Best Wireless Mouse For Developers? | The Coffeehouse

I am in the market for a mouse. I am looking for a wireless one. Doesn't have to be bluetooth. The ones with a USB dongle is just fine, but not a big clunky dongle like some come with. I like the ones that look like a small memory stick. A laser one would be optimal, but optical is fine if it is a good mouse. And definitely not one of those *notebook* mice. They are way to small. I am looking for a standard size mouse. Ergonomic would be a nice to have. Thanks for any recommendations.

W3bbo

Logitech.

I've used a great many of Logitech's mice (Vx500, Mx500, Mx518, Mx700, Mx1000) and they're all good (except the Vx500, but it's a notebook mouse, so they get forgiven for that). I've heard good things about the MX Revolution, but it seems a little too gimmicky for me.

I've used a number of Microsoft mice too (including the original IntelliMouse back in 1998), but their modern mice's wheels don't seem to have the "notches" in, so you can't feel what line you're on (and make weapon-switching in FPS gaming impossible anyway). See if there are any computer stores near you that you could visit to give them all a try. For a piece of hardware you're going to be using for the next 5 years or so, it's a good idea to get a feel for it before comitting.

Bas

I love my MX Revolution. The scroll-wheel seems sort of gimmicky, yeah, but I really love switching between ratched-mode and free-revolving-mode, or however they say that.

Can't say that I've ever used the scrollwheel on the side or the search buttons, though.

Anon-E-Mouse

I heard the MX Revolution battery life was suspect. How do you find the battery life? And what kind of dongle does it have?

W3bbo

Anon-E-Mouse wrote:

I heard the MX Revolution battery life was suspect. How do you find the battery life? And what kind of dongle does it have?

They say the MX Revolution's battery life is longer than the Mx1000.

I've got an Mx1000 and the battery lasts about 3 days extended use between charges. Charging takes about 4 hours or so. You can get more life out of it by turning the mouse off at the end of every day.

All rechargable Logitech mice have charger docks/cradles you slot the mouse into, but they don't "mesh together" well and often getting the contacts to work is a hit-and-miss affair.

But the Revolution's charger looks similar to the Mx1000s and Mx700's: it's a charger unit you stick on your desk. It connects to your computer via a USB cable (often with a PS/2 adapter bundled) and connects to a power-supply as well, so you'll have two wires sticking out of your charger.

YearOfTheLinuxDesktop

W3bbo wrote:

They say the MX Revolution's battery life is longer than the Mx1000.

I've got an Mx1000 and the battery lasts about 3 days extended use between charges. Charging takes about 4 hours or so. You can get more life out of it by turning the mouse off at the end of every day.

that's it? I change my microsoft mouse batteries usually once in a month

W3bbo

YearOfTheLinuxDesktop wrote:

W3bbo wrote:

They say the MX Revolution's battery life is longer than the Mx1000.

I've got an Mx1000 and the battery lasts about 3 days extended use between charges. Charging takes about 4 hours or so. You can get more life out of it by turning the mouse off at the end of every day.

that's it? I change my microsoft mouse batteries usually once in a month

They're non-replacable Lithium-Ion cells. In the long-run they're cheaper than using replcable AA batteries.

My Vx500 mouse's batteries only requires replacing every 3 or 4 months.

YearOfTheLinuxDesktop

W3bbo wrote:

They're non-replacable Lithium-Ion cells. In the long-run they're cheaper than using replcable AA batteries.

My Vx500 mouse's batteries only requires replacing every 3 or 4 months.

I'm using 6 rechargeable ni-mh 1600mA AA batteries (2 for the keyboard, 2 for the mouse and 2 as replacements) and switch them when they run out of juice. I think that with recent li-ion rechargeable AA batteries the mouse could last twice (they're 1.5V and some reach 2800+mA) but they're hard to find and need a dedicate charger. the battery life of the ms keyboard and mouses however is really impressive: I know people that have never replaced their mouse/kb batteries in almost a year.

jugatsu

I used the MS Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 v.1 for several years and found it to have incredible battery life; I think I changed batteries every several or more months. Good ergonomics.

I'm currently using the MS Wireless Laser Mouse 8000, which is Bluetooth. The BT transeiver allows connections from other BT devices, is the size of a flash drive and won't crowd other USB connections. It's rechargeable and has really good battery life. The battery is a replaceable Ni-MH AA R6. It's not very ergonomic, but it is comfortable.

I'm considering switching back to the 6000 as the 8000 after sitting awhile without use requires somewhat drastic movement to wake it up.

There's a version 2 of the 6000, but I have no idea what the difference is between it and v.1.

I dumped Logitech because they kept dropping driver support for only slightly older mice; forcing upgrades.

The only thing I don't like about the MS mice is what Webbo said about the wheel not being decremented. I like a "clicky" wheel, but am somewhat used to it now.

lothan

jugatsu wrote:

I used the MS Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 v.1 for several years and found it to have incredible battery life; I think I changed batteries every several or more months. Good ergonomics.

...

The only thing I don't like about the MS mice is what Webbo said about the wheel not being decremented. I like a "clicky" wheel, but am somewhat used to it now.

I agree with pretty much everything regarding the MS Laser Mouse 6000. I've had one for about several months and the battery life is excellent. I've replaced the batteries just once since I purchased it. I do sometimes wish with MS Laser Mouse 6000 had a detented scroll wheel, though. It's nice not having the detents when scrolling through text, but the detents are handy in some applications and games.

