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just a bit of curiosity, I love trackballs, my friend mike hates them and perfers mice. We both distain analog and perfer laser/led sensors in our various input devices.

so what are your oppinions etc.

btw what is the upside? (personally I like manipulating it with my thumb and not having to slide all over the desk, not to mention with a bunch of old mice I got used to using a trackball due to problems with those old mice)

Mouse, due to the direct linkage between my movements and that of the cursor.

Trackball for the desktop, trackpoint for the laptop.

I hate trackballs. Mice, all the way.

Thanks to USB, you can have both at the same time.

It's been a while since I used a trackball, so I guess I'm more of a mouse guy. What I can't stand is those small pointy things in the middle of the keyboard that some notebook have, like the IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads.

Trackpoint and mouse, I have it on both my laptop and desktop. My desktop's version sucks (the trackpoint built into those lexmark Model M's aren't really that great, since they actually wiggle a little, plus I can't tweak the sensitivity w/o messing up the mouse , need to loko at that) .

Macunaima wrote:It's been a while since I used a trackball, so I guess I'm more of a mouse guy. What I can't stand is those small pointy things in the middle of the keyboard that some notebook have, like the IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads.

I love those! Hate touchpads. Absolutely hate 'em with a passion. If a laptop only has a touchpad, then I'll hook up a USB mouse and use that. Otherwise, on a desktop, it's mice all the way . . . though I ought to find something that's a little more ergonomically friendly, since mousing around is contributing to my carpal-tunnel problems.

I've always had far better control with a mouse, and when away from a mouse I perfer to use a touchpad. However, I'm not a huge fan of using the touchpad or IBM's little red button for extended periods of time.

I use a trackball and much prefer it, but it's the type where the ball is moved with the index and middle fingers, not the thumb. Its simply superior for gaming, and that's just a fact (once you get used to it, obviously). There's a larger button for primary fire, used by the thumb, and a smaller one for secondary fire. I then use the other two buttons, controlled by my third and little fingers, for jump and use.

Trackball here. I've got a Logitech Something-Or-Other. I find it has nicer control, you don't need extra desk space (great for messy-deskers like me), and you can leave it in a comfortable position.

Mine's thumb-driven, and it's great for gaming. Perfect for fine control in RTS and sniping in FPS, but if you need to move quickly, you just give the ball a flick.

It does take some getting used to if you normally use a mouse; for the first few days, you'll be fairly clumsy. Now that I'm used to it, I hate using mice.

Lazarus wrote:simply superior for gaming, and that's just a fact (once you get used to it, obviously).

How is that a fact? Who says so?

Although, that's an interesting notion, and may warrant some experimentation with a trackball. I am curious though, what shooters do you play? You mentioned a primary fire button, but I'm skeptical that you'd be able to last long playing Counter-Strike: Source with a trackball, where aim is VERY important, unlike most shooters.

Pen tablet!

Really, I prefer optical mice and can't stand trackballs much at all.

I hate trackballs, and with my mouse I don't have to worry about being all over the desk anyway. With the DPI and sensitivity as high as I have it, I can move the mouse an inch and move the pointer across the whole screen.

I absolutely love teh mouse. My experiences with trackballs were less than satisfying. I prefer the precision I get with an optical mouse.

Pen tablet! For real!!
Otherwise, trackball. Optical trackball = the death of meece.

I am and always will be a mouse person. Personally, I like mine with 5 buttons and a scroll wheel. (The scroll wheel doubling as a button).

I've tried trackballs and could never adjust to the feel of them. Mice just seems more intuitive but maybe thats just because I'm more accustomed to them.

I've got a Razer Diamondback mouse.

Tanasinn wrote:I am and always will be a mouse person. Personally, I like mine with 5 buttons and a scroll wheel. (The scroll wheel doubling as a button).

Agreed. Mouse, for click-wheel between the left and right buttons. Trackball usage makes my wrist hurt, but I do use it on our downstairs computer where we have less desk space.

Trackball is better for games, I think. I love mine. I've been on my gf's laptop and have come to hate touchpads. I do have to agree with Lazarus, once you get used to the trackball, you become the headshot master.

Trackball

I've managed to get almost my entire family away from mice and using Logitech Marble Trackballs (optical trackball which uses index as the primary movement of the trackball, while your thumb and other fingers can work the other 4 buttons).

I can use Mice, since the work computers only use optical mice (if i'm lucky), but prefer my trackball.

and I dispise touchpads...

I never liked Trackballs. I have six button Logitech mouse, which really speeds up work and a pen tablet.

GrandMasterTerwynn wrote:I love those! Hate touchpads. Absolutely hate 'em with a passion. If a laptop only has a touchpad, then I'll hook up a USB mouse and use that. Otherwise, on a desktop, it's mice all the way . . . though I ought to find something that's a little more ergonomically friendly, since mousing around is contributing to my carpal-tunnel problems.

Check out Logitech, and look at some of the $40+ models. Good stuff.

Extremetech (not the best website, I know) found some good ergonomic, carpal tunneling safe mice, I think.

As for the main topic, I haven't used many trackballs lately, but these days a lot of development goes in mice, and they are available in more form factors - notebook, wired and wireless, and various takes on gaming mice; there are specialized mice with different nifty features too - the Revolution series, the Microsoft Presentation mouse etc...

I can't really help with the core debate, however.