angle and wrist strength.

My personal favorite (and longtime favorite) is my MX1000 on a Aqua3 pad (by X-Ray Technology).

The surface is important (inversely to the weight of your mouse) for making sure that you have fluid motion; I strongly believe that an effective mouse should be able to traverse your screen with less than 3 inches of lateral movement from your hand. This typically means one to 1.5 mouse-widths of movement (in total span) to cross your screen. Time spent moving your arm, lifting the mouse, setting the mouse down, or doing anything but moving the cursor is time a better-equipped player is not spending. By the time you get to their head, they've likely been on your head for a half-second or more. Try watching your hand the next time you game. Consider the time spent moving it around the pad.

Ergonomic standards recommend using the force of your arm rather than your wrist, simply because extended movement (maximum left to maximum right) movement of your wrist is straining. The ideal mouse, however, doesn't require you to ever reach the tolerance of your wrist. My mouse, properly configured, requires no more movement of my hand than the distance from A to H on keyboard.

Button use is important to, and I've found that using a mouse with a mechanical click (physical sliding of plastic) is less responsive than a mouse with membrane clicking. Each time you click, the plastic must move down to contact the sensor, and after the click it must return to the starting position. This is more time spent clicking that could be avoided by membrane. On the MX1000, you will not notice a "click" in the sense that anything moves. Furthermore, because your hand is in an ergonomic position (pressing the button with the hand at rest), you don't have to bend at the knuckle to click. "Clicking" simply means movement at the upper knuckle - more force, less time, and less discomfort over long gaming sessions.

The final consideration is, of course, precision. I'd been buying the precision optical mice as they were released by Logitech and others, but they simply weren't as accurate as I felt they could be. When I heard about the release of a laser mouse, I was sold. The MX1000 has a amazing accuracy and a 600 Hz sample rate - 6000 scans of the surface every second tells me that a minor change in the position of my hand can me a dramatic movement on the screen. After you get used to it, it feels like a natural extension of your hand rather than a mechanical device.

On latency: I hesitated strongly when I realized that the MX1000 was a wireless mouse, but it uses Fast RF - a technology that allows 2.5 times the speed of conventional wireless. I'd estimate the mathematical latency at 900 microseconds, but thats far beyond what I can notice, and (practically) faster than my computer can receive the input.

On power: I've had the mouse die twice - once before a CAL match for CounterStrike 1.6 (years ago) and once during the middle of nothing important. It rarely dies because it turns off after a few seconds of non-movement, and it's habitual for me to throw into the charger. The time it died before the CAL match, I freaked. But I threw it into the charger for a few minutes (couldn't have been more than five) and although the battery light was at 1, it lasted through the match and for the rest of the night, before I remembered to charge it again.

On price: I consider a mouse an investment just like any other piece of hardware in my computer, and if I'm paying $300 for a video card, I don't see much value in getting a $10 mouse. It might look pretty, but a computer is interactive multimedia, and I want the utmost in control and comfort when I'm interacting. Additionally, a mouse should always outlive your computer (two years) and so it's a fine investment to spend $60-$70 on a mouse you really love.

Technological evangelism aside, make sure you find the mouse that's right for you. Consider comfort, speed, accuracy, weight, mousing surface and price. If you're doing things all day long in Dreamweaver, Flash, Word and Excel, you don't need a laser mouse. If, however, you need pinpoint accuracy (2-5 pixels) as quickly as possible, try a laser mouse, preferably weighted for your hand and strength..

