Not as nice as the old IntelliMouse (Microsoft Trackball Optical)

Member Name: richngill

Product:	Microsoft Trackball Optical
Date:	05/11/01 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Saves desk space, Lots of features

Disadvantages: Thumb controlled

I recently built a new computer and so my wife decided she'd like to use my old one. She loved the old IntelliMouse trackbal that was attached to it so I decided to get a new one so we could have one each. When I went down to Dixons, it turned out they didn't stock it anymore. All they had was this new Optical Trackball so I thought I'd get that as new probably meant better!

The Optical Trackball boasts a few extra features than the good old IntelliMouse...

1) No moving parts!

The IntelliMouse was just like a normal mouse with wheels and stuff but this Optical Trackball is quite different. If you pop the ball out of it's socket you can see a little camera and some red LEDs that light up whenever movement of the ball is detected. Instead of moving parts it uses this little camera (hence the term optical!) to sense the movement of the ball. This means that it should never need cleaning like a conventional mouse.

A bit of fluff managed to get inside the tackball housing and sit right in front of the camera which caused my pointer to zoom all over the screen! This was fixed once the fluff was removed but it just goes to show that it isn't as maintenance free as you're led to believe.

2) Ball position

The old IntelliMouse took a bit of getting used to with the buttons being located on the side rather than the top like a normal mouse. The ball was controlled with your finger which was a very comfortable system once you got used to it.

For this new Optical version, Microsoft decided to sit the ball on the side and place the buttons on the top. I suppose this was to make it easier to use if you're used to a normal mouse. Maybe it's just because I've come to love my IntelliMouse, but I find this new system really horrible! I can control the accuracy of the pointer with much more precision by using my finger so the new system is definitely worse for me.

3) Extra buttons

Like the IntelliMouse
, this model has a scroll wheel so you don't have to use those horrible scroll bars to get to the bottom of the page. It has two additional little buttons at the edges of the main Left and Right ones. You can configure these to do what you like, but by default the act as "Back" and "Forward" buttons for use in programmers such as Internet Explorer. I haven't got into the habit of using them yet and have to stop myself from placing the pointer of the "Back" icon on the toolbar!

4) USB and aesthetics

This mouse is USB compatible although it is supplied with a nice USB to PS/2 converter.

It's quite a modern looking mouse... The IntelliMouse was like a big friendly rounded cream & grey lump whereas the Optical version is an ultra modern, sleek red and black affair! The IntelliMouse was smooth and shiny and nice to hold, while the Optical is rough and textured which you either like or you don't (and I don't). The IntelliMouse did its job without making a fuss, while the optical version constantly emits a red glow from behind the ball when static, and then shines bright red with the slightest movement! This seems novel at first but soon gets irritating.

If I were you I'd try and get an old IntelliMouse Trackball instead!

Summary: