Are they inferior or superior to generic mouses?
I feel alienated noticing these weird mouses just now.
>>54518021
Superior
Inferior
I wanna try one, have never had the chance to do so.
it's subjective
I love my Kensington trackball. Just feels more natural to me, and don't have to pick up the mouse every time I get to the edge of mousepad. Takes some getting used to but way quicker and more precise than with a regular mouse now.
>>54518508
I cannot simply imagine myself doing straight line movements by rotating a sphere, Is that a hard thing to do with those?
>>54518768
Easier then with a mouse
>>54518021
Mostly inferior. But some are really good. I like the kensington slimblade a lot. Its a good tech, but most of the designs are terrible.
>>54518021
Superior, if you find a Microsoft Trackball Explorer grab it and never let it go.
>>54518021
I use both. I have my trackman marble on my desk along with my corsair mouse. When I use my GPU passthrough sometimes I will pass the mouse to the Windows 7 VM and leave the trackball in GNU/Linux.
What would be a good one for a low price?
>>54518021
>Are they inferior or superior to generic mouses?
Inferior in every way.
They don't even make sense from a disability-view. The trackball requires massive thumb movement which would inflame any respectable carpal tunnel.
>>54520300
>Inferior in every way.
That's why the Navy uses trackballs on their ships. OH WAIT.
>>54518021
Superior for most applications, especially if you use the computer for many hours at a time. The main advantage is increased precision, which comes at the slight cost of speed. I've been using thumb trackballs (such as the Logitech M570 in your pic) for ~8 years with everything from spreadsheets/productivity software to FPS games, and have had virtually no issues. The only situations I find myself wishing I had a traditional mouse were during "twitch" shooters (such as CS:GO, etc.), where speed is particularly important. Other FPS games like CoD, BF, Crysis, and Red Orchestra weren't an issue at all.
They're also handy if you have limited desk space since you don't have to move the mouse around.
>>54520300
>requires massive thumb movement
Not really. The sensitivity just needs to be right.
>>54520219
Logitech m570, I have it and I ficking love it
>>54520443
Not bad. Ill pick one up when I have the chance.
Tell me more about it.
How easy is it to use?
>>54520318
Wait, are you seriously comparing the applications of input device for a pc and a fucking battleship?
Are you actually retarded? concerned
They're a meme, even moreso than mechanical keyboards
I bet you also buy high end audio products blessed by himalayan monks to ward off interference spirits
>>54520504
>blatant shitposting
>>54518021
They're a sidegrade, great for avoiding the onset of RSI.
Pros:
I have one and I'm a fan of it. It's really awkward for a day or two but for general use it's fine.
Being wireless and not having to move the whole thing makes it good for leaning way the hell back in an armchair.
I use it for pillars of eternity. And L4D but never for an RTS since I don't play them.
Cons:
If you have sweaty hands they get gunky really quickly. And your have to clean it to restore proper sensitivity and freedom of movement. Old toothbrush works well.
>>54520318
>navy
>tech-savvy
They just buy the most expensive thing to max out their government contracts.
99% of the Navy's effectiveness is still pure blood and sweat.
I've used the one in the OP for a couple of years now. It's OK but precision pointing can be frustrating at times. I'm gonna buy a mouse when I build a new desktop next month.
>>54520300
Have had to wear a fucking brace for carpal tunnel, and have shit hands as well. Trackballs are awesome because it doesn't aggravate the wrist as much as zooming a traditional mouse around on a desk.
Additional benefit: in a typical military office they're fucking awesome for making sure that nobody higher ranked tries to kick you off your computer to use it, they see the strange-to-them mouse and find someone else to bother.
>>54520943
>trading simple lateral arm movement for constant thumb use
I guess its okay if your desk sucks. But you should know that the median nerve (carpal tunnel nerve) also innervates the thumb.
>>54521171
Believe me, I'm well aware, and it wasn't like it didn't give me any pain--but it was far superior to using a normal mouse.
It's a love or hate thing. My pc is in my room and I use it for when I'm on my bed browsing or streaming. Much better than using a phone as a track pad
>>54518890
Why can't they make more, goddammit!?
>>54520300
Are you one of those punk bitches that use a low sensitivity?
>>54518021
3D mouse (spacepilot) + (wacom) tablet = master race
It should also go without saying that.
If you're not wearing a glove (with wrist compression), you literally don't care about your hand.
what are they like for fps
>>54521883
I haven't tried it, but I can't imagine it being better for twitchy accurate games like that. Browsing, Civ, workstation stuff I could see. So (hopefully) 90% of your usage
>>54520504
>I bet you also buy high end audio products blessed by himalayan monks to ward off interference spirits
>not invoking Benzaiten, goddess of music, to rid your sound of the audio demons.