I used the Logitech Cordless Desktop LX 700 on my desktop computer for a while, but tossed the bloody thing out because the mouse won't go more than two or three days on a good charge. I suppose the battery life isn't so horrible if one keeps the mouse docked when not in use, but I found it was too much of a pain.

Sven Groot

I've got a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 5000 and I need to change batteries only once every 4-6 months. My parents have a 6000 and it's similar, and my previous Microsoft mice (with the exception of their first generation wireless mice) have also had long battery life.

Say what you will about Microsoft mice, but they have incredible battery life. I really like them. The only bad thing is that their wireless range isn't that good.

DCMonkey

Bas wrote:

I love my MX Revolution. The scroll-wheel seems sort of gimmicky, yeah, but I really love switching between ratched-mode and free-revolving-mode, or however they say that.

Bah. That was one of the worst things about it for me. Pressing it felt more like clunk than click too me. And I had no desire for the free wheeling mode but you had to install the crappy Set Point software (which crashed while installing, didn't let me configure some of the buttons the way I wanted, and I suspect has now screwed with my other mouse settings since I uninstalled it) to disable that function.

I returned it the next day.

And this from someone who has almost exclusively used Logitech mice since the 80s. I'll still use them and buy them (I mainly use a Cordless Trackman Wheel, but wanted a mouse with lots of buttons for gaming), but I won't install their software or buy any mouse that requires it to get full functionality.

Bas

Anon-E-Mouse wrote:

I heard the MX Revolution battery life was suspect. How do you find the battery life? And what kind of dongle does it have?

If you're gonna use it all day, it'll last a couple of days. Like, three. I just put it in the cradle at the end of the day.

The dongle is one of those small USB stick type things. It doesn't stick out much further than a wired USB connector's cable bend.

DCMonkey wrote:
I had no desire for the free wheeling mode

Then I'm compelled to ask why you bought that mouse in the first place.

TommyCarlier

I have to admit I don't like wireless mice and keyboards. I like wire. I don't have to worry about batteries. I also don't understand the concept of wireless laptop mice. The laptop is right in front of you, why the heck do you need a wireless mouse? And isn't a wireless mouse easier to lose, since it's not attached?

ManipUni

TommyCarlier wrote:

I have to admit I don't like wireless mice and keyboards.

I agree.

They're heavier, they require batteries and charging, and they're more likely to be inaccurate or nonfunctional.

I purchased a Logitech Wireless mouse to replace my really old Mx510 but ended up continuing to use the wired mouse because I couldn't figure out what I gained by switching over.

I guess if you have the computer too far away from your desk I can see using a Wireless mouse, but other than that I don't understand why so many people hate their wrists that much.

W3bbo

TommyCarlier wrote:

The laptop is right in front of you, why the heck do you need a wireless mouse? And isn't a wireless mouse easier to lose, since it's not attached?

Fitt's Law.

Try hitting multiple small targets in a small amount of time with a touchpad or trackpoint. You can't.

I like the "PCMCIA Mouse" concept though, shame PCMCIA is going out of fashion.

TommyCarlier

W3bbo, I agree that laptop mice are useful. I just don't get WIRELESS laptop mice.

BlackTiger

"Mouse for Developers"!?!? Big Smile

It's something new for the industry...

How mouse can help to type code?
How much buttons it must have? 102?

"Mouse for Gamers", "Mouse for Developers", "Just Mouse", "Mouse for Kitchen", "Mouse for Average Joe", "Not Quite Mouse", "Not a mouse at all"... Big Smile

W3bbo

TommyCarlier wrote:

W3bbo, I agree that laptop mice are useful. I just don't get WIRELESS laptop mice.

Hassle.

Bluetooth and Logitech's new "Nano-receiver" unit mean you don't need to plug anything in to your laptop to use it.

Plus they're great for presentations. With a 10m range you don't need to splash out on a Presenter unit, just click away with your normal mouse.

Dovella

and keyboard for Evangelist ?? Wink

W3bbo

Dovella wrote:

and keyboard for Evangelist ??

Das Keyboard.

They're so non-technical they don't know where each key is, rendering their hands useless and the Internet free from their influence.

evildictaitor

W3bbo wrote:

TommyCarlier wrote:W3bbo, I agree that laptop mice are useful. I just don't get WIRELESS laptop mice.

Hassle.

That's the reason I don't use Wireless mice. The effort of plugging in my mouse when I get to work (along with all the other things like the power cable - now why don't they make a wireless one of those?) is much less hassle than rummaging round the office trying to find batteries because your mouse is dead or worse - missing.

W3bbo wrote:

Plus they're great for presentations. With a 10m range you don't need to splash out on a Presenter unit, just click away with your normal mouse.

That's what work is for. They splash out on laser pens and wireless clickeroos for me and they're much nicer to use in presentations to boot.

CannotResolveSymbol

I was using a Logitech wireless mouse (no clue what model, I'll have to get back to you on that on Monday) for the first few days of my new job... I didn't have a mousepad, so I was using it on the surface of the desk, and it would jump around whenever it hit an irregularity on the desk (even the woodgrain would make it jump) so that it was impossible to make a straight line with the mouse.

Switched over to a Microsoft wired mouse (still without a mousepad) and now all is fine and dandy. I don't know what's different about Logitech's sensors, but the sensors in Microsoft mice seem a lot more tolerant of different surfaces.

ManipUni

Wired mice normally have a brighter light source.

blowdart