A Better Mouse-Fix the Left Button! 17
fizbin asks: "Every mouse I've ever had a chance to use for a long enough period of time (from cheap 5-dollar two-button specials to brand-name Logitech three-button things to those Sun optical ones that need the special metal mousepad) has developed the same problem: the first button (and I guess others as well, but I notice this on the first button) begins to slowly stop working. It lets up even if I keep my finger down. This makes it a royal pita to drag anything from one place to another (since what you're dragging gets "dropped" when the first button lets up), and makes using certain menus (such as the ctrl-button menus on xterms) almost impossible (since I can never keep the button held down long enough to drag down to the item I want). Is this expected behavior, and should I simply plan on replacing my mouse every six months? What about common computers (in labs, etc.) -- should they budget for replacement mice on a regular schedule? Is there some brand of mouse that avoids this problem?"
My 0.02$ on the subject (Score:1)
I am working as tech support in a high school environment. I see a lot mice taking various abuse.
Contrary to some previous poster, I never had a single problem with MS or Logitech mices. They are still consumer device, so they are higher end option, but I never had to replace one of these. I usually declare one or two mice dead a week,so it give you an idea of the relative reliability of MS/Logitech vs. El Cheapo brand.
From my experience, under any environment, 6 month is ether really short or you are buying really cheap stuff. Don't use 10$ mice, don't pound on your mice and you should enjoy much greater lifespan.
As for the need to budget for mouse replacement, maintenance credit is a must in a lab environment. Other thing that might need replacing periodically are mouse pad and headset. This is not counting the replacement of diskette drive (I have seen various object inserted in these), CD-ROM drive, burnt power supply or monitor, etc.
Re:I was about to ask the same thing! (Score:1)
Try Mouser Electronics [mouser.com]. They've always been great for me. If that doesn't work for you, there's one other big one I'm familiar with - but the name escapes me.
Also, here's a DMOZ [dmoz.org] listing for electronics distributors & vendors.
An odd solution (Score:1)
Eventually I got sick of this, and pulled the thing apart to see what the problem was. It turns out that the part of the left button's plastic facing that actually depresses the swith, had chipped or worn away in such a way that it no longer depressed the switch. I eventually thought of tightly wrapping some thin copper wire around the affected area, and haven't had any more problems since.
6 months?! (Score:1)
Re:Haven't experenced that myself... (Score:1)
Let me guess, it came off a PS/2, right? That stuff just lasts forever. I have an IBM Model M keyboard from 1987 that's still in perfect condition.
My favorite pointing device (Score:1)
"New" construction materials needed... (Score:1)
Hmmm... odd (Score:1)
Haven't experenced that myself... (Score:1)
I can only think you have seen lemon mice :) Or, ones that have been subjected to abuse.
Man, I love my Logitech three button! It's the best mouse I've used.
Re:They don't make 'em like they used to. (Score:1)
I was about to ask the same thing! (Score:2)
I seem to wear them out pretty quickly myself.
I've unsoldered them and switched them with the secondary or tertiary switches but that still leaves a not fully functional mouse.
Although quality varies from brand to brand, the form factor seems the same.
Anybody got a source for good replacement switches? I don't need 'em in OEM quantities, just about 5 or 10 or so.
Try using 2 mice (Score:2)
Mouse 1 (for games):
Razer Boomslang (www.razerzone.com)
Killer accuracy 2000 DPI, very high quality construction, great for games
Mouse 2 (for everything else):
Microsoft IntelliEye
No mouse-ball, so it doesnt get gunked up with dirt and dust on the inside of the mouse ball. It'll never have the problem of "sticky" moving that's associated with regular ball mice.
By having 2 mice, you effectively double the time you'll have to replace either one. Personally I've been going without any problems for 8 months now.
"I can only show you Linux... you're the one who has to read the man pages."
Mouse abuse! (Score:2)
I've only retired mice when I desired new functionality (like replacing the aforementioned Mouse Systems 3 button trackball with a Logitech TrackMan+ on my primary computer, and moving the old one to another box). I did have one that lost a button once, but then it turned out the dog was chewing on it. That'll kill 'em.
-j
They don't make 'em like they used to. (Score:2)
people who made them probably got paid crap to boot). I also had a decent mouse on an SGI Indy2 once, but then the computer cost $50k (and SGI has sold junk too).
Contrast to Apple's current offering, which besides the love-it-or-hate-it design just isn't any better quality than any other random PC crap, Microsoft, Logitech, or whomever - expect all these things to break, and quickly. The leaf-switch trackpad button on my last Powerbook (2400), which was built by IBM and sold by Apple, wore out after four months. (Then again, the whole notebook died a year after that, and then again another seven months after having the dead motherboard replaced at my cost. Bye, Apple (and by implication, IBM)).
There are better devices out there, but you won't find them at your local megamart. I've never heard anything bad about a Contour mouse, for instance; besides the fact that they have an actual ergonomic design (no hockey pucks or shiny tail-lights here), you can get them sized to your hand, and even right or left handed as appropriate. The same applies to keyboards (the best ones going are made by Kinesis, and they're totally worth the one-time cost). Now that there's a reasonable cross-platform attachment standard that probably won't disappear for a while (USB), it seems particularly worthwhile to spring for some really high quality, lasting input devices that you can take with you from upgrade to upgrade.
In other words, the x86 PC accessory industry you've grown up with is a poor horizon. There's just no doubt that all of the mass-market stuff out there is complete crap (especially anything that comes with the computer system when you buy it). Look to the people trying to provide small-volume ergonomic devices, and chances are you'll find something that's built to last as a bonus.
You get what you pay for... (Score:2)
Save your time, money, and sanity and buy a nice Microsoft or Logitech mouse. If you want real fun, get the MS IntelliMouse Optical. No wheel to get gummed up.
From a Sun Microsystems bug report (#4102680): (Score:3)
- A.P.
--
"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad
Fingerpounding (Score:3)
Manufacturing quality and cost still makes a difference, though; the last University lab I administered had 10 (pre-USB) Macs and 10 PCs, and it was only the PC mice (M$) that had problems. The Macs were more heavily used, too (I'll leave aside questions of whether GUI design inconsistency and unreliability increases people's stress and causes people to press more anxiously on the Wintel mice, though it probably does). In fact they were constantly used, twelve hours a day. And there's the obvious corollary that a higher quality button will probably respond more consistently in the first place, making it less likely to create hard-clickin' habits.
Anyway, that's enough out of me for this thread. Wonder why this subject wasn't deemed interesting enough for the main page?