Best Mouse For Programming?

LosManos writes "Which is the best programming mouse? Mandatory musts are wireless, and that it doesn't clog up like old mechanical mice. Present personal preferences are for: lots of buttons, since if I have moved my hand away from the keyboard I can at least do something more than move the pointer; sturdy feeling; not too light, so it doesn't move around by me accidentally looking at it." What would you recommend?

Logitech MX1100

[Swizec]

There simply isn't a better mouse in the world. All the fancy X11/Compiz shortcuts you actually need can go on it, rechargable batteries, easy to move and most of all, incredibly ergonomic.

Plus that endless scroll feature is perfect for grokking long walls of code.

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[account_deleted]

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Logitech MX Revolution

[Kamokazi]

Wireless with built in rechargable battery that lasts several days easily for me. Lots of buttons, the scroll wheel is very nice, you can keep it in standard click mode, or use free scrolling, or toggle between the two easily; automatically or manually.

Fully programmable with lots of buttons, forward/back, and the cool thumb quick flip thing.

It contours very well in the hand, and I really like the extra lip under the thumb. It has some nice weight to it, but it's not too heavy to be tiresome. Overall it's the best mouse I've every owned.

Suggestions

[pantherace]

First of all, I'd suggest not wireless if you are worried about it 'moving' around with you not looking. Almost any wireless mouse I've used does that sometimes, with the exception of Gyration. (Microsoft, Logitech, and several off brands) Second of all, if you want sturdy feeling, you might go for one of the cases based on the Logitech mx500 (including the G5) or some of the similarly shaped Microsoft mice. (Unless you are left-handed.) The Logitech mx518 I'm using has at least 3 buttons which can be mapped to something useful. (Intended as forward, back, and app-switch. I think you can remap the +/- resolution buttons, but I haven't bothered)

Re:Mouse?

[zr-rifle]

Since the dawn of gpm [about.com]...

Not everybody uses Emacs or VI, and some prefer GVim, which fully supports the mouse.

For some kind of activities, such as the highlighting of square blocks of text, the mouse is faster and more efficient that the keyboard.

Obviously, for everything else you should memorize key shortcuts.

Re:Why wireless?

[eln]

I had a Kensington wireless mouse that you could charge while you were using it through a simple USB cable. I thought it was great because I didn't have to worry about putting it in some silly dock and wait every time I forgot to charge it and it went dead on me.

Of course, it didn't take long before I just started using it plugged in all the time, giving me an overly expensive wired mouse.

A keyboard

[Rix]

You're welcome.

Gaming Grade

[morphon]

I would absolutely recommend going with a gaming-grade mouse like the Logitech G9, Creative Fata1ity 2020, or one of the new OCZ mice if you need something less expensive. The ones I mentioned have user-adjustable weights, lots of buttons, and ultra-accurate laser tracking. They are wired (reliability, etc...) but you might be able to find something comparable in wireless trim.

Best of luck - a good mouse is a very valuable computing asset.

Touch Point

[PleaseFearMe]

My Thinkpad X61's touch point is perfect. It's in the middle of the keyboard, so there is minimal hand movement to move the mouse when typing. It moves much better than the touchpad because you don't need to reload once you reach the edge of the sensitive location. It also takes up very little room, so it works on the plane, etc.

Agreed.

[Anonymous Coward]

Logitech MX-518 is the best gaming mouse I've ever used. High precision, no drift, works great on a variety of surfaces.

When I showed up for my first day of a programming job a few years ago (at a game development company), guess what mouse was plugged into my machine? Yep, an MX-518.

I have one at home, one at work and I've always been more satisfied with them.

Re:Mouse?

[psnyder]

There's a very good summary explaining why learning vi/vim is well worth the steep learning curve, entitled: Why, oh WHY, do those #?@! nutheads use vi? [viemu.com].

... with vi, your keyboard becomes a huge specialized text-editing gamepad with almost a hundred buttons. Each of them has at least two functions, shifted and unshifted, so you have almost two hundred functions at a single keypress (not counting Shift).

Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse?

[MpVpRb]

Uh...

Scroll wheel

Scroll bars

Select for cut/copy and paste

Menu options

Setting and going to bookmarks

Navigating the various browsers and dropdowns

Hovering over a variable in the debugger to see its value

Many more..

Yes...they all probably have keyboard equivalents, I just consider them awkward workarounds.

Remember, you can pound in a screw with a wrench if you really want to...

A mouse is sometimes the right tool for the job

Re:Mouse?

[Alan Shutko]

Since before 1994 in Emacs, at least.

Re:Mouse?

[ls671]

I use a cordless mouse but a corded one is plugged in the computer as well. Hence I can always use the corded one if I forget to recharge the batteries on the cordless one. Having 2 mice plugged into my computer at the same time doesn't seem to be a problem for me. ! ;-)

Re:Programming + Mouse ?

[Pajaro]

"Oh oh! Look at me! I have a lower UID!"

Big deal.

Exactly

[Anonymous Coward]

That's what I was thinking: "A mouse for programming, WTF?"

The best mouse I have ever owned is my Logitech MX518. Previously I was a big fan of the regular Microsoft ball mice. I am a "twitch" gamer so I value high performance and accurate mice. Anyway, back to the MX518. As it's optical it never "clogs up" and it's wired so it always works 100% of the time with no batteries and no matter what interference is around. It has a variable sensitivity right in the mouse (no software needed) and has a high sample high for quick movement.

