Get an added dimension...for a while. (Trust Ami Dual Scroll Mouse)

Member Name: imagin8or

Product:	Trust Ami Dual Scroll Mouse
Date:	04/07/01 (213 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: TWO Wheels!, TWO programmeable side buttons!, Relatively cheap

Disadvantages: Not incredibly long lasting., You might not use it all.

Two words: Brilliant and temporary. What do I mean? The name of the mouse 'Dual scroll' belies its brilliance. Once upon a time, mice were things you moved, then clicked. Occasionally you would double click, and occasionally you would click-drag. But no more. The scroll wheel has removed the incessant to and froing to the scroll bar and back again. Now the Dual Scroll takes that further. Other scroll mice are a two button mouse which someone has thoughtfully stuck a wheel onto. Not so the Dual Scroll.
But first things first. When you hold a mouse, the first thing you notice is the shape and ergonomics of the mouse. Don't worry on this front, as the Trust is comfortable to hold. Maybe not the best ever, but still really nice.

Now to the buttons. The two main buttons are great, doing the 'right click left click' test reveals a slight degradation of clickiness, but no more than can be expected, and less than many mice I've used (and I've used a few). Between these, we have the central island which gives the mouse its name. There are two scroll wheels, mounted aligned front to back, but the back wheel slightly offset to the right (see pic). The main wheel is the forward one, as this can be clicked as well as scrolled. If you have ever tried a Microsoft wheel mouse, you will know that the scroll wheel doesn't scroll freely, but 'clicks' in short regular lengths, as though on a ratchet system (though it's not). Most scroll wheels follow this design, including the Trust here, but they all have a different feel. An MS mouse will 'thud' its way round, as the wheel is rubber. I've met Genius type ones that have an awful mechanism which jars at each turn. The Trust, however, has it spot on. The wheel clicks like the buttons at each sector of the turn, with a light, pleasant mechanism. This makes it far better than others for 'spinning'. As any scroll mouse user will tell you, the best way to get to th
e bottom of the page is to spin the wheel by flicking the wheel with your finger. Heavy wheels like those on MS mice will travel one, maybe two 'rolls' after you spin them, but the Trust spins on for four or five. This tends to induce a strange look on nearby people who hear manic clicliclicliclic-cli-click sounds, but it is very satisfying. Both scroll wheels are like this, but I can tell you now that unless you have a small monitor or regularly edit vastly wide images or documents, the forward (main) wheel will get far more use, like the right mouse button. Both wheels are, however, a pleasure to use and you will spend more and more time spinning the wheel than pressing page down or touching the scroll bar. The forward mouse wheel can, as I said, be clicked and this is a programmeable button in the setup program, though most people will choose to have it as a 'middle button'.
In addition to the scroll wheels, the mouse provides two side buttons next to your thumb. These can be incredibly helpful as you can use the software to programme these to a variety of tasks. You can attach Internet Explorer commands to them (I use the upper, larger button to go 'back' personally), and also you can choose to launch programs and various other tasks. One to point out is the option called 'Jump' bars. Upon clicking a button programmed to one of the two Jump bars, a small grid of icons will appear next to the cursor, each of which will launch a programme, perform an IE task or any of the other things programmeable to the buttons. I had it set up to launch the NetJump bar when you clicked the lower side button, and from this you could choose to launch IE, Outlook, various IE commands, open the start button and one that closed the current application.

After all that, you must be slavering for one of these lovely devices by now. If not, I apologise for not describing it well enough, for this is indeed a brilliant device. But my second wo
rd was 'temporary', and that it is. I have had this mouse for 8 months or so now, and it is ageing fast. The main wheel has become rather stiff and squeaky, and the lower side button (probably due to my using it far less than the top button) no longer 'clicks' when pressed, and fails to perform a click sometimes. Please do not write this mouse off though, I am an extremely heavy mouse user - while at university, I have been using the computer for roughly 9-11 hours a day, mainly via the mouse. The mouse almost never greases up or submits to the common trait of not responding due to dirt or grease on the wheel, so worry not on that score. I would not consider any other mouse, personally. It cost me £15 in one of the more expensive high street shops, and has served me well for 8 months - I shall be getting a new one soon.

Well done for making it this far. If you want a mouse that can satisfy your every scrolling (and indeed gaming) need, buy the Trust Dual Scroll. It should last longer than mine did, but if its not long enough for you, you can always buy another one - they're only £15 anyway, far less than the majority of others.
Happy scrolling.

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