The Gang of Five
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Wired or Wireless Mouse?

pokeplayer984

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Let's face it, the mouse is pretty dang important for your desktop computer.  There's just SO much that you would either have a difficult or impossible time doing without it.

Over the 4 years (Just recently became 4 years old. :)) I've had my computer, I've had the privilege of trying both a wired and wireless mouse.  I started out with a wired one like most people and it served me well for the most part.  It was a simple 3-button mouse.  It had nice sensitivity, no question asked, and the buttons worked QUITE well.  However, the main problem were those times I had to reset the position by lifting the mouse off the pad, bringing it to another position and then having it moveable from there.  However, I was willing to put up with the tolerable problem.

Why did I give it up in the end?  Because my mouse just died on me one day. :(

The main thing was that the pointer for the mouse wouldn't move anywhere.  I tought the ball was dirty or something, but no matter what I tried, the problem just wasn't fixed until I plugged in another one.  The one I used temporarily was from my Dad's computer, and he was just too busy that day to have any time to use it. (Seriously, he was literally TOO busy.) However, I knew I needed a new one that very day.  So, off to the electronics department I go and I find quite a variety of choices, both from the wired and wireless.  In the end, I chose a 5-button wireless mouse that was easy to grip, didn't have the ball, but instead a laser point and a scroll wheel.

How well has it sereved me?  Better than my old one ever could. :P:

The sensitivity it holds makes it and so that I don't have to move it around as much as I needed to before, meaning less repositioning.  It even did a number of functions in far less time than my wired one.  It was just basically out-performed by this sleek wireless mouse.  The only problem is that it runs on batteries, so I have to replace them every once in a while, but have only needed to do so twice within it's just over 6-month use.

In the end, I prefer my wireless.  It just works so much better in the end. :)

So, how about you guys?  Which do you have and which do you prefer?


landbeforetimelover

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Anyone who doesn't prefer wireless hasn't tried a good quality one.  I admit it.  $30 mouse and keyboard sets are okay, but they just can't match the quality of sets that are just a little bit more.  My HP set was on sale for $50 and it matches any wired mouse I have in terms of performance, and I have some pretty freaking expensive wired mice!


Mumbling

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I have got a wires one and a wireless. I prefer wireless because the wire sometimes was too short and you dont get stuck in the wire =P. It was a cheap one but still it works perfectly fine!


Lillefot

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For me:
Latop: wire
Stationary: wireless

That's what I feel most confortable with.
I like wireless, it's goood!  :P:

/Lillefot
Do well. Live well. And dress very well.


landbeforetimelover

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Portable wireless laptop mice SUCK!  There's no getting around it.  I even bought a really expensive $120 microsoft brand wireless portable laptop mouse and it STILL sucked. <_<


DarkHououmon

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I prefer wired. They serve my purpose just fine. I don't need some fancy wireless mouse. Besides, in my opinion, they're not all that great. I had tried one before and it was terrible in my opinion. Hurt my hand too.


landbeforetimelover

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The more expensive the wireless mouse, the better it feels.  You need to spend a lot to get a decent one otherwise it's not worth the experience and it's more hassle than it's worth.


action9000

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Quote
Anyone who doesn't prefer wireless hasn't tried a good quality one.
That is true, I will admit.  I have only used older wireless products (aside from video game controllers on the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3).  Bluetooth wireless products are amazing and the battery life is typically very good.

I am still a fan of wired, mainly because I never have to think about my batteries dying.  To be fair, new wireless mouses last up to 6 months before even needing a charge.....I suppose I like my current wired laser mouse so much that I see absolutely no reason to replace it with a wireless model.

As for keyboards...same thing.   I love my wired keyboard so much that it would take a very, Very good reason for me to want to replace it.


Petrie.

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Wired only because my twenty year old boombox isn't magnetically shielded and it would muck with the wireless radio in the mouse. :p  Wired's cool as well because they don't eat batteries.


DarkHououmon

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Quote from: landbeforetimelover,May 13 2008 on  02:15 PM
The more expensive the wireless mouse, the better it feels.  You need to spend a lot to get a decent one otherwise it's not worth the experience and it's more hassle than it's worth.
I can't afford spending so much money just on a wireless mouse. I'll stick to wired mice until I'm forced to use a wireless.

