What’s the best computer mouse? I’m not having much luck with them lately. The last one I had sometimes moved 2 pages when I clicked something, and the one I have now sometimes moves up and down when I scroll.
I seriously doubt that this question has a GQ answer, so I’m going to report it to be moved to the correct forum.
But, while we are IMHOing, this is the best pointing device in my experience.
Since the OP is looking for recommendations, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I love logitech trackballs from twenty years ago, back before they started making them too small for an adult male hand. You know, the white ones with the red ball and the cord.
Um, have fun finding one.
What do you have now and what are you using it for primarily? A Steel Series Rival 600 is going to be way overkill if you’re not a gamer and a Logitech M325(I use this at work) is not going to cut it if you are. FWIW, have you looked at the settings for sensitivity and button assignments on the computer and altered them to suit your needs? Perhaps that’s all you need to do. In any case, I’ll recommend Logitech for mice, generally as I find them relatively inexpensive, responsive and durable. The one I use at home is also rechargeable (similar to the Master 2S)and I have been very happy with it.
I’ve had more than my share of unsatisfactory experiences with a mouse. First off, I want wired. Wireless has always been a problem for me. Also, the scroll wheel has to be rubberized, I had one once I couldn’t use because my desiccated old fingers couldn’g get any purchase on it. Another had no flex protector where the wire came out, and shorted out.
The one Im using now is just an Asus, that was taken out of the box when a desktop computer was remaindered, cost me $1.50 in a phone shop. It’s as good as any. Wired, digital, has a nice feel. It’s even aerodynamic (like a vacuum cleaner) so I don’t have to overcome wind resistance drag when moving it.
To me, mouse shopping is not about finding a good one, but avoiding a bad one.
I’ve had good luck with Logitech and Microsoft. As mentioned above, the settings in your computer make or break the mouse performance. Assuming you are using a Windows machine, go to “Mouse Properties” under “Control Panel” and play around with the settings until you like them.
A friend just posted a FB picture of his new Apple wireless mouse.
With a lightning connector charging port on the bottom. :smack:
Yes, in order to recharge it, you have to plug a damned cord into the bottom of the mouse, rendering it unusable. Multiple people had to approve this design.
There ain’t no ‘looking down, shaking your head while sighing hard’ emoticon.
Yeah, it’s a crap shoot and just treasuring the good ones you find. I had a Razer gaming mouse that was garbage and replaced it with a $5 no-name Office Depot mouse (that was just supposed to be until I got a ‘real’ mouse) and used it for about two years – including gaming. I had a $10 Monoprice gaming mouse I liked a lot and eventually retired it after the rubberized surfaces were getting worn and gross. Currently using a Logitech G402 which works well enough.
My favorite mouse ever was a Logitech MX Revolution. I loved that thing and opened it to repair the button springs several times as they flattened out. Eventually the battery went bad (it was the rare cordless mouse I liked) and I had to retire it.
The MX was by far the best mouse I had ever used.
The weighted scroll wheel was a pleasure. When Logitech “updated” it, they ruined the best mouse ever made. I think they eventually got enough complaints that they brought back the free-spinng scroll wheel, but by that point I had moved on to a trackpad, and I find that superior to any mouse I’ve ever used.
Yeah, I was very sad when my last Logitech trackball died. But after trying a lot of other options, I eventually landed on the Kensington Expert Trackball, and am now almost as happy with it as I was with the Logitech. I still think Logitech did a better job positioning their buttons, but the Kensington wins by being available still, and is my nominee.
Oh, yes, they did approve. If the recharging cord didn’t render it useless, you’d simply leave it plugged in charging all the time, wouldn’t you? And then your fancy wireless mouse wouldn’t be so wireless, would it? Apple has a history of being religiously dogmatic when it comes to pointing devices. You’ll get one button, and like it, damn it.
Logitech M705. A wireless USB optical mouse with six buttons (including a clickable mouse wheel), free-wheeling mode for the wheel, a light that’s invisible in practice, a battery case that doesn’t actively attempt to self-destruct, runs on AAs (not AAAs, which are a bit harder to find around the house and don’t last as long), and has a good hand feel.
I’ve used mice since the MS-DOS era, and this is, indeed, my favorite mouse.
I’m not even sure how you’re supposed to use that. The three seconds of actual usage they showed in the video had you using all your fingers to move the ball? :dubious:
I’ve been using this for the past 15(?) years.
I have no idea why it was discontinued.
I have 4 and I keep them working.
No, No one on SDMB has nuff $$$ to get me to sell one. 
I didn’t watch the video until you mentioned it. I agree that it makes it look awkward. It’s really not.
I use a combination of my index and middle fingers to rotate the ball, and the others to drive the buttons. The top left button is completely useless to me, but I find the scroll wheel much more pleasant to use than I was expecting when I first got it.
I like the M705 as well.
The M705 is great, in case no one has mentioned it. My favorite mouse from the old days with a cord and roller ball to control the pointer was a Microsoft. Really well made and solid feeling.
When I had one I used any combination of fingers and palm that would do the trick: it became more of a holistic willpower thing than a conscious movement. I used the two other buttons for a double-click (saving one click) and a left-click-then-hold-for-drag, saving finger energy and precision not having to hold onto the button and worry about the button slipping.
I stopped using it when my version became incompatible with my Windows version, plus another big reason I got it was that the mechanical version of it lasted longer than mechanical mice but both have since been superceded by optical so that reason is gone.
Another bonus to the Kensington is that if you are on a device in an enclosed area like a plane, after some experience you can put your mouse on your leg and mouse away without fiddling with the touch screen or trying to use part of the keyboard panel as a makeshift mousepad.
Happy with my Logitech M310, which I use left handed even though I’m right handed.
I originally learned to use it that way playing DOOM back in the 90’s, with my right hand on the 10-key pad, but then kept using it that way because I could mouse and type with my right hand at the same time.
(IT guy, can type 35-50 wpm with both hands, depending on conditions)
I’ve got another wireless mouse somewhere around here that came with my latest new keyboard (I buy relatively cheap ones with the 10-key pads still on them), but I couldn’t tell you what it was.