POinting device and digital dexterity trainer in one. (Logitech MX 500)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	Logitech MX 500
Date:	04/10/03 (287 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Accurate and responsive, Good build quality, 8 buttons!

Disadvantages: Pricey

My mouse had been limping along for the last few months, being very temperamental and naughty. It would often stick and cause me to use words my mother never taught me. This wasn't so bad for ordinary every use, but when using graphics software or gaming, this was a real annoyance.

I knew before I even started looking that I wanted an optical mouse (an optical mouse is a mouse which doesn't have the usual ball mechanism to move the pointer and relies on a light shining onto a surface and minute changes in light intensity) and that I would probably veer away from Microsoft products (previous experiences with Microsoft mice were not favourable).

Due to the variety of different kinds of mouse on the market, rather than just order something direct off a website like I would have done a year or so ago, I decided that I would first find a computer shop and try holding any mouse I liked in my hand to test for comfort. My theory is that if you're going to be using something for a while, you may as well make sure it's comfortable to use.

Within a very short period of time, I managed to get my list down to three mice, all of which were made by Logitech. I first discounted the MX310, because it wasn't as comfortable as the other two on my shortlist, despite being the most traditionally shaped of the three mice, and the cheapest. I then discounted the MX700 which was not only optical, but cordless too. But, it was simply too much money and I couldn't justify spending over £50 on a mouse. I wasn't really looking for a cordless model either.

My final choice then, was the "middle" model of the MX500 (I feel like Goldilocks faced with some porridge) which is practically identical to the MX700 in terms of size and shape, but is about £20 cheaper and not cordless.

I ended up buying the mouse from Amazon who, in a surprising move, were amongst the cheapest I found during my price comparisons, and while
the £34 (with free P&P over £25!) I paid for it was slightly over the budget I had allocated, my previous experiences with Logitech goods kept my confidence high.

Unwrapping the mouse, the first thing which was apparent to me was that the mouse wasn't as light as I had expected. With the lack of ball (a metal sphere coated in rubber), I had expected the optical mouse to be much lighter. It is lighter than a standard mouse, but not by much.

Secondly, the MX500 comes with an adapter so that you can plug it into the older PS/2 style socket, or the increasingly more popular USB port. No matter what age your computer is, you'll be sorted here (unless your computer is really ancient!). Unplug your old mouse, plug in the new and turn on your PC. The installation really is that simple! If you're using Windows XP, you might not need to install the drivers which come on CD with your mouse, but for other users (Windows 95 - Me and 2000 and Mac OS8.6 - 9.2) you might need the CD.

So, playing around with the mouse, I was impressed by the comfort factor. It was much more comfortable than previous mice I had used, and it was responding very well to my movements, despite my desk being very smooth, uniform in colour and a bit shiny. In terms of movement and accuracy, the mouse has responded well on all surfaces I've used it on: the above mentioned surface, books, the leg of my jeans and more!

In my haste to play around with my new toy, I had totally forgotten that the MX500 had eight buttons. Eight! What in the world would any normal person need with seven buttons? There are the usual "three" buttons (with the middle one also being the scroll wheel) for your usual mouse operations. One either side of your scroll wheel, you have two buttons for stepping up or down a line at a time in the window of your choice. At the very top of the mouse, there's a button which emulates the alt-tab action and enables you to change pr
ograms without clicking on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen and finally, there are two thumbs under your thumb for navigating forwards and backwards in internet browsers. I can now be seen tapping away at all these buttons without a second thought, and I'm sure my fingers are becoming more nimble by the day, even if my typing isn't improving!

I've found these buttons to be incredibly useful, and even the alt-tab one (which admittedly is a bit awkwardly placed) still gets used quite a bit. The only two which don't are the two thumb buttons, and that's mainly because I keep forgetting about them, rather than not actually being of any use. With the bundled Mouseware software, you can change these default settings and use the buttons whichever way you choose.

Overall, I've found that this mouse has done all the things I've asked of it. I was a bit wary of going down the optical route, but I've found this mouse to be every bit as responsive and accurate as my old ball style mouse with the added advantage of having a few extra handy buttons. The shape of the mouse makes it incredibly comfortable to use, but these last two facts also mean it's purely for right handed use only. I'm not sure if Logitech make left handed models. The price is still a tad too much - I can't believe I've spent over £30 on a mouse, but I'm very happy with it and I don't feel I've paid over the odds. If you're looking to upgrade your mouse, you can't go far wrong with this one.

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