I remember when trackballs were common. Now you hardly ever see them. I think they’re practically useless for click-dragging, since that requires you to simulntaneously hold down a button and move the trackball (whereas with a mouse you can just move the whole mouse.) The motion of an actual mouse is much more intuitive, in my opinion.
Are there people that swear by trackballs and won’t use a mouse? Why would they hold this position? What advantage could a trackball possibly offer?
Track balls are good for people that have some impairments like arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome or anything that inhibits gripping a mouse for extended periods. Some older people seem to like them.
The place I usually use my laptop at home doesn’t have enough space to move a mouse around. I use a trackball there because it’s easier than the touchpad. But on all my other computers I use a mouse.
I’ve been using a trackball for six years. When I used a mouse, I would get a pain down the middle of the back of my hand from the constant dragging and clicking. I switched to a trackball and the pain went away. I think what the trick is, is to get one such as a Logitech, which has the ball on the left side, and the left and right buttons where you rest your index and middle fingers. That way, your hand is always in the same position. Clicking and dragging is not a problem, and getting the hang of moving the ball with your thumb is easy and very fast. I use one at home and at work.
OTOH, a trackball with the ball in the middle and the buttons on either side is usesless, unless you reprogram the buttons and hold it sideways, but that’s a pain in the ass instead of the hand.
Now that I’m so used to it, a mouse bothers me. It seems awkward and clumsy.
I don’t get this: with a mouse, you have to hold down a button and move the whole mouse. With a trackball, you have to hold down a button and move the trackball. A trackball seems simpler, actually.
Now, you can make the argument that a trackball is harder to use than a mouse in general, but I don’t see why click-dragging makes a difference.
Maybe you’re using them wrong. On most of the ones I’ve used, you use your primary fingers to manipulate the ball, and your thumb to click the buttons.
I happen to like them, actually. They’re much more elegant and efficient than dragging a mouse all over the place. Your hand stays in one place, and doesn’t move.
Now that I use a laptop, I’ve found the IBM pointer-stub even better.
I much prefer my trackball. It has a large central ball I move with my fingers, two buttons (top/bottom, right- and left-click) under my thumb (scroll wheel between) and two other buttons (left/right, forward and back in a browser) under my middle and ring fingers. The whole thing is very well shaped, ergonomically (for the right hand). I move my fingers instead of my arm. And everyone else hates it, so they leave my computer alone.
I can imagine some drawbacks. I expect it would be harder to draw with than a mouse and might be less responsive in a game situation. But I do neither. And the one I like (the only one I like, my only Microsoft hardware) is getting harder and harder to find.
I can’t imagine getting used to moving with my thumb, though. I already have carpal tunnel caused by thumb triggers on power tools.
I have one of the logitech trackball mouses, with the ball on the left and my clickybuttons on the right. I find that when I’m having an attack of the crampies in my fingers/wrist on my mousin’ hand, the trackball is a lot easier and alleviates a lot of the pain. Click-dragging is not a problem. I hold the left mouse with my right index finger (like normal) and then just spin the ball with my thumb. The trackball mouse is bigger than a normal mouse, but it doesn’t move all over the shop, so it’s also more convenient on our cramped computer desk. I don’t game much with my trackball, especially not for FPS because it is a bit too twitchy for that. But for point-and-click, like WoW or the Sims, it’s excellent.
The big advantage over mice that I can see trackballs having is that they don’t require as much space, as a trackball only needs the desk space that it’s sitting on, while a mouse requires space in every direction to move. I also had a room mate who used his wireless trackball like a remote control, holding it in his lap and thumbing it around while sitting back in his easy chair (usually while watching TV via his TV card).
That said, I like mice more, since they are easier for me to use with precision (I can move my arm to make big movements, rather than lots of repeated thumb movements to do the same thing). But for times where a mouse just isn’t practical (ie: using a laptop) I swear by the IBM style mousenubbin rather than any of those other clumsy alternatives (Trackballs and the stupid annoying touchpads that combine the worst qualities of mice and trackballs).
That said, Wacom tablets are fun once you get the hang of them, but they require that you act like you’re drawing with a pencil, while resisting the urge to LOOK at what you’re drawing on. When I am using a Wacom tablet, I’m told that I assume a nigh-drooling vegetative facial gesture. Well, more nigh-drooling and vegetative then I usually tend to appear.
I have a Logitech MarbleMouse, which is the only ambidextrous* trackball I’ve ever found. Our house is mixed-handed and there’s not room for a mouse on both sides of the desk-- on the other hand, two spaces smaller than a checkbook for a trackball on either side is quite simple. (We have a spare, so we just leave them both plugged in rather than have to move the trackball every time we sit down when the other one’s been at the computer.)
