It looks pretty and it works (Microsoft Intellimouse Optical)

Member Name: MHWake

Product:	Microsoft Intellimouse Optical
Date:	27/06/01 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: wonderful to use, smooth and accurate

Disadvantages: you won't go back to a normal mouse , soem people may not be able to get used to the different action

It looks pretty and it works (sounds like the ideal partner.) It really is an excellent product. The red light gives a satisfying sci-fi dimension to everyday tasks.

More mundanely, it's much smoother to use than a ball mouse. It responds almost instantly. It makes you realise how the mechanical action of a standard mouse has been impeding you. It's comfortable in the hand. It fits my hand as if it had grown there. It's very light to move. You can use it on any surface except a mirror, although in practice this is unlikely. (After a brief experimental period of using it on my skirt, the walls, the carpet, my left palm, or whatever - I went back to using it on a standard gel-filled mouse pad. So this feature is not really much practical use unless you use your computer in really odd circumstances.)

Mine came from the USA with Win2k, when both were unreleased/hard to find here. The drivers worked together straight away. The intention had been to use it to get a competitive edge in online gaming but the gamer couldn't get used to it, suggesting it may not be ideal for everyone. His game playing style had evolved to take into account the weight of a ball mouse. (However, it had originally been recommended by another gamer who found it indispensable.) Every other person who has tried it has loved it and decided to get themselves one.

For my purposes - doing almost anything you might use a computer for - it couldn't be faulted. The mouse died of old age after a year- ten times longer than I usually manage to keep a mouse in reasonable action - the fault was in the USB connection - possibly MY PC's USB port, rather than the mouse at all. Due to temporary poverty, I had to replace it with a standard USB mouse - completely useless after two months, relatively useless from the beginning to someone who had got used to a REAL mouse.

So - all I can say against it is - once you get one, if you love it, you will have to
keep replacing it with others of the same type. So make sure you stay reasonably well off in future. Given its long life, however, it works out much cheaper than cheap computer fare USB mice in the long run.

So, bad as I should feel about recommending a Microsoft product - I can't say anything except get one if you can.

Summary: