# Should I get a cordless mouse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539 "2003-12-22T22:14:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/21 "2003-12-23T07:26:15Z")
Get a trackball. Getting almost impossible to find a good one these days, and they are tricky to get used to… but once you do you won’t believe you voluntarily used a mouse. Sooooo much easier on your wrist and hand, especially if you’re mousing for long stretches. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/22 "2003-12-23T08:28:57Z")
track balls are useless for gaming, at least if precision and speed are needed. I have a memorex wirelss optical mouse, for 95% of what I do its perfect, when it comes to pvp games and Sniping especially I have issues, for a sniper you need to move in small incriments quickly and some times the mouse just hangs up then leaps to the other side of your target. (who then moves on oblivious to your slowy building urge to feed your mouse to the dog) if you dont game online then you should have nothing but love for your wireless. also I run rechargables, it has its own charger but I keep a spare set charged up for those long nights. ---
**Author:** ![milk\_milk\_lemonade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@milk\_milk\_lemonade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milk_milk_lemonade)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/23 "2003-12-23T08:57:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Hail Ants said BTW, that dongle thing is converting the USB to a PS2 mouse port, not a serial port PS/2 ports are also serial, just not the old style 9 pin serial… Also, USB mice are (in my opinion) inferior because the PS/2 port has a dedicated interrupt and doesn’t share bandwidth with other devices so “should” be more responsive. I had a Microsoft Cordless Blue mouse and it was terrible, to the point where I would never touch another cordless. The batteries made it very heavy and there was a definate lag between movements which made it feel like you were working the mouse hard. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/24 "2003-12-23T09:19:44Z")
I just bought a cordless one called the Optical Faerie Mouse (I wanted one called the Optical Fucking Killer Bastard Mouse, but they don’t make them) - it is rechargeable, containing a pair of NiMH AAA batteries - it connects to the PC by means of an RF dongle that plugs into the PS2 port. It sucks, deeply - even when in powered mode (the USB charging cable plugged in), there is a noticeable lag and occasionally, the cursor responds by moving wildly in a some random direction. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/25 "2003-12-23T16:32:29Z")
My SO and I use a combination of cordless keyboards and mice. Warning: If you have a number of them running in the same room, you can get interference. At one point, I was using a cordless optical trackman, and SO was using a cordless keyboard and cordless mouse. With annoying frequency, his keyboard would interrupt my trackman, making every move a pain. Since then, he has gone back to a corded keyboard, and our 2 wireless pointing devices now play nicely. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/26 "2003-12-23T17:41:52Z")
Logitech gets my vote for the cordless keyboard and optical mouse. Get the rechargeable mouse if possible. Attach 2 or 3 strips of rubber or plastic about 3/4" wide lengthwise across the back and use it on your lap. Much easier on the arms, wrists, and fingers. My only complaint is that the mouse programming doesn’t have the features on their “Trackball FX.” * * * “Beware of the Cog” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/27 "2003-12-27T21:09:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ftg \* > \*\*Getting back to the OP: Getting a cordless mouse in no way shape or form is going to necessarily fix your mouse problem. \*\* I know this. The question should probably have been worded along the lines of, “Since I am already thinking of getting a new mouse for this reason, would an optical mouse be a good one to get?” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/28 "2003-12-28T02:09:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Critical1 \* > \*\*track balls are useless for gaming, at least if precision and speed are needed. > > I have a memorex wirelss optical mouse, for 95% of what I do its perfect, when it comes to pvp games and Sniping especially I have issues, for a sniper you need to move in small incriments quickly and some times the mouse just hangs up then leaps to the other side of your target. (who then moves on oblivious to your slowy building urge to feed your mouse to the dog) > > if you dont game online then you should have nothing but love for your wireless. also I run rechargables, it has its own charger but I keep a spare set charged up for those long nights. \*\* Works fine for Counterstrike, Delta Force, etc… ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/29 "2003-12-28T02:22:24Z")
I only wanted to say that in maybe five months of having my new computer, which I got with a wireless keyboard and mouse, I’ve had to replace the mouse batteries only twice, and the keyboard ones not at all. That’s far better than I feared, and it’s LOVELY to be able to move the keyboard if I need to (it’s on a nice flat sliding tray that doubles as a good writing surface, so I can just move the keyboard and not have to deal with a cord if I need to). I adore my wireless optical mouse. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/30 "2003-12-28T07:41:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gypsymoth3 \* > \*\*if you can’t keep AA batteries in your house, **don’t** get a battery-powered one. _especially_ if you have a baby in the house. it’s gotten so bad sometimes, between losing the mouse and running out of batteries, that i just set my computer where i can control the cursor via the number keys to the very right of the keyboard. but i can’t remember how i set it up to do that; so you’ll have to ask someone else. \*\* Just in case anyone wants to know how to do this, in Windows you goto the Control Panel, into the “Accessiblity Options” , click on the “Mouse” tab, and enable “MouseKeys.” ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539/31 "2003-12-28T13:27:40Z")
I do not know how much help I will be, but I had the same problem as you. Well, actually, after awhile my mouse didnt work at all. So to be a good American, I discovered that my problem was that the cord leading from my port to the mother board had become loose. So try that… I think it may work, although mine could of been an isolated incident. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-cordless-mouse/220539.md?page=1)