In February 2006 I purchased a Kensignton Expert Mouse (which is actually a trackball). Finding information online about it wasn't easy, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on the accessory and what it's like adapting to a trackball after a lifetime of regular mouse use.

The main reason I purchased this was because I get pains in my mouse hand and wrist, so decided that my regular mouse + wrist rest weren't agreeing with me. I tend to sit at a computer for 8-10 hours a day, and this must be taking it's toll!

(Lol, my friends have found endless amusement speculating about what repetitive activity might actually be causing the pain, ho ho...)

Why Start with the Kensington?
Having Googled various reviews of various trackballs, I decided that this was the starting point for me. Most people who use it alot are dedicated fans, which is always a selling point. I did look at other trackballs, including the cheaper Kensington Orbit Trackball, the Logitech Cordless Trackman, and many others . Eventually I decided that it would be good to start with one which has a sterling reputation and costs the most, thus increasing my chances of getting along well with it. Unfortunatley I couldn't find a model in any local shop to try, so I just had to order it from Amazon.co.uk and hope for the best.

Note that I've heard great things about the Logitech Trackmans also, but I fancied trying a trackball that didn't require the use of thumb for moving the ball. I figured that if I don't get on with the "classic" kind of trackball, I'll try this next.

Using a Trackball after a regular Mouse
Switching to a trackball is a bit of a challenge. For the first few days it felt wierd, and everything I was trying to do took longer. In fact, even figuring out which position and angle to put my hand and fingers was a thrash.

I've had it for just over a week now, and the situation has improved tenfold, although I'd say I'm still not as comfortable with it as I am with a mouse. The good news is that my hand is falling into place nicely, and even using the thumb to left-click, and pinky to right click feels almost natural. This is pleasantly surprising having being used to a mouse for 20 years, and on day 1 of the Kensington I thought I'd never get used to it.

Kensington encourage you to try the mouse both with and without the wrist-rest (see below). I started without, but after 5 days decided I still wasn't comfy enough and still had a slight wrist pain. Also, I was inclined to keep trying loads of positions because everything feels awquard, but seriously, just give it time and your hand will eventually settle in to its new resting place. Now I chose to use the wrist-rest, which instantly felt better after trying without for several days.


Ugly but Comfy
One thing most people say about the mouse is how ugly it looks. My lodger - John "the Bear" Llewellyn entered teh room and delicately shouted "What the fuck is that thing you crazy fool!!!!?"

As you can see from the images, with or without the wrist rest attached, this look like one ugly mo-fo.

The Perks
There's a few things I like about the trackball so far...

Comfort - Not having to move your arm/wrist is fantastically comfortable.

Matless - Also, not needing a mouse mat is good too. You don't have to worry about cleaning anything, or wiping crumbs off your desk. lol.

Window Scrolling - Sometimes it's more convient to use the window scroll bar to scroll down, as opposed to the scroll wheel on a mouse. I find this to be the case when when quickly quickly moving up and down in a large document.

Whilst the Kensington has does have a scroll wheel, I find it easier to also use the window scroll bar. With the Kensington, doing this is much easier than with a mouse. You simply left-click the scroll bar, then flick the ball up and down to move it, thus scrolling the document. It's much easier than dragging a mouse up and down on the desk.

Covering Large Distances - You can physically flick the ball to move the pointer across large distances very quickly.

The Cons

Accuracy - Quickly moving the pointer to a certain location on the screen seems more difficult. This makes selecting text and drag-drop operations a bit tricky. I hope that this will improve with time so the difference is negligible.

Note: More to come soon...



">

Feb 05, 2007 / software
Adopting the Kensington Expert Mouse

In February 2006 I purchased a Kensignton Expert Mouse (which is actually a trackball). Finding information online about it wasn't easy, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on the accessory and what it's like adapting to a trackball after a lifetime of regular mouse use.

The main reason I purchased this was because I get pains in my mouse hand and wrist, so decided that my regular mouse + wrist rest weren't agreeing with me. I tend to sit at a computer for 8-10 hours a day, and this must be taking it's toll!

(Lol, my friends have found endless amusement speculating about what repetitive activity might actually be causing the pain, ho ho...)

Why Start with the Kensington?
Having Googled various reviews of various trackballs, I decided that this was the starting point for me. Most people who use it alot are dedicated fans, which is always a selling point. I did look at other trackballs, including the cheaper Kensington Orbit Trackball, the Logitech Cordless Trackman, and many others . Eventually I decided that it would be good to start with one which has a sterling reputation and costs the most, thus increasing my chances of getting along well with it. Unfortunatley I couldn't find a model in any local shop to try, so I just had to order it from Amazon.co.uk and hope for the best.

Note that I've heard great things about the Logitech Trackmans also, but I fancied trying a trackball that didn't require the use of thumb for moving the ball. I figured that if I don't get on with the "classic" kind of trackball, I'll try this next.

Using a Trackball after a regular Mouse
Switching to a trackball is a bit of a challenge. For the first few days it felt wierd, and everything I was trying to do took longer. In fact, even figuring out which position and angle to put my hand and fingers was a thrash.

I've had it for just over a week now, and the situation has improved tenfold, although I'd say I'm still not as comfortable with it as I am with a mouse. The good news is that my hand is falling into place nicely, and even using the thumb to left-click, and pinky to right click feels almost natural. This is pleasantly surprising having being used to a mouse for 20 years, and on day 1 of the Kensington I thought I'd never get used to it.

Kensington encourage you to try the mouse both with and without the wrist-rest (see below). I started without, but after 5 days decided I still wasn't comfy enough and still had a slight wrist pain. Also, I was inclined to keep trying loads of positions because everything feels awquard, but seriously, just give it time and your hand will eventually settle in to its new resting place. Now I chose to use the wrist-rest, which instantly felt better after trying without for several days.


Ugly but Comfy
One thing most people say about the mouse is how ugly it looks. My lodger - John "the Bear" Llewellyn entered teh room and delicately shouted "What the fuck is that thing you crazy fool!!!!?"

As you can see from the images, with or without the wrist rest attached, this look like one ugly mo-fo.

The Perks
There's a few things I like about the trackball so far...

Comfort - Not having to move your arm/wrist is fantastically comfortable.

Matless - Also, not needing a mouse mat is good too. You don't have to worry about cleaning anything, or wiping crumbs off your desk. lol.

Window Scrolling - Sometimes it's more convient to use the window scroll bar to scroll down, as opposed to the scroll wheel on a mouse. I find this to be the case when when quickly quickly moving up and down in a large document.

Whilst the Kensington has does have a scroll wheel, I find it easier to also use the window scroll bar. With the Kensington, doing this is much easier than with a mouse. You simply left-click the scroll bar, then flick the ball up and down to move it, thus scrolling the document. It's much easier than dragging a mouse up and down on the desk.

Covering Large Distances - You can physically flick the ball to move the pointer across large distances very quickly.

The Cons

Accuracy - Quickly moving the pointer to a certain location on the screen seems more difficult. This makes selecting text and drag-drop operations a bit tricky. I hope that this will improve with time so the difference is negligible.

Note: More to come soon...



http://www.tobinharris.com/blog/2006/04/adopting-kensington-expert-mouse.html

You may also like...

blog comments powered by Disqus