I also have index-finger mobility issues, so I tend to use my ring finger for left-clicking, middle finger for moving the ball, and thumb for right-clicking. (Unfortunately, I can’t swap buttons on one without swapping them on both.)
Corr
*by ambidextrous, I mean that it’s not stupidly set up for a right-handed mouser-- there are identical buttons on either side of the ball.
The one thing I’ve noticed about using mice since I switched to trackballs for my home PCs about a decade ago, is that I can move the trackball around much faster than I can a mouse. And engineering folks shell out big money for trackball like devices to use with programs like Solidworks. I was also quite pleased to discover, when watching a program on Rutan’s efforts to win the X-Prize that, every desktop (almost all of which were Macs, BTW) had the same trackball that I use. 
Given that it doesn’t get much more cutting edge than Rutan’s place, I’d say that there’s no significant limitations to using a trackball.
Tuckerfan, that is the same trackball I am using. I got my first one, a Logitech, many years ago when I started having pains in my wrist from using a mouse for hours. I replaced it with the MS trackball last year when the mechanics finally gave out.
I use it for strategy games, RTS games, MMORPGs, and graphics work. The only problem I have is if I try playing something at a convention and all their systems have a mouse + keyboard setup. It did originally take some getting used to. But now I easily use the 5 buttons, scroll, and trackball with no problem.
Another vote for trackballs. My computer desk at home is too small (I’ve been telling myself I need to redecorate for the past several years) and doesn’t really have room for a mousepad. I use a Microsoft trackball with the ball on the left side. Click-drag is no problem; click with the fingers and roll with the thumb.
To each there own of course, but I find that a mouse does not really take up any more room than a trackball. From center page, it only takes about an inch of movement to get to any part of the page.
I also stopped using a mouse pad years ago. No need for them. Especially for an optical mouse If you keep your desk and mouse clean. I do use a mouse pad for my forearm to rest on.
IME trackballs seem to be significantly better than mice for RSI. But at home, I’ve used a pen and tablet (Wacom Graphire) for several years.
I used to use trackballs exclusively. They work equally well on any surface, without requiring a pad. They work better on small cluttered desks - you don’t need to maintain a clear space around it. And you don’ thave a cable moving around on your desk.
But with an optical wireless mouse, there’s no cable, and it works well enough on most surfaces without a pad. And the mouse allows a more natural placement of the scroll wheel. For me it’s a toss-up; I use a trackball at work and a mouse at home, and they seem equally comfortable and practical.
I’m one who swears by trackballs. Using mice a lot tires out my wrist and causes pain. Back before I got my first trackball, I would use the keyboard for just about everything I could. I found the keyboard worked for everything I could do in Windows except for Minesweeper, even though it was tedious for some things like Internet browsing. (This was with Windows 95 so I didn’t have mouse keys.) My first trackball was one of those with the ball in the middle. It was a lot better than mice, but this particular model was cheaply made and developed problems. Then I got one of the Logitech ones and loved it. That trackball and my dvorak keyboard layout made my hands feel a lot less fatigued from extended computing sessions. Also, I’ve usually had my computer next to my couch or bed, and often would be on it laying down, as I am now. A mouse, even an optical one, doesn’t do too well on a bed or couch. I imagine a wireless trackball would be the perfect pointing device for someone like me, and I plan on getting one soon to go with my wireless keyboard.
I prefer a mouse. Trackballs are harder to control.
If you have problems with a mouse, remember rule #1 of mouse ergonomics: keep your elbow supported.
Most trackballs now are too small. I used one of those old Kensington trackballs that was about the size of a billiard ball for a long time. I’ve tried more modern track balls, and didn’t like them. There’s something to be said for a massive track ball with really smooth action - remember old arcade video games with the bowling ball in them? I believe that palming a large track ball gives you better control over cursor placement than most other pointing devices. Unfortunately, integrating buttons and the scroll wheel with such an arrangement for use with PC applications is difficult. And mechanical rollers require too much maintenance / wear out eventually. I find the dinky little “track marbles” annoying and hard to use, and much prefer the mouse. Laptop pointing devices are worse. I use the touchpad, if I have to, because it’s marginally better than the little nubbin, but, IMO, the first accessory that goes in the bag with a laptop is a small optical mouse.
I second all of this. I just got a Logitech trackball mouse because my Mac-standard red-light mouse kept jumping all over the place. I absolutely LOVE my trackball mouse. Now click-dragging stuff doesn’t end up with my mouse randomly in a corner.
for Fps Games its mouse all the way, other than that I know of no real drawbacks to a trackball.