wireless mice

Factual Questions
1

I am thinking about giving in after the last 6 years of going mouseless (yes, I AM that good with keyboard shortcuts) and getting a mouse for my PC. The two primary reasons I am getting a mouse are

a. I just can’t deal with these new computer games that all but force you to use the very hated “move and shoot with the mouse and use the W key to walk forward” games using traditonal arrow keys & left hand shoots key configs anymore, and I want to try it the way THEY want me to play

b. my computer is in a rather large room, and often I’m over on the couch or on my bed doing other things and I want to change one little thing on my computer (playlists etc) and I want a mouse that can work like a remote control so I won’t have to get up off my lazy ass. A portable keyboard is too much for that (besides, I love my keyboard)

regarding b…I’ve been doing a little research into it, and it seems like all of the logitech wireless mice only have a range of 6 feet. Microsoft mice use Bluetooth, so the range is about the same as a cordless phone would be. The only problem is they are WAAAY more expensive. I’m left handed, so I don’t really care (infact I may even shy away from) about the ergonomic designs, which tend to be more expensive, and I don’t need all the extra buttons. However, if the range really is just 6 feet, then I’ll be defeating the purpose anyway. Anyone out there with wireless mice and want to offer their opinions, or maybe do a test to see how it would work from about 10-15 feet away?

2

I would be wary of wireless mice for games. Some versions “go to sleep” very quickly, and take a bit to come back. Check that out; you don’t wanna be catching a rocket in the head just because you find a wire unsightly. :wink:

3

You’ve ruled out a leashed mouse entirely? The cord for my mouse here (Gateway Optical) is about 6 feet, same as the range of the cordless, it would seem.

The thing with cordless mice is that they take batteries that run out (sometimes in the middle of a game) and they are bulkier and often heavier. Plus, it might get lost, just like a remote.

As for the miceless-until-now bit – :open_mouth:

4

I find the mouse to be the most important part of the computer. Most people aren’t good with the keyboard, and only use it to type. I only use a very few shortcuts myself.

The purpose of the mouse is to click anywhere you want on the screen at once, as easily as possible. A keyboard will let you move through the screen, like driving, while the mouse makes it more like flying. You don’t care what’s there,just put the pointer where you want it.

That being said, you don’t actually need a mouse. What you want is something that works like a mouse, that you can use far away from the computer.

This i know something about. q;}

My computer has three ‘mice’ on it. One is the generic mouse that it came with. It sits on the desk and never gets used. I also have a wireless logitech trackball, which is what I use instead most of the time. Then I have a pen-tablet, for drawing and some other uses. All three do exactly the same thing, move the pointer around the screen and click. I use them for entirely different reasons.

I have the wireless trackball because, 1) I hate mice. Just don’t like the way a mouse works… something about moving a block around. I dunno. 2) I like to do stuff when I’m not within the 6-foot limit that a cord allows, so I got it cordless. 3) Hi Opal.

The cordless thing means it uses a AA battery, wears out in a couple months. Sort of a pain, but it’s worth it. It’s got a little roundish deelybobber that plugs into the USB port, and you put this on your desk. Then you set the ‘mouse’ next to it, and when you move the mouse, it radios the deelybobber, and bingo, you got control.

I put the receiver up on the wall with velcro. It easily covers the entire room… my whole apartment, in fact, since it is a very small apartment. Then I just carry my trackball around, anywhere I can put it I can use the ‘mouse’… heck, since it’s a trackball I just hold it if I want. It’s perfect for music: just put the pointer on the “SKIP” button, remove the ball so it doesn’t move, turn off the monitor, and mp3’s all night.

Now, being left handed a trackball might be harder for you to find than a mouse, assuming you want to use it comfortably. It might be worth looking into however. There are a rather large variety of things that can be used as ‘mouse substitutes’ in fact. Shop around, look for something small and wireless that you like the feel of. It will be worth the trouble.

Short answer: Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse, with Scroll Wheel. Those things come in mighty handy. The optical part means you won’t have to use a mouse pad, it’s a eunich mouse… no balls. q;}

5

Wireless mice only have a range of about 6 feet for a couple of reasons:

  • it gets more expensive to build them to work for longer distances. (Some of the expense may be legal issues - FCC rules compliance).
  • there really isn’t much demand for them. Most people can’t read their screen from that far away.

Even the 6-foot distance can cause some amusing problems. A friend of mine once worked in computer support at the University, and was eventually called to a dorm room where a student with a wireless mouse was having wierd problems with his computer seemingly having a mind of it’s own. And wierder still, they had discovered that moving it to the other side of the room solved the problems!

After first telling them that this was a computer haunted room, because in a previous year, a dorm resident’s computer had died on that very desk (freshmen will believe anything!), he checked in the dorm room on the other side of the rather thin wall, and found another student with an identical wireless mouse, on the desk right up against the wall. Apparently the 2 mice were interfering with each other.

6

I’m pretty good with a keyboard myself, and can (but don’t) do without a mouse, mostly. The only thing I haven’t figured out yet is how to access the sys tray in Win XP (well ok, not the only thing, but the others I can do without!). Do you know how it can be done, if it can be done, fusoya?

