Wireless mice, recommendations?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jonathan Sachs
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Jonathan Sachs

I need to replace my wireless mouse, and I'm looking for a product
that works well and reliably, preferably without costing a fortune.
What do other users recommend?

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
Jonathon

Go for the Logitech rechargeable mouse.. the mice that run on regular
batteries get through them like all ....

You can't run a regular cordless mouse on rechargeables either..
 
To be totally honest, I love Microsoft's Mice. Especially the ones with tilt
wheel technology. They are comfortable, stylish and reliable.

I have the Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 2.0 and I haven't had to change
the batteries in over 4 months.

Also, the wheel on Microsoft mice is smooth, there isn't that "click" when
scrolling up and down.

If by chance you like that click, the go with a Logitech.

I know a basic wireless Optical mouse from Microsoft is about $40 CDN or $30
USD.
 
To be totally honest, I love Microsoft's Mice. Especially the ones with tilt
wheel technology. They are comfortable, stylish and reliable....

If by chance you like that click, the go with a Logitech.
Click to expand...

Mike said:
Go for the Logitech rechargeable mouse.. the mice that run on regular
batteries get through them like all ....
Click to expand...

I will take a look at the Microsoft mous

The two recommendations for Logitech are discouraging, though, because
the mouse I need to replace was a Logitech mouse (the one with
batteries), and as far as I am concerned, it was a piece of trash.
It's inexpressibly frustrating to try to use a mouse whose cursor
skitters down the screen on its own instead of staying in one place
when the mouse is stationary. The buttons were also unreliable;
sometimes I had to punch them hard to make them work, which is the
worst possible thing for my carpal tunnel syndrome.

The only cure I found for the skittering cursor was to slam the mouse
down flat on the desktop. Last night it broke when I did that.
Predictable, but no great loss.

At the moment I am using my old corded Logitech mouse, which has
always performed faultlessly, except that the scroll wheel is too
stiff for my taste.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
Jonathon

Logitech supply cordless mice ranging from $20 for the cheapest up to $119
for the Bluetooth model.. Microsoft also have a similar product line..

You get what you pay for in this life.. the cheapest of either make is not
going to be the all time best ever mouse..

Cordless mouse battery life is entirely dependant on how much you use it..
if you use the mouse a great deal as I do, you will be better off with a
rechargeable mouse..

What I and others have found is that for any price level, Logitech quality
is a little bit better.. I don't say this lightly, as for years, I
recommended Microsoft mice and keyboards.. I have now switched to Logitech
and do not regret the move.. my wife had an MS Mouse that lasted 2 months..
we exchanged it at the store for a new one, which so far has lasted the
course (fingers crossed)..


--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/User
 
I got my hands on a Microsoft Cordless Laptop mouse. So far, the battery
has lasted several month (by replacing the USB receiver back into the
storage area of the mouse -- turns off).

Look for newer cordless mice that should come with an ON/OFF switching
method.
 
Well I use the Microsoft Comfort Edition Wireless Desktop and it's worked
flawlessly.

The Keyboard is slightly curved for comfort and it looks great. I like the
new "home/End/Pgup/Pgdown" cluster, how it's in two columns instead of
three. Also the keys are bouncy and easy to type.

The mouse that it comes with is great (Sames as Wireless Optical Mouse 2.0)
the tilt wheel technology makes browsing a lot easier.

So if you were to ask me, Why a Microsoft mouse and not Logitech? Well I
like microsoft's design, the scroll wheel is one of the only ones that
scrolls smoothly without clicking and stiffness. Also the tilt wheel
technology is a Microsoft Exclusive. You may not think it's a big deal, but
once you use it, you won't want to go back.

I personally am trying to save up for the Optical Desktop with Bluetooth.
 
You get what you pay for in this life.. the cheapest of either make is not
going to be the all time best ever mouse....
Click to expand...

I'm trying to translate your comments into specific suggestions, and
to reconcile them with what I know about how computer products are
made.

In any line of high-tech electronic products, designing and producing
the custom-made electronics and software is a major part of the fixed
cost of production... often the largest part. The fewer different
parts you make, more you make of each one, the less each part costs,
and the less each product costs.

Thus, I would expect Logitech to put exactly the same electronics and
firmware in every optical cordless mouse it makes, so far as it
reasonably can. I don't know what exactly was wrong with mouse I had,
but it appeared to be a basic problem with the motion sensing hardware
or software -- something likely to be the same in every model.

As I recall, I paid about $40 (discounted) for this mouse. I could
have paid more if I wanted a rechargeable model or Bluetooth, but I
would not have expected to get more quality; just more features. I
would not think otherwise today unless I were given some reason to
believe that typical computer industry economics do not apply.

Maybe I just got a lemon, and if I buy another ten Logitech cordless
mice they will all work perfectly forever. But having had a bad
experience with one, I see no reason to believe that I will have a
better experience with another if only I pay more for it.

I'm really puzzled by your comment about battery life, because I never
mentioned that as an issue. I wonder whether you're confusing my
message with someone else's.

At this point I'm inclined to buy a Microsoft mouse next time, and
stay away from Logitech mice (at least cordless ones) for at least a
few years, until I can safely bet that whatever caused the problem is
no longer in use.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
I've been using a wireless keyboard/mouse that I bought from
CompUSA(house brand) a year ago. Battery in the mouse lasted six months;
batteries in the keyboard lasted a year. Cost was $30. Keyboard has 19
extra function keys on it, plus an extra shift-key to set up special
commands in MS Office using the F1 - F12 keys.

No clutter. Can control WMP from ten feet away using keyboard commands.

Bill

I need to replace my wireless mouse, and I'm looking for a product
that works well and reliably, preferably without costing a fortune.
What do other users recommend?

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
I've been using a wireless keyboard/mouse that I bought from
CompUSA(house brand) a year ago. Battery in the mouse lasted six months;
batteries in the keyboard lasted a year. Cost was $30. Keyboard has 19
extra function keys on it, plus an extra shift-key to set up special
commands in MS Office using the F1 - F12 keys.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion, but I think I'll stick with Microsoft.
CompUSA does not have the best reputation in the world, but the real
problem with house brands is that there's no telling what you're
getting when you buy one. The CompUSA house brand cordless mouse that
I buy today may be from a completely different source than the one you
bought six months ago. It might even be from a different source than
one purchased at the same time from a different store. That limits the
value of any recommendation, no matter how well-founded in one
person's experience.

I don't know whether CompUSA shifts suppliers frequently, but many
house-brand retailers do, depending on who offers the best deal at the
moment. In principle, their specifications and product testing ensure
a reasonably consistent level of quality. But in principle, that's
true of every product on the market. Nobody _wants_ to sell things
that break!

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
Jonathan Sachs said:
On Tue, 7 Jun 2005 23:23:29 -0400, "Lawrence A. Wong"
wrote:

>To be totally honest, I love Microsoft's Mice. Especially the ones with tilt
>wheel technology. They are comfortable, stylish and reliable....
>
>If by chance you like that click, the go with a Logitech.

Mike Hall wrote:

>Go for the Logitech rechargeable mouse.. the mice that run on regular
>batteries get through them like all ....

I will take a look at the Microsoft mous

The two recommendations for Logitech are discouraging, though, because
the mouse I need to replace was a Logitech mouse (the one with
batteries), and as far as I am concerned, it was a piece of trash.
It's inexpressibly frustrating to try to use a mouse whose cursor
skitters down the screen on its own instead of staying in one place
when the mouse is stationary. The buttons were also unreliable;
sometimes I had to punch them hard to make them work, which is the
worst possible thing for my carpal tunnel syndrome.

The only cure I found for the skittering cursor was to slam the mouse
down flat on the desktop. Last night it broke when I did that.
Predictable, but no great loss.

At the moment I am using my old corded Logitech mouse, which has
always performed faultlessly, except that the scroll wheel is too
stiff for my taste.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
Click to expand...

I have to reply to you on this one...I use logitech and never had trouble with them. The problem you described could be, if a roller ball, dirt. You have to maintain a mouse with a roller ball in it. Laser, no but even those can get dirty. No mouse will live forever and getting what you pay for isn't always so. My logitech cordless is 6 years old and works like a charm. I paid 25 dollars for it. My batteries last about 5 to 6 months. My aunt bought a cordless microsoft mouse and paid close to 60 for it and it was junk. It's been replaced by 2 mice since but i still have my logitech. Every mouse is different. Your old logitech mouse could have simply been gummed up. I clean my logitech roller ball mouse with q tip and rubbing alcohol once a month. Not that anyone cares. I do want a laser mouse but can't bring myself to get rid of my logitech. I will never recommend compaq for a mouse. I have thrown away 30 of those things for people. Now that i lost track of my point... oh well, if you don't like a mouse you get, take it back until you find one that fits you.
 
