A Mouse is a Mouse of Course of Course?

Written by:  Dan Daily 

Hi Gang!

Many of you have written about mouse problems and have asked what I use.  If you get a new mouse for the Holidays, don't open it until you read this.

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My History With Mice

Believe it or not, mice have come full circle.  My first mouse on my hotrod 286 was a laser model.  It cost 150 dollars way back then.  It needed a special checkered mirror mousepad to work and it was great.  Dust didn't bother it and it worked forever.  I still have it in a box somewhere but it doesn't have a PS2 plug so I can't use it.  Ever seen an AT plug?

Touchpads

Then I bought a natural keyboard with a built in touch pad.  This was the cats meow.  I actually wore the touchpad out.  The new natural keyboards no longer come with touchpads so I had to buy a mouse and this is where the story begins.  Gang?  Use a natural keyboard.  Once you get used to it, you'll never go back... Carpel what?

I Bought a Normal Mouse

I just hated it!  In all fairness it probably cost a whole 14 dollars and it wasn't here long I can tell ya.  LOL  What a piece of junk!

Wheel Mouse

Next I bought a wheel mouse.  This should be the defacto standard for the cheapest mice.  The wheel allows you to scroll web pages without using the scrollbars on the side.  Definitely the only way to go.

But

The one thing I've always hated about mice is the cords.  It always seems to be in the way and you get spoiled with touchpads that don't have this problem.  The wheel mouse was a cheapo so I went all out, splurged, and bought a brand new Microsoft Cordless Wheel Mouse.  

Microsoft Cordless Wheel Mouse

What a major mistake I tell ya.  A MAJOR Mistake!  This thing was a piece of garbage.  Total crap.  I'll never buy Microsoft peripherals again because of it.  Sometimes you must buy from companies that specialize in what you want.  The problem with the Microsoft was it was a cheap piece of junk, (you'd never know it by the price) and the concept was all wrong.

First of all, one tiny piece of dust would kill the rollers.  I got so I could completely disassemble the thing in my sleep!  And!  It took two AAA batteries (Duracells) and ate them every two to three weeks.  Any idea how much AAA's cost?  The batteries were going to cost more then the mouse did in just a few months.  You see, there is no way to turn it off.  It's a radio receiver and is always on whether you use it or not.  No off switch!  How stupid... This is not good and I see even the new Logitech's are the same way.  So forget cordless mice folks.  Why don't they just have a recharge cradle like everything else?  And Microsoft Customer service?  Might as well be AOL for all the good they were.  So to own one, you have to buy a huge pack of batteries and don't lose them.  One second the mouse works fine, then gone, the end, Cya!  Forget that!  Can you say total aggravation?

Logitech Laser

This is the baby gang, for more reasons then just one.  So what am I to do?  I could buy a separate touch pad but they don't have wheels:  I went shopping.  I went to Wal-Mart and found my love.  It wasn't cheap, 49.95 at Wal-Mart!  But this is the only way to go.  This mouse is a laser that will work on you leg! (if you're so inclined) It also has a scroll wheel which when pushed down is another button! (can't go wrong there) and it has another button down by where your thumb is.  If you're a surfer, believe me, the more buttons the merrier.  Yes, it has a cord but what are you going to do?  Read the above.  And the little logo on it lights up.  Neato.  She's about 7 months old now and not so much as a glitch.  What was funny was my cordless mouse ran on Microsoft drivers and the Logitech didn't even notice.  All the buttons worked!  I just plugged it in, I never even bothered to install the driver for it until I did a system wipe.  It's that good.

Forget about dust, forget about everything, this is the only way to go.  It seems big at first because it's shaped to fit into your hand.  Once you get used to it you don't even notice you have a mouse in your hand at all.  This is so much better then a touchpad.  You'll notice I don't even mention the mice I bought.  They didn't even qualify to be the most important, most used input device we have for our computers.  When you look at it that way, what's 49.95?

So, how do you setup this four button mouse with a wheel?  Join the "Inner Circle" and find out.

The Inner Circle!

So you got the mouse and want to set it up?  OK, we can do that.

The first thing you have to do is install it.  If it tells you it has to uninstall your old mouse, tell it OK.  So I'll assume you did that.  Next we want to go to control panel.  Double click on the mouse icon.  By the way, if your new mouse puts a new icon on your tray?  Right click on it and tell it shut down forever.  Or uncheck it at the main "Quick Settings" screen.  You don't need it!  You won't have to change them.  You can always go back through Control Panel, who needs more clutter?

The Mouse Settings Screen

I'm going to tell you what mine are.  Depending on what you bought, your tabs might be different, just click on the tabs, all the settings will be there somewhere.

So we're looking at the main "Quick Setup" Screen, forget it, we don't need to be there as this will be your custom settings.  

The Buttons Screen

Click on the Buttons screen.  Here we see the setup for each of the buttons and the scroller.  For button number one choose "Click/Select," I know, it's already set at that.  For the second (that's your scroll wheel button) choose double click.  Believe me gang, that's what you want.  Now when you want to double click, just push the scroll wheel down.  No more double clicking ever again.  Trust me on this one.

The third button will already say "Context Menu/Alternate Select" Leave it there.  And number 4 which is the thumb button, choose "backspace."  That's the only way to go.  Now when you're surfing, you only need to click the thumb button to back up a screen.  No more going up with the mouse and clicking on the back button.  This will work on all Windows screens, menu's and AOL.  You are about to get SO spoiled gang!  Set scrolling at three lines per.  It's probably already set there, and if you have a box that says "Use MS Office Compatible Scroll Only" leave it unchecked.

The Motion Tab

I'm giving you my preferences but I believe these will also be yours.  You won't have to move the mouse much at these settings.  About 3 inches to cover your whole screen.

For Cursor Speed and Acceleration.  Set the bar one notch lower than the middle. (to the left) and under Acceleration, choose the Medium setting.

Click the box for "Smart Move." (some software calls it slap to)  This will automatically put your mouse on the box Windows thinks you want when it asks you a question.  Really handy!  Saves a lot of moving around.  Cursor trails; leave it blank.  These are for LCD screens.  They're so slow your mouse disappears so you need the trail to know where it went.

Now!  Don't Forget The Apply Button!

And that's it gang.  Leave all the rest of the settings at their defaults.

Cheers Gang!

I hope this helps you on your road.  Your Road?

Yes, Your Road To Computer Sanity

                              Danny