Anyone else using a flywheel type mouse wheel?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Doe
  • Start date Start date
J

John Doe

Logitech describes it as a micro-gear. The important function is
being able to release the clicking mechanism so that the wheel spins
freely. The wheel is probably heavier than a typical mouse wheel so
that it continues to spin for a long time. Any other makers of
flickable mouse wheels yet? Very cool IMO.
 
John said:
Logitech describes it as a micro-gear. The important function is
being able to release the clicking mechanism so that the wheel spins
freely. The wheel is probably heavier than a typical mouse wheel so
that it continues to spin for a long time. Any other makers of
flickable mouse wheels yet? Very cool IMO.
Click to expand...

They're called trackballs. Some have far less resistance. Flick and
the ball rolls along. To stop just takes putting your finger back on
the trackball. Logitech never did understand the concept of a trackball
and kept putting it in the wrong place with far too much resistance.
Kensington overprices their trackball and, alas, reduce hardiness of the
device by eliminating the steel bearing rollers, and always forgot there
was more of the hand than just the fingers on the trackball and not
everyone has ET's finger length.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/mice/devices/130&cl=us,en

Then read:

http://forums.logitech.com/logitech/board/message?board.id=hardware_mice&message.id=9549
 
VanguardLH said:
They're called trackballs. Some have far less resistance. Flick
and the ball rolls along. To stop just takes putting your
finger back on the trackball. Logitech never did understand the
concept of a trackball and kept putting it in the wrong place
with far too much resistance. Kensington overprices their
trackball and, alas, reduce hardiness of the device by
eliminating the steel bearing rollers, and always forgot there
was more of the hand than just the fingers on the trackball and
not everyone has ET's finger length.
Click to expand...

Yup. I probably would agree with all of that off-topic stuff about
trackballs. I was very good at Missile Command (decades ago),
maybe because spinning the wheel was the only requirement for that
hand and my elbow was not resting on something. I have never
enjoyed using a trackball as a PC input device.



--
Maybe I should have added that Logitech Setpoint software sucks.
For some strange reason, Setpoint does not allow scrolling one
screen at a time per mouse wheel indentation/click. There is a
workaround, but Logitech should have fixed the problem a long time
ago.
 
John said:
Logitech describes it as a micro-gear. The important function is
being able to release the clicking mechanism so that the wheel spins
freely. The wheel is probably heavier than a typical mouse wheel so
that it continues to spin for a long time. Any other makers of
flickable mouse wheels yet? Very cool IMO.
Click to expand...

Yes, I just started using one that I purchased from Tiger Direct for my
laptop. It is the Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse For Notebook
(L23-6313) model that comes with a miniature USB transmitter. The
transmitter is stored in the bottom of the mouse when not needed and when
placed there will power down the mouse. There is little power button on the
bottom of the mouse if you want to leave the transmitter plugged into the PC
and still shut down the mouse.

I was totally unaware of the free-wheeling option of the mouse when I
purchased it. When it came mine had the usual clicking mouse wheel that I
was used to. After using it only a couple of hours it started free-wheeling
with no clicking. I figured I had broken it until I pushed down on the
wheel hard enough to once again activate the ratchet mechanism. I just need
to remember to not use such a heavy finger on the wheel or else it switches
modes on me. Free-wheeling through multiple lists or links is much smoother
and faster.
 
....
Whoosh. Right over your head.
Click to expand...

So you are put off by Logitech's implementation of the trackball?
You might want to give their flickable mouse wheel a try. It is a
good implementation of the freewheeling their trackball should
have done. Probably at least partly because the mechanics is much
easier. The spinning mouse wheel here on my MX Revolution
continues spinning for a long time after letting go. It does not
have the same resistance problem that their trackballs have/had.
 
The spinning mouse wheel here...continues spinning for a long
time after letting go.
Click to expand...

And that is surprising to me. Must be a very well machined and
well lubricated axle. I am impressed and would not be very much
surprised if it fails too soon. I would suspect a longevity
problem in dusty or dirty environments. Lasting for two or three
years will be good enough for me. After five months of daily use,
I have noticed no degradation in performance of the freewheeling
scroll wheel. User reviews at our favorite online merchant might
be a good place to look for longevity problems.
 
John said:
...


So you are put off by Logitech's implementation of the trackball?
You might want to give their flickable mouse wheel a try. It is a
good implementation of the freewheeling their trackball should
have done. Probably at least partly because the mechanics is much
easier. The spinning mouse wheel here on my MX Revolution
continues spinning for a long time after letting go. It does not
have the same resistance problem that their trackballs have/had.
Click to expand...

No, the "whoosh" referred to Steve not figuring out that trackballs
already had the ability to flick the ball and have it rolling until you
stopped it (provided you got a trackball that actually did spin freely
which the Logitech didn't). If the idea was to flick a control and have
it spin, the MX Revolution is not a revolutionary concept.
 
VanguardLH said:
Whoosh. Right over your head.
Click to expand...

Not at all, a flickable mouse wheel is a flickable mouse wheel, a trackball
is a trackball. The flickable mouse wheel is just an 'improvement' on the
existing mouse wheel. The trackball replaces the directional movement of a
conventional mouse - not the same purpose at all. So telliing the o/p that
they are called trackballs is misleading at best.
 
VanguardLH said:
If the idea was to flick a control and have it spin, the MX
Revolution is not a revolutionary concept.
Click to expand...

