Alternate to a mouse

A wireless trackball is what I'd recommend for the least amount of movement.

I have a logitech wireless trackball on one of my computers and love it. Have had it for years and whenever I've been using it a lot using a mouse afterwards is a pain.

Aye, a wireless trackball seems like the answer.
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/trackballs/devices/189&cl=gb,en

Alternate to a mouse
What actually makes the difference between mouse and trackball? Is it for some reason simply less strain on the hand/wrist and if so why? Or is it more precise?

I have a trackball too.

absolutely love it, would never go back to a mouse.

It's more ergonomic and keeps you from moving your arm all over the place., I feel it's more accurate too.

Caveat...make sure you put your hands on the trackball to ascertain if it fits your hand.

I fooled around with some that got terrific reviews, but, did not fit my particular hand.

When you find one that fits, you'll know it.

This is the one I use, it's called the Microsoft Explorer. You manipulate the ball with your index,middle and ring fingers. On some trackballs, you use your thumb to move the ball, I personally don't like that.

Re: Alternate to a mouse


With a mouse you are constantly moving around which puts more dynamic stress on the wrist.
Plus most people don't bother to use a wrist rest for a mouse. I don't use one because they get in the way and at the speeds I mouse around I'd probably end up losing the mouse crashing into it or break the damn thing.
I have a bit of RSI in my wrist but I can't see a solution for my particular requirements.

With the trackball, because you're not moving anything other than the fingers required to move the ball, you can have a permanently placed wrist rest in the optimal support position.
You can also position the trackball closer to the body and at silly angles if the person using it has limited movement.
I've seen them strapped to a small piece of wood attached at 75 degrees from the horizontal on the side of the arm of a wheelchair.
Works perfectly.
And it's wireless so you can still wheel off to the toilet without getting all tangled up etc...

I'm not 100% sure about the precision thing but as far as I'm aware mice are more accurate on a quality surface than trackballs due to the limited resolution of the pattern on the surface of the ball.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

However, the levels of accuracy from even a poor quality mouse or trackball far exceeds the ability of a normal person to be bothered by it.

I'm a high speed mouser so I do find the inadequacies in mice pretty quickly.

when I mouse with my tracker ball, I feel like Capt. Kirk on the Starship Enterprise.