Switch To A Trackball Mouse And Save Your Wrists DistroTube
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Date: 2022-03-30
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Comments and reviews: 10
Kunimi
Really have to strongly disagree with you on this one DT. I have a Kensington Slimblade. I bought it for more or less the same reason you did and it's a fine quality product that looks super cool. However, that's where the positivity ends. Trackballs just aren't good, they fell out of favour for a reason. In fact they didn't just fall out of favour they were replaced by a superior technology; the touch-based trackpad.
I have an Apple Magic Trackpad, the old removable battery original, it runs rings around the Slimblade and works great under Linux. I feel dirty promoting an Apple product but it's really good at solving the problems you describe and significantly better than any trackball will.
The Slimblade just sits in a draw...
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Really have to strongly disagree with you on this one DT. I have a Kensington Slimblade. I bought it for more or less the same reason you did and it's a fine quality product that looks super cool. However, that's where the positivity ends. Trackballs just aren't good, they fell out of favour for a reason. In fact they didn't just fall out of favour they were replaced by a superior technology; the touch-based trackpad.
I have an Apple Magic Trackpad, the old removable battery original, it runs rings around the Slimblade and works great under Linux. I feel dirty promoting an Apple product but it's really good at solving the problems you describe and significantly better than any trackball will.
The Slimblade just sits in a draw...
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slembcke
I bought a pair of that same model over a decade ago now for the same reason. My wrists have thanked me ever since. A few years ago, my home one died after I dropped it. (misaligned the opto pair for the scroll encoder, and was never able to get it to work consistently again) I replaced it with a Slimblade and really like that one too. Speaking personally, I love trackballs for gaming too. I find the right acceleration curve paired with the ball's natural momentum very satisfying. You can just sort of fling the ball and catch it at the right time to stop it, almost exactly like you would scroll on a modern touchscreen.
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I bought a pair of that same model over a decade ago now for the same reason. My wrists have thanked me ever since. A few years ago, my home one died after I dropped it. (misaligned the opto pair for the scroll encoder, and was never able to get it to work consistently again) I replaced it with a Slimblade and really like that one too. Speaking personally, I love trackballs for gaming too. I find the right acceleration curve paired with the ball's natural momentum very satisfying. You can just sort of fling the ball and catch it at the right time to stop it, almost exactly like you would scroll on a modern touchscreen.
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Wookiee
I was gaming on exactly that trackball last night. (I literally bought it so I could game again without the pain mice have been giving me since I received a bad hand injury)
Takes a bit of getting used to but once you get the muscle memory you fine. In the Kensington software you can enable acceleration, so the faster you soon the ball the further the cursor moves. Once you get the sweet spot between sensitivity and acceleration you good to go. I'm sure there must be some way to hack those under Linux too
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I was gaming on exactly that trackball last night. (I literally bought it so I could game again without the pain mice have been giving me since I received a bad hand injury)
Takes a bit of getting used to but once you get the muscle memory you fine. In the Kensington software you can enable acceleration, so the faster you soon the ball the further the cursor moves. Once you get the sweet spot between sensitivity and acceleration you good to go. I'm sure there must be some way to hack those under Linux too
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Hargbratch
i use autocad all day, i use two mouses simultaneously, a trackball mouse with my left hand and a vertical mouse with my right
the vertical mouse is for fine precision, trackball for speed to get across all four of my monitors, left hand actually rests on my keyboard for the most part, i actually don't bother clicking with the trackball mouse, just use it to move the pointer
started doing it like this to combat numbness from ulnar nerve stuff
the trackball mouse is one of those cheap marble ones
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i use autocad all day, i use two mouses simultaneously, a trackball mouse with my left hand and a vertical mouse with my right
the vertical mouse is for fine precision, trackball for speed to get across all four of my monitors, left hand actually rests on my keyboard for the most part, i actually don't bother clicking with the trackball mouse, just use it to move the pointer
started doing it like this to combat numbness from ulnar nerve stuff
the trackball mouse is one of those cheap marble ones
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Sandro774
I'm really considering switching to a split keyboard and a trackball mouse once I have the money to spare. I'm just wondering how much dirt accumulates in a trackball mouse? Seems easy to clean, but still, touching the ball all day probably leaves lots of finger oil.