Let me ask this: the more dpi the mouse has, the faster the cursor moves?


action9000

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the more dpi the mouse has, the faster the cursor moves?
Sort of.  The more DPI a mouse has, the more precisely a mouse will read the surface that it's working on and the faster it *can potentially* move.  A higher DPI setting with the same mouse speed settings in software (like Windows or a game) will result in a faster speed.  A major benefit of DPI in a mouse is the ability to read hard-to-read surfaces, such as glossy black or glass.  Another benefit is in games where you need to control weapons or vehicles of various turning speeds.


landbeforetimelover

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I absolutely MUST have a mouse with a very high DPI because of photoshop work and the fact that I'm working on large resolutions with large monitors.  1000DPI or less just won't work for me.  The model I have has a wopping 1800DPI, which makes precision photoshopping actually possible.  If you don't have a decent mouse, just forget about ever getting really good at photoshop.


I've never understood the purpose of wireless keyboards.  I mean, if you don't move them, what's the point?  I used to like having a wireless keyboard so I could operate the computer from far away, but now they make the range really crappy.  Most won't go over 2-3 feet. <_<


DarkHououmon

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I'll never understand the deal about more dpi. I don't really understand how there is any difference at all. All mice are the same to me when it comes to movement.

Quote
If you don't have a decent mouse, just forget about ever getting really good at photoshop.

I disagree. As long as you can move the cursor just fine (an 800 dpi works well, in my opinion, since I've used one for years), then you can learn how to Photoshop. I don't believe a fancy 1800 dpi is required for getting really good at Photoshop.


landbeforetimelover

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Believe it or not, you can't get any better if you don't have the tools to do it.  You may be a fine photoshopper, but there's no way to increase your skill without a better mouse.  Think of it this way:

When you move the mouse to the right, let's say it moves .35px.  The image you're working on is 566px by 739px.  You can only get so close to the line of the image.  Now, the higher the DPI, the less px it moves every time you move the mouse.  I'm sure a 1800DPI mouse moves at like .018px, which allows for much higher precision.  Of course, the higher DPI you have, the faster you have to set your mouse speed in the control panel because it scans more area as you move it which makes it slower unless you compensate with the settings in the control panel.


pokeplayer984

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I'm looking into getting a mouse for my laptop.  The pad at the bottom that you use to move the cursor is just SO sensitive. (Clicks when it shouldn't at times.) So I'm getting a mouse to get around it all.  What would you guys recommend?


Mumbling

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For laptops I prefer a simple USB laser mouse.


landbeforetimelover

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My advice is to just get used to it.  They've been using pad mice for over a decade now.  It's time to adapt people!  You get used to it.  Getting a separate mouse just makes it suck when you have to travel and you need to use the computer without the ability to hook up a separate mouse.  I don't understand what's so bad about them.  Yeah, I hated them for about 2 months, but after daily use, it becomes just as natural as a regular mouse.  Heck, if it wasn't so dang expensive, I'd get a wireless pad for my desktop computers instead of a regular mouse.  I'll admit that I haven't met even one "regular" computer user that likes the pad mice, but that's because they immediately went out and hooked up a regular mouse to it.  If you don't get used to it, how are you ever going to like it?  Now, what I really hated was the old style mouse on laptops that was like a little eraser.  Those sucked!  I did eventually adapt though and now I can use both types without difficulty.  I have one rather new computer with an eraser mouse.  I prefer the pad, but I'm just as comfortable with the eraser.



It is rather new.  Here are the specs:

1.8ghz dual core processor (P4)

1GB of ram (max of 2GB)

200GB hard drive

Came with xp home, installed xp pro


It is my personal laptop, but it's in my shop because of a fan problem.  I think it's just dust.  I hope the fan isn't going out. :cry  I got the thing for only $120........2 years ago!  It was such a great deal. :^.^:


Mumbling

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I use the mouse that is builtin the laptop. Much easier to me, but as he asked for another mouse I just gave him advise.


Kor

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My eeepc has a touchpad and that is ok, I"m getting use to using it, though sometimes using the direction buttons is easier for more controlled scrolling.  For desktops I'll only use wired mice.  Every wireless mouse I tried, regardless of brand, always quit working for no reason.  It wasn't the batteries since I changed those when they showed signs of having little power left.


pokeplayer984

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Three years I had my wireless and it finally stopped working. (Mouse pointer works, but the buttons are useless.) I thought something was wrong with it.  The buttons just weren't working as well anymore.  When it finally gave out, I thought the computer program was frozen, but a restart proved me wrong when the buttons STILL weren't working.

I tried all sorts of things, but nothing could make the buttons work.

Now that I have a brand new mouse installed, everything is working just fine.

My Microsoft one lasted for 3 years.  Considering how much I abused it, it had a good run.

Let's see how long my new one lasts under my belt.