anyone using a trackball?

K

kafene

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i just got one today and it's going to take some getting used to. i got a microsoft one that has the ball operated by the thumb while the other fingers operate the button. it's digital.

i was wondering if anyone out there has one and feel that it is not as accurate as the mouse. when i make small movements, it doesn't seem to respond or move as accurately as the mac pro mouse. is it my trackball or are they all pretty much like that?:confused:

kafene
 
I used to use a Kensington TurboMouse all the time. I still do at work, but I just got a Logitech optical mouse for my PowerBook.

4 buttons are REALLY nice - my buttons are programmed like this: Enter, Command-W, Option-Click, & Click. I can just whip around the finder like nothing else.

As far as small movements go, yes that can be an issue, especially when the rollers are dirty (but it doesn't sound like you have a problem with that). Kensington MouseWorks software is great for setting speeds and acceleration and stuff, but I think trackballs are inherently harder to control for precision stuff than a mouse.
 
and i think i'm kinda getting used to it. small, tiny movements are not as good as the mouse, but since i have both hooked up, i guess it's really not much of an issue any more. i am enjoying it though :D , but not quite yet able to zoom around like i used to w/ the mouse. good to hear that you guys like the yours and are used to using it. i wasn't sure if trackballs allowed you to "zoom" like the mouse ;)

kafene
 
The accuracy of the trackball depends on the size of the ball. At home I have a Kensington Orbit -- medium sized ball, fairly accurate. Currently at work I have a Logitech Trackman. Small ball, difficult to place exactly. I used to have a Kensington TurboRing at work. Huge ball -- I could manipulate pixels with it.

I have known quite a few graphic designers who swore by trackballs -- they'd rather cut off their left arms rather than use a mouse to do the same tasks. Why? Precision.

Also, I have to say that I am very disappointed with the whole Kensington line, but only due to the non-optical technology. The Orbit and TurboRing have to be cleaned almost every other day to ensure smooth operation. And one of the rubber rollers on the TurboRing died, so I had no vertical movement at all, which is why I replaced it with the optical Trackman -- I love it. I've cleaned the tiny balls which support the trackball itself, but not because the motion was not smooth -- just because I feel like I should be cleaning something.

Finally, I think that a trackball is much nicer to work with than a mouse -- I never roll 'off the mouse pad'. It takes some time to get used to it, but hang in there before you decide you don't like it. You may decide that mice are better -- that's your thing. But don't give up just because it's different.
 
Originally posted by .dev.lqd
I can't reccomend the logitech marble mouse enough.
Click to expand...
Agreed.
Been using mine for over a year now.

I just couldnt get used to the 'Pebble' mouse that Apple thought was a good idea.
Even the Pro Mouse isnt as good as my trackball.
 
I used a Kensington Orbit for years, and I still have one on one of the two computers I use. But I gonna change it for a Kensington Turboball. I have one at home for some months, and the big ball, the four buttons and the scroll really make it wonderful to use.
I agree with nkuvu about the size f the ball and its accuracy. The orbit ball is quite small. In OSX, the Kensington driver doesn't yet offers what the last "classic" drivers offered : a special section dedicated to acceleration in a pixel-to-pixel environment. That's why I change for a TurboMouse, with a bigger ball. It doesn't really compensate the smooth acceleration, but nevertheless, it's a gain of precision.
My most complain is that Kensington OSX driver is still very poor. You can't set your buttons for different application, as in OS9, you can't scroll by chording buttons, like in OS9 (which is very necessary with an Orbit). Right, the precision pad is still better than Logitech's one, but they gotta improve this for sure.
 
Heh, if you think the Orbit ball is small - try the Logitech Trackman. I'm estimating that the ball is about 60% of the size of the Orbit ball.
 
I've been using the Kensington Orbit for the past four years or so, and have very few complaints. The only real problem I have with it is the lack of a scroll wheel. I could really do for one of those. About once a month I have to clean it, which is what I was having to do with my roller ball mouse before that. Plus, there's something about the Kensington acceleration that just feels nice.
 
-Kensington and other companies have to use the name "trackball" because the manufacturer "The Trackerball Company" holds exclusive rights to the name of said cursor control devices. The proper term for this device is actually trackerball, not a trackball.
-Trackerball technology was developed in the 1940's (by The Trackerball Company) for British military radar applications. The Trackerball Company (newly renamed "Cursor Controls") is still in existence today manufacturing pointing devices for military, industrial, medical and recently personal desktops!
-Small correction nkuvu. The encoder resolution is what makes a trackerball less or more accurate. The actually technology used is a pair of photo-optical encoders using phased quadrature output. The size of the ball does affect control accuracy of the encoders taking into account the physics of a larger ball and the larger area it can cover.

Check out the manufacturers website for more details.

www.trackerball.com

Satisfied owner of a Protrack60i (w/neat LED's that illuminate the ball).
 
-Small correction nkuvu. The encoder resolution is what makes a trackerball less or more accurate. The actually technology used is a pair of photo-optical encoders using phased quadrature output. The size of the ball does affect control accuracy of the encoders taking into account the physics of a larger ball and the larger area it can cover.
Click to expand...
Well whatever the reason, the Trackman I use is the hardest to point accurately. The TurboRing was the easiest. Therefore, it's not a big stretch to come to the conclusion that bigger ball == more accurate.

Thanks for the info. Maybe it's just lack of familiarity, but I think "Trackerball" sounds strange. Make it sound like some sort of game...

:)
 
Rezba, do you REALLY like your TurboBall? I had one and it sucked. Kept bogging up with crap. Actually, I think the one I have now (sitting on a shelf somewhere) is the third one replaced on warranty. Plus the thing was impossible to master--to weird in the hand.
 
I had no "technical" problems with it.
Rest is matter of ergonomics, very personal, indeed. Facts like I only need a single forefinger move to cross my 19", buttons are well-positioned.

My hand is less tired at the end of the day, also a less subjective reason.
 
I've used the kensington turbomouse for years, and I just got the new one. It really works, but it's the ugliest mouse on the market. It looks like a big grey rock sitting next to my iMac keyboard.
 
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