Trackballs vs Mice

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

The Wacom is almost as intuitive as using a pen, and for me it's almost perfect

A Wacom Intuos or Cintiq or...?

I'm currently looking at the Intuos S, which is perfect for screen control. There is a cheaper version without Bluetooth, but that's a feature I'm particularly interested in. If you are interested in digital art or photo work, then maybe consider a medium. I might see if I can stretch to afford a medium one for photo-editing.

https://www.wacom.com/en-us/products/pe ... com-intuos

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Anyone here using a trackball and how was your journey and experience?

As I said to Michael, the Wacom also offers huge advantages over mice and trackballs if you have any interest in digital art or photo editing

[yellowmix]

The tracking surface makes a huge difference with mice. Optical mice were a big improvement since ball contact is prone to all sorts of tracking problems. Laser mice improved it since it uses infrared as opposed to visible light so the mouse pad colors don't matter. Yeah, you can use them on a plain desk or your pants even. But get something like a steelseries qck mouse surface, it's what pro gamers use, they need perfect tracking in competition. I switched to one ages ago (from various mouse pads, including some very bad reflective ones!) and I've never had a tracking problem ever again.

Also, it'll be kinder to the mouse feet and you won't have to replace mice that often. Which mice do you have now? I can tell you which ones are garbage and which to try with the mousing surface.

[yellowmix]

As I said to Michael, the Wacom also offers huge advantages over mice and trackballs if you have any interest in digital art or photo editing

Had a large Wacom at my last job, was great for digital painting and photo retouching. Found it cumbersome and slower with a DAW and video editing; have to move your whole arm much farther than a mouse with variable DPI, and it was awkward to have one arm out for keyboard shortcuts and the Wacom either way to the side or closer or farther. A smaller tablet would have solved that but then I'd lose the precision.

[DrGonzo]

The tracking surface makes a huge difference with mice. Optical mice were a big improvement since ball contact is prone to all sorts of tracking problems. Laser mice improved it since it uses infrared as opposed to visible light so the mouse pad colors don't matter. Yeah, you can use them on a plain desk or your pants even. But get something like a steelseries qck mouse surface, it's what pro gamers use, they need perfect tracking in competition. I switched to one ages ago (from various mouse pads, including some very bad reflective ones!) and I've never had a tracking problem ever again.

Also, it'll be kinder to the mouse feet and you won't have to replace mice that often. Which mice do you have now? I can tell you which ones are garbage and which to try with the mousing surface.

I bought a Razer Mamba a couple of years ago and while the mouse itself is of excellent build quality, nice weight, good simple look and a very nice balanced weight - the tracking is bloody awful in wireless and the driver... yeah... sounds cool to have a driver connected to the "cloud"? It's not. Now I use a cheap Trust mouse which actually is the best I've used in years. Good feel and way better tracking than the Razer.

I tried to go Trackball a couple of times, and every time I ran away in total fear But I think I'll give it an honest shot now. I'm utterly fed up with having to match a good mouse pad with a mouse, cleaning the sensor and that it takes big space on the desk.

/C

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

As I said to Michael, the Wacom also offers huge advantages over mice and trackballs if you have any interest in digital art or photo editing

Had a large Wacom at my last job, was great for digital painting and photo retouching. Found it cumbersome and slower with a DAW and video editing; have to move your whole arm much farther than a mouse with variable DPI, and it was awkward to have one arm out for keyboard shortcuts and the Wacom either way to the side or closer or farther. A smaller tablet would have solved that but then I'd lose the precision.

Wacom preferences usually allows you to define a user area within the tablet. Even on my small Bamboo, I have reduced the tracking area so that I am able to traverse a 27" screen with wrist movements only. Of course, these settings would likely need to be changed for finer-detailed art purposes.

As for positioning, I guess it's never been an issue for me. I have it to the right of my trackpad, so it's even further out. No problems for me.

In my case, I can't use anything else for any duration. I've tried feather-touch gaming mice, trackballs, vertical mice and trackpads. The only controller method that gives me complete comfort over extended periods is the Wacom.

