I need a New Mouse, and an Education on them

I know about as little as anyone could possibly know in reference to a mouse for my machine.

I've got the same basic, cheapie that Dell sent almost three years ago when I bought this machine, and it is WAY past it's prime (not that it really EVER had a prime!).

It's bad-enough that it doesn't want to respond every 3rd or 4th click, but the wheel was reason-enough to replace - really ever-since I took it out of the box!! It's "slick" (no grooves or indents), and it just does NOT perform well (EXTREMELY difficult to scroll with).

Please, someone teach me something about a mouse...I don't necessarily need a bunch of bells & whistles - corded is good-enough, unless it doesn't cost much more to go cordless (?), I'm simply looking for something that is "heavy-duty" (durable/will LAST), and which has a good, "grooved" wheel, that "clicks" (not necessarily audibly - but rather tactile or "feel-wise") as it spins.

Only TWO basic requirements on this - those few shouldn't be hard to satisfy, correct?

Any help here (?) - thanks in advance.....

 

Something like this maybe? Or you could mosey down to the local electronics, Kmart, etc and find a Logitech equivalent for close to the same price.

 

Sorry, forgot the "and an Education on them" part. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_mouse

 

Thank you very much for the reply...the price certainly appears to be good - I think I actually looked at that same mouse (I suppose it's the basic, 1st-line offering from MS?), but it didn't appear to have the grooves or indents in the wheel as I will need. The first picture/photo in the Wiki-link looks like more of what I will need.

I probably should have mentioned that I have some trouble with my hands due to spine problems and multiple spine surgeries (some loss of dexterity/fine motor skill/coordination, and much of the feeling/sensitivity is lacking) ... a bit more sophisticated or advanced wheel is something I am simply going to need ... I figure I am going to have to spend "at least" $20-$30, perhaps a bit more...

Thank you again, and thanks for the links!

 

Hey grc123 i have got one of these http://www.trust.com/products/product.aspx?artnr=15206 i can not remember how much it cost (not a lot)but it is a superb mouse and i have been using it for about a year now, It's good on batteries and if you just leave it alone it shuts off until you move it and then it comes back to life.

Marks out of 10 = 8

 

Oops i have just seen that this is a discontinued line :-o

 

I too suffer from fine motor skill control in my hands, especially the right hand. Sometimes can't even hang on to my coffee:cry:mad, however I don't lack any tactile sensitivity. I replaced one of the Dell mice with a Logitech like this one. Or you can check it out here.

I see the notching you're referring to and the Logitech does not have those but, when you scroll the wheel you can feel the wheel roll in a definitive notch or step like fashion. Since it's an optical mouse it responds much more quickly and accurately than the old Dell mouse. This particular Logitech mouse connects either using a usb port or as a ps/2(which is how I have it connected).

I was in a hurry to replace the old Dell mouse so went to the local electronics store(about 2 minutes away) and paid just under $20.00.

Something I've found useful when doing any kind of fine detail artwork is the MouseKeys feature in Windows.

The mouse BILLMCC66 has looks good! Companies penchant for discontinuing things that work is most frustrating. Perhaps you can find one similar to it that would be a better choice than the one(s) I've suggested.

 

I buy most of my computer accessories online but your requirement for a notched mouse wheel means your best method of mouse shopping is probably at a local retail store because the notching or lack thereof is not always clearly mentioned in online buyer reviews.

I believe all mice accomplish what you mean my notching, which is to, for example, advance 3 lines with each notch, but many mice just don't provide the tactile sensation of notching, which is what you want.

I think you might also like a tilt-wheel mouse. With them, you can press the wheel sideways to the right or left and that results in horizontal scrolling when a horizontal scroll bar is displayed. So, a tilt-wheel mouse gives both vertical scroll and horizontal scroll. I wouldn't buy a mouse that was not tilt-wheel.