03-27-2007, 04:52 PM	#22 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	I take mousing very seriously. Lasereth: Your video card wisdom aside, you're really quite wrong about ball mice. They're incredibly imprecise, in the strictest meaning of the word. Certainly there is more friction, but that doesn't imply accuracy. You could make the same argument for an analog control stick on a video game console versus a digital control pad. The analog stick offers more "friction" in the sense that it has a finite set of states (8) it can be in. This could be a good thing, as minor movements are ignored and it collapses into the nearest state. However, with a digital input, your possibilities for input direction number in the hundreds (depending on the precision of the controller), so you have much more control. The downside to this is that minor movements make dramatic differences, so you must be much more precise in your movement. I do, however, agree with your sentiment that early wireless mice were wretched, and the latency made certain games frustratingly unplayable. I used one of the Microsoft optical mice once, and I will never use it again. Additionally, ergonomics is important to me, because I typically gamed for 12-18 hours at a time, comfort was important. Using standard "block" mice like the Dell, Microsoft, and even some Logitech mice wears on my hand and lessens my grip. Some "ergonomic" mice are bad, also, because of their weight distribution. I've held mice that were simply too light and flew across the mouse pad with little resistance, and mice that felt like bricks dragging across concrete. Weight, however, is a very different thing for different people, depending on your mousing angle and wrist strength. My personal favorite (and longtime favorite) is my MX1000 on a Aqua3 pad (by X-Ray Technology). The surface is important (inversely to the weight of your mouse) for making sure that you have fluid motion; I strongly believe that an effective mouse should be able to traverse your screen with less than 3 inches of lateral movement from your hand. This typically means one to 1.5 mouse-widths of movement (in total span) to cross your screen. Time spent moving your arm, lifting the mouse, setting the mouse down, or doing anything but moving the cursor is time a better-equipped player is not spending. By the time you get to their head, they've likely been on your head for a half-second or more. Try watching your hand the next time you game. Consider the time spent moving it around the pad. Ergonomic standards recommend using the force of your arm rather than your wrist, simply because extended movement (maximum left to maximum right) movement of your wrist is straining. The ideal mouse, however, doesn't require you to ever reach the tolerance of your wrist. My mouse, properly configured, requires no more movement of my hand than the distance from A to H on keyboard. Button use is important to, and I've found that using a mouse with a mechanical click (physical sliding of plastic) is less responsive than a mouse with membrane clicking. Each time you click, the plastic must move down to contact the sensor, and after the click it must return to the starting position. This is more time spent clicking that could be avoided by membrane. On the MX1000, you will not notice a "click" in the sense that anything moves. Furthermore, because your hand is in an ergonomic position (pressing the button with the hand at rest), you don't have to bend at the knuckle to click. "Clicking" simply means movement at the upper knuckle - more force, less time, and less discomfort over long gaming sessions. The final consideration is, of course, precision. I'd been buying the precision optical mice as they were released by Logitech and others, but they simply weren't as accurate as I felt they could be. When I heard about the release of a laser mouse, I was sold. The MX1000 has a amazing accuracy and a 600 Hz sample rate - 6000 scans of the surface every second tells me that a minor change in the position of my hand can me a dramatic movement on the screen. After you get used to it, it feels like a natural extension of your hand rather than a mechanical device. On latency: I hesitated strongly when I realized that the MX1000 was a wireless mouse, but it uses Fast RF - a technology that allows 2.5 times the speed of conventional wireless. I'd estimate the mathematical latency at 900 microseconds, but thats far beyond what I can notice, and (practically) faster than my computer can receive the input. On power: I've had the mouse die twice - once before a CAL match for CounterStrike 1.6 (years ago) and once during the middle of nothing important. It rarely dies because it turns off after a few seconds of non-movement, and it's habitual for me to throw into the charger. The time it died before the CAL match, I freaked. But I threw it into the charger for a few minutes (couldn't have been more than five) and although the battery light was at 1, it lasted through the match and for the rest of the night, before I remembered to charge it again. On price: I consider a mouse an investment just like any other piece of hardware in my computer, and if I'm paying $300 for a video card, I don't see much value in getting a $10 mouse. It might look pretty, but a computer is interactive multimedia, and I want the utmost in control and comfort when I'm interacting. Additionally, a mouse should always outlive your computer (two years) and so it's a fine investment to spend $60-$70 on a mouse you really love. Technological evangelism aside, make sure you find the mouse that's right for you. Consider comfort, speed, accuracy, weight, mousing surface and price. If you're doing things all day long in Dreamweaver, Flash, Word and Excel, you don't need a laser mouse. If, however, you need pinpoint accuracy (2-5 pixels) as quickly as possible, try a laser mouse, preferably weighted for your hand and strength.. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel Last edited by Jinn; 03-27-2007 at 05:05 PM..