7

They don’t seem too expensive:
Logitech Cordless Elite Duo Set
For $34.71 Shipped After Rebate

(Might still be on sale)

Cordless Elite Duo Keyboard & Mouse

Here is an article on these:
http://www.monkeyreview.com/reviews/review.php?num=213

8

The cordless Elite Duo is NOT NOT NOT a standard 104 key keyboard!!! They made the F keys smaller so they could have extra space for the most meaningless huge keys, and (and this is the worst part) the moved the keys. Take a close look at the Esc key. It’s moved over to the right. And what did they put where the Esc key used to be??? THE SHUTDOWN KEY!!! If you use your keyboard for drafting and you find yourself pressing Esc a lot, DON’T BUY THIS KEYBOARD!!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost HOURS of work because of this DAMN keyboard!!!

The mouse buttons are also very small so if you have long fingers it’s no good either.

WHY DO THEY HAVE TO CHANGE THESE THINGS!!!
MY KINGDOM FOR A WIRELESS KEYBOARD WITH THIS LAYOUT:

9

I’ve got a wireless Logitech mouse and have been really happy with it. It works fine, and I’ve only have to change the batteries rarely.

10

Hitting the Tab key four times from the desktop does it for me.

11

My two cents: I got a Gyration Ultra mouse/keyboard combo for exactly the purpose mentioned in the OP, and it works well. It’s a cordless optical mouse, plus it’s got a (completely silent and otherwise undetectable) gyro in the mouse so you can use it by waving it around in the air. It comes with a really slick charging stand, so you don’t have to replace AAA batteries all the time, it works up to 25 feet away (although I’ve noticed that the reception is bad if the signal has to go around corners, so line-of-sight is sort of required even though it’s RF), and it has an “association” feature which binds it to the receiver so that you don’t have to worry about someone in the next room having one too. The keyboard isn’t that great – I stick to my regular keyboard and only use the gyration keyboard in a pinch. It’s a cramped layout, and has some odd key placements, and lacks status lights (numlock/scrolllock/capslock) on the keyboard itself, which is kind of annoying. The keyboard takes AA or AAA batteries – can’t remember which. You can buy the mouse by itself, but I recall seeing that it was nearly as expensive as the keyboard/mouse combo, which I think I paid $89 for.

gouda: Windowskey-Tab is the secret. From there, you can use tab, arrow keys and the menu key to get to all (I think) functionality of the tasbar (except the start menu, which you obviously get using the Windows key by itself).

12

I have a Logitech cordless USB wheel mouse and despite the dire warnings in the documentation (6 foot range, don’t place the receiver near anything else electronic, etc.) I’ve found that it actually has much more range than claimed (I know it works fine from 10-15 feet away, I haven’t tested beyond that) and I have no problem placing my receiver in a cluster of electronic crap on my desk.

13

I’ve got a Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse, which is a plain, symmetrical three button + wheel optical mouse. I use it for games all the time, and have no problem. For example, yesterday I played about 4 hours of Desert Combat and only failed to be in the top 5 once when I was goofing off.

Anyway, I just tried it, and so long as the reciever has a clear view (I know it’s radio, but line of sight doesn’t hurt) of the mouse, it can go at least 15 feet. That’s the farthest I can get away from my computer in my computer room. It still seemed to work ok. However, it doesn’t work so well for me with anything blocking the path, especially laptops.

Do the microsoft ones really use bluetooth? The ones I’ve seen all say 6’ range, which would be about the same as the logitechs.

14

I’ve got a logitech cordless optical mouse, and upon experimentation, it appears that the mouse still functions from as far as 25 feet away from the computer – can’t read the screen worth a damn from that far, but, hey, mouse still works. My apartment is such that I can’t get any farther away from the computer. “Reception” is a little jerky after 15 or so feet.

15

thanks for the advice, everyone. I decided to go with the Logitech MX700. It’s lefty unfriendly, but I pretty much always used mice with my right hand anyway, and I doubt other than gaming I’ll be leaving all my keyboard saavy behind. Figuring out stuff to do with 7 buttons will be fun too.

The mouse passed my first test - I can use it anywhere in my room, even when I’m more than 10 feet away. I find it interesting how it decides what surfaces it will and won’t work on. It WILL work on my leg when I’m wearing jeans, but not on my palm or the sheets of my bed. It’ll work when I put it up against the wall, but not on my brown carpet. And of course, it works on my desk.

I just got one question - the base came with an AC adapter, but it seems to work fine without out (just plugged in USB port). What’s the point of powering it? Does it just get the same juice through the USB port (the only other usb devices I ever really use with my computer are a gamepad and my digital camera for transfering photos, and sometimes a scanner)

16

It may be that you need the AC adapter if it’s plugged into an unpowered USB hub. Some hubs have their own power supplies and some don’t. If they don’t, they’re “unpowered” hubs and devices which draw lots of current won’t work.

17

Oh, yeah. I tested the MX700. It’s sitting on my shelf cause the rechargable batteries last about 6 HOURS! Totally worthless for a regular 8 hour workday. What a piece of crap! And it’s not as smooth as my Microsoft mouse. Mine doesn’t use Bluetooth, but they do make a mouse that DOES use Bluetooth.