PCDaddy said:
I have to reply to you on this one...I use logitech and never had
trouble with them. The problem you described could be, if a roller
ball, dirt. You have to maintain a mouse with a roller ball in it.
Laser, no but even those can get dirty. No mouse will live forever and
getting what you pay for isn't always so. My logitech cordless is 6
years old and works like a charm. I paid 25 dollars for it. My
batteries last about 5 to 6 months. My aunt bought a cordless microsoft
mouse and paid close to 60 for it and it was junk. It's been replaced by
2 mice since but i still have my logitech. Every mouse is different.
Your old logitech mouse could have simply been gummed up. I clean my
logitech roller ball mouse with q tip and rubbing alcohol once a month.
Not that anyone cares. I do want a laser mouse but can't bring myself to
get rid of my logitech. I will never recommend compaq for a mouse. I
have thrown away 30 of those things for people. Now that i lost track
of my point... oh well, if you don't like a mouse you get, take it back
until you find one that fits you.
Click to expand...

If you are going to buy a keyboard, mouse or a desktop combo, I would
recommend Logitech over anything else on the shelves, especially Microsoft.
The build quality of Microsoft mice and keyboards is nowhere near as good as
Logitech.

If you want a high performance mouse, look at the MX518 for corded, or the
MX1000 Laser mouse for cordless. It uses a Lithium Ion rechargeable (MS
does not), and has a much greater tracking ability than any LED based mouse.

The Media Mouse is also a very cool mouse.

The MX3100 desktop is a very rugged, high performance wireless desktop.
Worth every penny if you are looking for an integrated desktop. It consists
of the MX1000 mouse and the LX700 keyboard...both very solidly built and
they are very battery friendly (something that you cant say about the
Microsoft desktops).

Bobby
 
The problem you described could be, if a roller ball, dirt.
Click to expand...

This was an optical mouse. (I believe they use LEDs, not lasers.)
No mouse will live forever and
getting what you pay for isn't always so. My logitech cordless is 6
years old and works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Mine was just over a year old when it died, and no more than six
months old when it started misbehaving. You're correct that individual
specimens vary, and I might just have gotten a bad one. Even if that
was so, the fact that I got a bad one indicates either extreme bad
luck or poor quality control. I think the latter is more likely, so
I'm going to try a different brand next time.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
Jonathan Sachs said:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 01:09:26 +0100, PCDaddy wrote:

>The problem you described could be, if a roller ball, dirt.

This was an optical mouse. (I believe they use LEDs, not lasers.)

>No mouse will live forever and
>getting what you pay for isn't always so. My logitech cordless is 6
>years old and works like a charm.

Mine was just over a year old when it died, and no more than six
months old when it started misbehaving. You're correct that individual
specimens vary, and I might just have gotten a bad one. Even if that
was so, the fact that I got a bad one indicates either extreme bad
luck or poor quality control. I think the latter is more likely, so
I'm going to try a different brand next time.

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
Click to expand...

As well you should go with what you want. But let me say this, I would go with the first and not the latter. I get laughed at because everything i seem to buy is defective. Others will have the same exact item and have no problems, me, i always seem to get the defective one. I wouldn't say poor quality control is the issue. Any company that makes a million mice is going to have some misbehavers in the group. Nature is no better and humans make mistakes, humans make mice, mice make mistakes. I would say a nuclear power plant going balistic is bad quality control or a certain 100,000 tires that blow up when on a hot road, not a couple of mice. Don't forget, every company has it's caddys and pintos of it's products. You may have paid for a pinto. But once again, I have seen many microsoft mice and compaq mice get fed to the cat. But also once again, it's really up to what you think is good.
 
I wouldn't buy a CompUSA digital camera (assuming they made one) but 30
bucks for a wireless keyboard/mouse combination is worth a shot. I'm
well-satisfied with them both after a year. I've also used Microsoft,
Dell and Logitech mice with tails with pretty good results from all. One
of them -- I forget which -- started acting flaky after a couple of
years.

And, as another poster mentioned, you have to clean the mouse
occasionally. How often depends on how dirty your desktop gets and how
much you use the mouse.

Bill

I've been using a wireless keyboard/mouse that I bought from
CompUSA(house brand) a year ago. Battery in the mouse lasted six
months;
batteries in the keyboard lasted a year. Cost was $30. Keyboard has 19
extra function keys on it, plus an extra shift-key to set up special
commands in MS Office using the F1 - F12 keys.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion, but I think I'll stick with Microsoft.
CompUSA does not have the best reputation in the world, but the real
problem with house brands is that there's no telling what you're
getting when you buy one. The CompUSA house brand cordless mouse that
I buy today may be from a completely different source than the one you
bought six months ago. It might even be from a different source than
one purchased at the same time from a different store. That limits the
value of any recommendation, no matter how well-founded in one
person's experience.

I don't know whether CompUSA shifts suppliers frequently, but many
house-brand retailers do, depending on who offers the best deal at the
moment. In principle, their specifications and product testing ensure
a reasonably consistent level of quality. But in principle, that's
true of every product on the market. Nobody _wants_ to sell things
that break!

My email address is LLM041103 at earthlink dot net.
 
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