Not itself, but the MicroGear that Logitech has on the MX and
cheaper mice is a significant improvement. Have you used one? If
you enjoy using a great trackball, you might enjoy using one of
these, it is a similar sensation.
 
SteveH said:
Not at all, a flickable mouse wheel is a flickable mouse wheel, a trackball
is a trackball. The flickable mouse wheel is just an 'improvement' on the
existing mouse wheel. The trackball replaces the directional movement of a
conventional mouse - not the same purpose at all. So telliing the o/p that
they are called trackballs is misleading at best.
Click to expand...

Don't know what trackball you've used. When I had the Kensignton, in a
document, I could flip the ball and have it scroll through many pages at
a time. The mouse cursor wasn't moving. It was the scrolling that got
moved. It's been a long time (few years) since I had one but you
probably had to hit a button when spinning the ball or you used a sticky
function.
 
VanguardLH said:
Don't know what trackball you've used. When I had the Kensignton, in
a document, I could flip the ball and have it scroll through many
pages at a time. The mouse cursor wasn't moving. It was the
scrolling that got moved. It's been a long time (few years) since I
had one but you probably had to hit a button when spinning the ball
or you used a sticky function.
Click to expand...

I think you will find that in the /majority/ of trackballs the ball movement
controls the cursor direction. Otherwise why have a ball and not just a
spinning scroll wheel wheel?
 
SteveH said:
I think you will find that in the /majority/ of trackballs the ball movement
controls the cursor direction. Otherwise why have a ball and not just a
spinning scroll wheel wheel?
Click to expand...

A wheel lets you scroll in one direction only. Vertical scrolling is
what you are locked on. There is also horizontal scrolling, or even x-y
axis scrolling (i.e., in diagonals). Again, using inertia to spin a
control isn't a revolution in the MX Revolution mouse. In fact, in some
touchpads, all you have to do is "flick" in a direction and the
scrolling will continue in that direction until you tap again.
 
VanguardLH said:
A wheel lets you scroll in one direction only. Vertical scrolling is
what you are locked on. There is also horizontal scrolling, or even
x-y axis scrolling (i.e., in diagonals).
Click to expand...

Really??

Again, using inertia to
spin a control isn't a revolution in the MX Revolution mouse. In
fact, in some touchpads, all you have to do is "flick" in a direction
and the scrolling will continue in that direction until you tap again.
Click to expand...

What, like my graphics tablet does?

All of which has got nothing to do with the point I was making.
 
John said:
So you are put off by Logitech's implementation of the trackball?
You might want to give their flickable mouse wheel a try. It is a
good implementation of the freewheeling their trackball should
have done. Probably at least partly because the mechanics is much
easier. The spinning mouse wheel here on my MX Revolution
continues spinning for a long time after letting go. It does not
have the same resistance problem that their trackballs have/had.
Click to expand...

You could also try the Kensington Expert Mouse. The trackball is the
size/weight of a billiard ball. I'm on my 3rd one!
 
JR said:
You could also try the Kensington Expert Mouse. The trackball is the
size/weight of a billiard ball. I'm on my 3rd one!
Click to expand...

I had scratched mine after fist hammering during a game. I went to a
billiards store and bought a snooker ball for perfect fit. If you had
kids that take stuff from your desk, like the trackball's ball to play
with and forget where they left it, buy a few snooker replacements.
They're a LOT cheaper than getting the Kensington replacements.

Alas, Kensington abandoned the steel ball bearing rollers so friction
increased along with hardiness. They're also pretty pricey (I never
cared for the behavior in their Orbit model where it wanted to pop out
forward), so eventually I didn't get them anymore.
 
VanguardLH said:
A wheel lets you scroll in one direction only. Vertical
scrolling is what you are locked on.
Click to expand...

Logitech took the most important scrolling feature and made super
mice that excel at it.
Again, using inertia to spin a control isn't a revolution in the
MX Revolution mouse.
Click to expand...

Putting aside the fact that the feature is on less-expensive
Logitech mice, as I have told you multiple times... Including a
freewheeling/flickable mouse wheel significantly enhances a
mouse's function. You should try using one.

Are you saying that a freewheeling/flickable mouse wheel is
included on some other manufacturer's mice?
In fact, in some touchpads, all you have to do is "flick" in a
direction and the scrolling will continue in that direction
until you tap again.
Click to expand...

My experience suggests that touchpads (if they are highly
responsive) are good for controlling the pointer. Scrolling north
and south is by far the most common, there is very little reason
for scrolling in any other direction. Adding a
freewheeling/flickable mouse wheel to a mouse was a very good
idea. Try it, you'll like it.
 
More notes about its usage... Properly configured, the flickable
mouse wheel moves from regular indentation mode to freewheeling
mode very well in almost all applications here. The wheel defaults
to indentation mode, and if you give it a twirl, it instantly
spins freely. The only application I rarely use where the function
fails is Internet Explorer, for some strange reason the mouse
defaults to freewheeling mode. But that is no problem since I use
Firefox for browsing.

It has the feel of a good trackball, even better... When the inner
wheel is flying along after the mouse wheel was flicked, and then
when you put very slight backward movement/motion on the wheel,
the mouse wheel re-engages with the inner wheel with a resounding
THUMP.

I doubt that anyone else even makes a flickable/freewheeling mouse
wheel, and Logitech's is a very good implementation.
 
Back
Top