Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!convex!swarren
From: swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Optical Mice.
Message-ID: <102026@convex.convex.com>
Date: 4 May 90 16:05:22 GMT
References: <18184@snow-white.udel.EDU> <727@sky.COM> <36@cantor.ACA.MCC.COM>
Sender: news@convex.com
Organization: Convex Computer Corporation; Richardson, TX
Lines: 46

In article <727@sky.COM>, brian@sky.COM (Brian Pelletier) writes:
> 
> Well, I have to disagree here.  I have a SparcStation with one of the Sun-
> supplied optical mice, and I find it to be quite the pain in the *ss to use.
> Not only does it have this tiny little grid you have to stay on, but you also
> have to keep the grid *exactly* lined up with the way the mouse is facing.  
> I know people who like them, and others who don't.  For my money, I'd rather
> have the mechanical mouse that lets me move in any direction with ease.
> 
>  -Brian

Hmm, I keep seeing people say this, but I have yet to experience this
phenomena in all the time I have spent working on Sun workstations.

I think you are confused because you got used to using a mechanical
mouse first.  With a mechanical mouse you have to pay attention to
the orientation of the mouse because if your mouse gets rotated in
your hand (if you bend your wrist) the movement of the pointer will
continue to be relative to the mouse orientation, while an optical
mouse is independent of mouse orientation (within about +/- 45 degrees).

For example, if you rotate your Amiga mouse clockwise 20 or 30 degrees
and then move the mouse horizontally of course the pointer will move
up at the same time it moves to the right.  With the Sun optical
mouse the same action will have the pointer moving only horizontally
without reference to the orientation of the mouse.  However if you
rotate it too far it will have trouble registering the guide-lines.
Since I rarely rotate my mouse more than 45 degrees in either direction
this has never been a problem for me.

I first noticed the trouble I was having with my Amiga mechanical mouse
when I obtained Marble Madness a few years ago.  I would be trying to
move the marble by moving the mouse, but the marble seemed to go in
strange directions at times.  Finally I realised that I was rotating
the mouse while I was trying to move it, and this was adding extra
directional input that I wasn't taking into account.  After concentrating
on not rotating the mouse I was finally able to defeat this evil game
;^).  Later I bought a track ball and that really made the game easier.
In many ways an optical mouse is analogous to a track ball in that
the pointer motion is only dependent on the mouse's directional motion,
without reference to its rotational movement.

--
--Steve      DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own (I don't speak for Convex)
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