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?
Mouse? (Score:5, Insightful)
Since when can you use a mouse in Emacs or VI?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
I got all excited thinking I was going to get a first post with "You don't need a mouse for VI". Great minds... ;)
There, fixed that for you.
Parent
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
There, fixed that for you.
There, fixed that for you.
Parent
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
There, fixed that for you.
There, fixed that for you.
There, fixed that for you.
Parent
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
There, fixed that for you.
There, fixed that for you.
There, fixed that for you.
There, fixed that for everybody else.
Parent
Re:Mouse? (Score:4, Funny)
He should spend less time being displeased with his mouse and more time experimenting with his new-found telekinesis.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Hazaa!
My preference is actually to corded laser mice. I've had a couple cordless ones and they always felt too heavy for my tastes. And when the batteries start to go it's always frustrating to have to stop whatever I am doing to go find fresh ones. I also happen to prefer the five button mice, the mouse-wheel button rarely ever gets used but at times it's made for a great "boss button".
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
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:Mouse? (Score:5, Insightful)
I second the logitech G5. They're cheap, I love the adjustable weights, and just enough buttons for my taste. Middle-click for opening and closing tabs, and two side buttons for forward and back.
But, mousing in an IDE? Even in Visual Studio, the only button that gets any use is the left mouse button, and maybe the middle-click scrollwheel button for opening and closing tabs. Everything has a keyboard shortcut.
I'd recommend a good keyboard instead - I have an IBM Model M I whip on for nostalgia, but I'm very happy with my Das Keyboard II. THAT will make more difference in programming! Unless you're using Lego Mindstorms :P
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Mouse? (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
>> For some kind of activities, such as the highlighting of square blocks of text Ctrl-v is your friend in vim (And of course, Shift-v for line select).
Meh, marks are good enough for me. I never use select mode.
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Mouse? (Score:4, Funny)
I just bought a three button mouse, put in on the floor, and mapped Ctrl, Meta, and Alt to them. Works great for Emacs, although my doctor said I'm the first case of Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome he has ever seen.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Since before 1994 in Emacs, at least.
Exactly (Score:3, Informative)
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
Re:Mouse? (Score:5, Informative)
... 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).
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
KVM? (Score:4, Interesting)
I've found most KVMs make it so my wireless input devices don't work. :(
Programming + Mouse ? (Score:3, Insightful)
Isn't this kind of like asking, "What are the best training wheels to use on the Tour de France?"
Elite programmers should be using an environment where they don't have to use the mouse at all, or use it minimally. They know key commands for everything, except maybe when you want to test out a mouse feature, in which case you can't assume the user has a cool mouse anyway.
Re:Programming + Mouse ? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Elite programmers should be using an environment where they don't have to use the mouse at all"
Programming is 90% thinking/planning, and 10% typing. The idea that using a mouse makes you a worse programmer in any appreciable sense is about as stupid as the idea that the mouse you use matters.
Parent
Re:Programming + Mouse ? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
IBM Trackpoint (Score:4, Interesting)
Wireless? You've already ruled me out (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Agreed. (Score:3, Informative)
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:Wireless? You've already ruled me out (Score:5, Funny)
I never want to have to worry about replacing batteries, recharging...
but if the electricity is out, you can't use your mouse!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
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 pe
Logitech MX1100 (Score:4, Informative)
Plus that endless scroll feature is perfect for grokking long walls of code.
Logitech MX Revolution (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Re:Logitech MX Revolution (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Hack the Gibson! (Score:5, Funny)
Suggestions (Score:4, Informative)
At the risk of being modded into oblivion... (Score:3, Interesting)
the mouse I use for programming is an older variant of this one. I've been quite happy with it. scroll wheel has nice feedback for flipping thru code, it's heavy and has a nice solid feel.
I am in no way affiliated with logitech, I just like their stuff.
Are you bored? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Are you bored? (Score:5, Funny)
While we're at it, let's also discuss the best mousepad for programming
That would be my Windows Vista mousepad that I got at the Vista launch party. It features desk grippyness and mouse paddyness, and a giant windows logo, so I never get tempted to install Linux.
Parent
A keyboard (Score:5, Informative)
You're welcome.
Best mouse operation for programming (Score:4, Interesting)
Howdy.
While taste in mice and features vary, one thing I would vouch for, if you're right handed and have a full keyboard, is to learn to use your mouse with your left hand. I worked with Gene Korienek [whenpeoplethink.com] in the early 1990s and we discussed how to optimize mouse motion. Since the page navigation, Return key, and numeric pad are all on your right side, using your mouse with your left hand will make you more effective for some activities such as using spreadsheets, Photoshop, web surfing, etc. I went "mouse southpaw" since then -- super-comfortable.
Now... for programming I use MacVim and a number of plug-ins and extensions. When I'm programming, unless it's something that's got a GUI or it's iPhone/Mac specific, I seldom use the mouse. One of the biggest advantages of using a keyboard instead of a mouse is sensory memory. There are actions in Vim (and possibly TextMate, emacs, etc.) that you can execute automatically, without thinking about the exact key press sequence, and without having to lift your hands off the keyboard. Check into any of these editors, add the appropriate plug-ins (e.g. "UNIX is my IDE") and see what works best for you. I went from keyboard-only (TurboPascal, Turbo C, vi/UNIX) to GUI IDE (Smalltalk/V, Symantec Cafe, Visual Studio, IDEA) back to keyboard-only for most programming tasks. Now my coding is split between keyboard-only (scripting, Java, C, assembler) and GUI/mouse for only a few environments that leave you no other option (Xcode/Interface Builder).
Cheers!
E
Why a mouse? (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Indeed, but you may need a more robust keyboard for the strongly-typed ones.
Well this answered mt ask slashdot question (Score:5, Funny)
I was going to ask:
"What question can I ask that so lame as to be pointless, and will still enrage enough people to cause a flamewar?"
Re:Why wireless? (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You guys are arguing like this is a boolean issue. It's not. I use corded mice for my desktops, and a Bluetooth mouse for my laptop. Both work flawlessly for me in each environment. The Bluetooth mouse is lighter and smaller than either of my corded mice (almost too light, as I prefer a bit of inertial feedback.) I've never had a reception issue with the Bluetooth mouse, and I've had it for over six months and have not had to change the batteries.
As for wired, cord routing isn't really a problem if
Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse? (Score:5, Insightful)
I have been programming since 1971.
Back them I used punch cards.
Then, teletypes.
Now, I use a mouse and keyboard.
I definitely consider myself a "real" programmer.
Times change, so do tools.
Parent
Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse? (Score:4, Informative)
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
Parent
Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse? (Score:4, Insightful)
While mildly funny, this reeks of elitism and untruth. You are associating memorization of esoteric editor commands and customization options with programming skill. While there's likely a good correlation, one can have one without the other.
On a separate note, modern IDEs, such as Eclipse, require the use of the mouse. I would argue that this streamlines the coding process, leaving the developer to focus on the actual design and logic.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Not on this site. Not unless he wanted to see 300 posts extolling the virtues of the Model M. Ugh.