Re:Wireless? You've already ruled me out

[Facegarden]

I never want to have to worry about replacing batteries, recharging, or waiting for the mouse to make up from sleep on anything as core to my workflow as a mouse.

Personally I think that any good gaming mouse works well for coding. You've got your extra buttons (which mostly just give you an extra forward/back in your browser) and good accuracy. I'm a fan of my Razer Diamondback, although by this point the grippy paint they put on it is coming off so it looks a bit shabby.

I would say with 100 certainty that your keyboard is ten times more important than your mouse for programming. The mouse just has to not get in your way.

Lots of people are hating on wireless, but as long as you don't go bluetooth, you shouldn't have those annoying sleep issues. As far as dying, my home mouse is rechargeable and has a nice base to rest it one once a month or so, and my work mouse just uses AA batteries so I got a $10 charger for my desk and when the batteries die about once a month, I just swap them into the charger for the fresh set, it's pretty painless.

I do CAD all day so I use my mouse non-stop, and i don't have any of the issues that people are complaining about when it comes to wireless. I'm using logitech laser mouses for the record.
-Taylor

Trackball

[quesarah]

The Kensington "expert" trackball. Here [kensington.com] Big and sturdy, stays in one place so you can whack the scroll ring or paste button without looking. Most of the time my hands are on the keyboard, and when they're not I don't want to go mouse hunting. Not cheap, but TANSTAAFL.

Re:Mouse?

[FiveDozenWhales]

"u"

Re:Mouse?

[Anonymous Coward]

Logitech G5 is the only way to fly. Hi res (I have a 30" monitor so I have the sensitivity on max), good weight (adjustable to the user's taste), very flexible cord, etc. Forget extra buttons, I can't imagine what would be worth mapping, although I guess that may be influenced by which IDE you're using.

Re:Logitech MX Revolution

[Zakabog]

I have an MX Revolution as well and I was about to post the same comment. I love the free scrolling mode when I'm searching for something in my code. Just give it a spin and stop when I see what I'm looking for. Plus when I'm not at the computer I just put the mouse back in the charging dock, the batteries haven't died on me once in the entire time I've owned the mouse (bought it when it was first released.) Plus it's the best mouse I've ever used for graphic work, it has a nice weight to it to give me precise control over my movements, it's very accurate and doesn't jam up like a ball mouse, and there's no wire hindering my movements (getting stuck on things, pushing against the mouse, going over the mousepad and blocking my hand, etc.)

On-Topic

[BrokenHalo]

Back to the topic, for the attention-deprived, a plug for my recommendation: Logitech Trackman Wheel [logitech.com]. It's not actually manufactured any more, but is still available through any number of sources. And it's so robust, it'll last forever.

Re:On-Topic

[BrokenHalo]

Damn, the link I gave was for the wired version. Should have been this one [logitech.com].

Re:On-Topic

[Fastball]

I actually prefer the Logitech Marble Mouse [amazon.com], because the trackball is controlled by my index and (to a lesser extent) middle fingers. Considerably faster and more precise than with the thumb controlled ball.

Big drawback is the lack of a scroll wheel on the Marble Mouse though. Best paired with a keyboard that has a scroll wheel on the left side. Best I ecame across in that regard was a Logitech Internet Navigator [hardwareinreview.com], but it had unforgiveable function keys that were programmed for weird functions rather than the standard F1-F12 keys. Had to hit a function-lock button every time I booted.

If anyone has a recommendation for a keyboard with scroll wheel (preferrably on the left side of the keyboard so it can be used with the non-mouse hand), I'll friend you.

Re:Mouse?

[maxwell demon]

Yes. Great minds know not to waste their mental abilities on something as unimportant as jokes. But making jokes is fun anyway, so they make stupid jokes.
As a bonus, stupid jokes are usually understood also by stupid people. Which is a big advantage if those stupid people get mod points.

Keyboard with integrated mouse.

[ekran]

When you code, at least when you do things like I do, that is, you are using vim and a lot of xterms, it's best to have something that enables you to move your pointer without you having to move your hand a lot. What I have at work is a Thinkpad keyboard (Lenovo/IBM make those) which has a pointing stick in the middle. It's not made for accuracy (for that I have a separate mouse next to the keyboard. Which is a simple Razer Copperhead gaming mouse. The point is, you shouldn't have to move your hands too much when you code. Especially when all you do is changing xterm.

For those that use other development environments the answer may be different.

Kensington expert mouse

[Moe Taxes]

It's not a mouse really it's a trackball, and it's not wireless, but it is the best pointing device I've used for programming.

I like to keep my eyes on the code, and I use vim so I don't reach for the mouse a lot, but when I do I want to find it in the same place on my workstation every time. That's the best thing about a trackball, they don't move, the wires don't move and don't get snagged or tangled so who needs to mess with batteries or recharging. Give that ball a flick and the pointer scoots across the screen, so much better than doing push, lift, pull, drop circles with my poor old wrists.

Long time ago when I worked on Windows I used all four big buttons programmed for click, double click, hold down, and left click. Now I work in KDE, use the mouse much less, and almost never double click.

If you can find one get the old Expert Mouse. The new Expert Mouse Pro has extra buttons and a wheel and has suffered much cost reduction, it's is cheap crap compared to the original.

An important thing to remember, mice are for poking and hoping, exploring programs you have not seen before, when you know what you are doing working with a mouse versus a keyboard is like pointing and grunting versus fluent conversation.