I am not suggesting it will work for everybody, but I think it's definitely worth everybody trying

[yellowmix]

I bought a Razer Mamba a couple of years ago and while the mouse itself is of excellent build quality, nice weight, good simple look and a very nice balanced weight - the tracking is bloody awful in wireless and the driver... yeah... sounds cool to have a driver connected to the "cloud"? It's not. Now I use a cheap Trust mouse which actually is the best I've used in years. Good feel and way better tracking than the Razer.

Ah, yeah, I don't do wireless especially with so many electronics on my desk, it's just begging for interference. If the cord poses a problem, I find tethering it with about 8 inches of play is sufficient for me. Using a Roccat Tyon right now.

I've tried trackballs myself, found the finger movements to be worse (but different) for RSI than mouse arm movements. I became more disciplined with mouse use (moving the arm more than the wrist and being at the right height to match the desk surface) but there's just no getting around the click movement and taking breaks. Hope it works out for you!

[yellowmix]

I am not suggesting it will work for everybody, but I think it's definitely worth everybody trying

To lower the barrier to entry, might be worth looking at the Monoprice tablets, or just go to the Huion which it's rebranded from. One needs the Huion driver for Mac compatibility.

[DrGonzo]

I don't do wireless especially with so many electronics on my desk, it's just begging for interference. If the cord poses a problem, I find tethering it with about 8 inches of play is sufficient for me. Using a Roccat Tyon right now.

That's true. Good suggestion!

/C

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I am not suggesting it will work for everybody, but I think it's definitely worth everybody trying

To lower the barrier to entry, might be worth looking at the Monoprice tablets, or just go to the Huion which it's rebranded from. One needs the Huion driver for Mac compatibility.

The Huion does look interesting. However, I would worry that I couldn't set it up in the same way as my current tablet. It also seems that the newer Wacom preferences allow profiles, which definitely helps with changing the tablet area between apps. And when I take into account wanting wireless, the prices are actually higher.

Thanks for the idea

[No_Use]

The only real downside is having to pick up the pen to use it. Another reason I keep the trackpad, alongside

Throwing in another option I'm currently thinking about (taking above comment into account) is a Thinkpad USB keyboard with trackpoint, e.g.
https://www.amazon.com/SK-8845CR-Keyboa ... 076TTGTGK/

Been using several Thinkpad laptops with trackpoints in the past and gotta say, I quite like it as a mouse controlling device. Switching between mouse controlling and typing is very fast obviously, as your hand never needs to leave the keyboard.

Though not sure yet what I'll end up with eventually...

[Glyn Darby]

Hi all, I have a Kensington Trackball that I have been using for about two years and after a couple of days of getting use to it I would not go back to a mouse for certain. Cheers Glyn.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

The only real downside is having to pick up the pen to use it. Another reason I keep the trackpad, alongside

Throwing in another option I'm currently thinking about (taking above comment into account) is a Thinkpad USB keyboard with trackpoint, e.g.
https://www.amazon.com/SK-8845CR-Keyboa ... 076TTGTGK/

Been using several Thinkpad laptops with trackpoints in the past and gotta say, I quite like it as a mouse controlling device. Switching between mouse controlling and typing is very fast obviously, as your hand never needs to leave the keyboard.

Though not sure yet what I'll end up with eventually...

Always quite liked those red nipple thingies. However, that external keyboard is all kinds of unnecessarily-huge. And the benefits of the Apple trackpad's gestures is something that I'd rather not be without

[No_Use]

Always quite liked those red nipple thingies. However, that external keyboard is all kinds of unnecessarily-huge. And the benefits of the Apple trackpad's gestures is something that I'd rather not be without

In case when using a laptop sure, an additional external keyboard just for a trackpoint is a big space waster, however, in my case, I'm on PC so I need a keyboard anyway.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

however, in my case, I'm on PC so I need a keyboard anyway.

I have my laptop linked to an external monitor, so I also use an external keyboard and trackpad