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From: mig@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Meir)
Newsgroups: comp.human-factors
Subject: Re: Track ball on a keyboard?
Message-ID: <1991Jun13.170640.8248@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Date: 13 Jun 91 17:06:40 GMT
References: <91163.083144CJS@psuvm.psu.edu> <2909@sumax.seattleu.edu> <1991Jun12.211919.12789@linus.mitre.org>
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In article <1991Jun12.211919.12789@linus.mitre.org> edelheit@smiley.uucp (Jeff Edelheit) writes:
>In article <2909@sumax.seattleu.edu> bentson@sumax.seattleu.edu (Randy+Cindy Bentson) writes:
>>
>>Christopher (or whoever wants to enlighten me):
>>Well, I for one am ignorant but intrigued. I have used both
>>the cursor arrow/hjkl keys and mice, and am curious
>>about these track balls. How do they work? Will my experience with
>>them be the - gosh, how to put this into words? - line by line
>>(like Etch-a-Sketch) movement or a more subltle flowing movement
>>that puts you where you want to be "instantly" - like mice do?
>>
>>The idea of having something on the keyboard is attractive (I
>>always lose the mouse, or have no reasonable surface to run 
>>it on). What other advantages are there?
>>
>>Cindy B.
>
>The advantage to the trackball is that you don't keep moving your hand
>all over your desk, having to pick up the mouse from the mousepad when
>you gone to the end of the pad, but still need to go further, you
>don't need to have a mouse pad, etc.

Many people never use a mouse pad (I prefer it).  This largely depends upon
the specific mouse and the work surface.  I never have to pick up and move the
mouse as you describe.  Why don't you just set the speed on fast or the
sensitivity on low?  This is just fine for all but extremely delicate graphics
editing.  In that case, you might be better off with an optical mouse, anyway.

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