I could actually imagine using a trackball mouse for gaming. Games where precise clicking and fast movements are required are right out of course. But many games that are designed to be playable with a controller would probably work well.
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I'm really considering switching to a split keyboard and a trackball mouse once I have the money to spare. I'm just wondering how much dirt accumulates in a trackball mouse? Seems easy to clean, but still, touching the ball all day probably leaves lots of finger oil.
I could actually imagine using a trackball mouse for gaming. Games where precise clicking and fast movements are required are right out of course. But many games that are designed to be playable with a controller would probably work well.
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Duncan
I just bought the wireless version. I run Manjaro and it took me an age to configure it the way I want. Today, I have just booted in to Win10 for the first time since owning this trackball and decided to install the Kensington software. Took me about 20 seconds to configure it how I wanted for general use. This took me many many hours of research to do the same in Manjaro. Pretty annoyed that the configuration is not as fast or extensive on Linux versus Windows. Come on Kensington, put some more effort in.
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I just bought the wireless version. I run Manjaro and it took me an age to configure it the way I want. Today, I have just booted in to Win10 for the first time since owning this trackball and decided to install the Kensington software. Took me about 20 seconds to configure it how I wanted for general use. This took me many many hours of research to do the same in Manjaro. Pretty annoyed that the configuration is not as fast or extensive on Linux versus Windows. Come on Kensington, put some more effort in.
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null
According to what I know, vertical mice are better from an ergonomic standpoint. Trackball mice do not solve the issue of a poor hand position where your palm is facing the floor. Vertical mice have your palm raised to an angle which is better for your arm.
Also, I haven't been able to find any research that link mouse usage to RSI. They involve some risk factors that could advance the development of RSI and other conditions, but no concrete evidence.
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According to what I know, vertical mice are better from an ergonomic standpoint. Trackball mice do not solve the issue of a poor hand position where your palm is facing the floor. Vertical mice have your palm raised to an angle which is better for your arm.
Also, I haven't been able to find any research that link mouse usage to RSI. They involve some risk factors that could advance the development of RSI and other conditions, but no concrete evidence.
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Adam
What a freaking pile of garbage.
A gritty, dragging concrete noise.
This is an insult to egronomics.
Consider the tactile feedback and quality of Logitech-s mice, the MZ Master is a prime example. The most valuable innovation in mice since wireless has been the weighted free wheeling scroll wheel.
I think If you like a trackball, the added utility of multi touch makes a large clickable, glass trackpad more of a value add.
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What a freaking pile of garbage.
A gritty, dragging concrete noise.
This is an insult to egronomics.
Consider the tactile feedback and quality of Logitech-s mice, the MZ Master is a prime example. The most valuable innovation in mice since wireless has been the weighted free wheeling scroll wheel.
I think If you like a trackball, the added utility of multi touch makes a large clickable, glass trackpad more of a value add.
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rgfiesta
I've been playing the wired Expert Mouse for 5+ years now for video editing and gaming. I would love to move from optical sensor to laser but the scrolling ring on the new trackball is different from the old one. I wish Kensington would release a laser trackball with an independent scroll ring. I have pits on my Expert Mouse ball and asked Kensington if a replacement is available so I can extend the life on my trackball.
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I've been playing the wired Expert Mouse for 5+ years now for video editing and gaming. I would love to move from optical sensor to laser but the scrolling ring on the new trackball is different from the old one. I wish Kensington would release a laser trackball with an independent scroll ring. I have pits on my Expert Mouse ball and asked Kensington if a replacement is available so I can extend the life on my trackball.
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First
This mouse has limitations you dont get with a trackpad. You move yhe mouse yhe same way you do here and can even set it up to click just like you have it insted of using the finger taps. The only real difference is the scroll wheel. Also on a trackpad you have all 4 finger moving along with pinch to zoom so that is way more buttons than the 4 buttons on this mouse.
Unfortunately there is no good trackpad for desktop :(
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This mouse has limitations you dont get with a trackpad. You move yhe mouse yhe same way you do here and can even set it up to click just like you have it insted of using the finger taps. The only real difference is the scroll wheel. Also on a trackpad you have all 4 finger moving along with pinch to zoom so that is way more buttons than the 4 buttons on this mouse.
Unfortunately there is no good trackpad for desktop :(
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