I use this mouse at work, it really relieved my RSI but I get weird looks
>>54521442
Lol maybe if that fucking mouse wasn't designed so slim for no reason like all other meme shit the wrists wouldn't need support of a cushioned fingerless glove just to be able to comfortably use it.
>>54522488
>it's an apple mouse
Why would you trade comfort over style?
>>54518021
what trackball is best trackball?
>>54518021
op, what is the difference between trackballs with thumb on ball vs centered trackball?
>>54522537
>Style
If props from terrible 200X scifi movies are your idea of stylish
>guys, it's white
>and silver
>and no hard lines at all
>and also small
>no wires or ports its all magic
>cool, right?
>>54518890
I have one. I prefer it to a mouse but you do have to clean it out every once in a while. Mine started to glitch out recently though and I can't figure out why :(
>>54518021
both, I wouldn't use these for the desktop usage, but I use one for when i'm chilling on the bed and it works like a dream
The thumb ones aren't great, but the bigger ones are fucking amazing! You get the same or greater speed, much higher accuracy, no wrist strain, a smaller footprint, and the ability use it anywhere there's a flat surface.
Plus, they look fucking awesome. You can't see it from pictures, but the motion-detection pattern is amazing to look at, like stars in the milky way.
>>54523029
Which one are you talking about? I've been thinking of picking up a track ball mouse myself
>>54520486
Used it for an hour just to get used to it and I haven't left it since. So yeah, pretty easy.
>>54523360
One of these. This one in particular has a "scroll ring" too, which is so incredibly superior to a scroll wheel in every way that I can nevre go back.
>>54523432
That's odd. How do you use it? Rotate the track ball with your palm and use your thumb to scroll? How do you use the buttons? I'm just having a hard time visualizing it.
>>54523512
thumb goes on the left button, pinky on the right, middle and pointer fingers on the ball, ring finger on the scroll wheel. Middle mouse is chording left and right click.
>>54518890
>Microsoft
No thanks
>>54518021
Psst, it's 2016, the technology, comfyness, responsiveness, and user friendliness inside the trackpads have been way superior than the ancient principles of the trackballs and it's been like this since Apple™ released the Trackpad.
>>54521193
I agree actually, got carpal tunnel half a year ago and the ball mouse helps significantly. Only downside Imo is the ergo right hand only design
>>54522626
>>54522664
If I knew it, I wouldn't be asking here:)
Today I have seen them in the hands of an asian woman in a picture. Then googled red big ball mouse... Feels weird not being aware pf theese as a 22 yo.
>>54518021
I started using one 5 years ago. I bought the m570 from an chink seller on ebay because it was cheaper than buying it from a store in my country. I have been using it so much that the logo is almost invisible and the click buttons need replacement. I can give you these points from my experience
>If you have never used a trackball you will struggle at first
>The ball and the optical sensor need cleaning often
>You will look like a weirdo and edgy because plebs never used one
>You don't have to move your hand so it can been very useful when browsing on the couch or if you don't have mousespace and of course they track everywhere
>I even played FPS games with this mouse and you can be very good but if you want to get better in games like cs go you have to use a normal mouse
So i use both gayming -> normal mouse
everything else -> trackball
I bought an M570 (would have preferred the original wired trackman wheel with the bigger ball), like all ball mice the ball needs cleaning often, specific to the M570 and other logitech wheel mice the scroll wheel sucks and feels like something out of a decade and a half years ago, the buttons are a bit loud, the actual ball feels a big unergonomic because it's small
I wouldn't necessarily use it over a regular mouse but one area where it does excel is using it on something like a laptop, because you don't need to move the thing around it can be used on any surface even soft ones like quilts or cushions and it's not a problem
>>54518021
I really hate the ones with the ball located to the side like that. They just feel awkward to me, and I can't get used to using them. Ones like pic related do take a little getting used to, but they are great once you do.
>>54518508
I absolutely love this thing. When drawing, I use a wacom, but when surfing the internet or playing vidya I use this bad boy. If the settings are just right, you can have complete 360 control of your field of view, and spin in an instant. No more move, lift, move. Plus the other two top buttons double as extra applications.
It's not as nice as one of those mice with ten buttons, however.
>>54520318
Even fishermen use trackballs on their rustbuckets - because you can bolt them to the desk dipshit
>>54518021
I have a Logitech trackpad. The mouse itself isn't bad, it's the fact that every 5 seconds I have to take the ball out and remove all the fucking dirt and shit both on the ball and especially inside, this kind of lint stuff.
I'll make sure everything is clean, wash my hands, wipe down the desk and every part of the mouse, look at everything closely to make sure there's no hairs or anything, and I'll use it for a bit then GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, it's moving slow as shit because there's lint shit on the little dots inside holding the ball up. So I pick the lint off and that works but only for a short time before I have to pick lint (or whatever it is) out.
>>54526235
I love my logitech marble. I use a script so that holding down the small left button turns the ball into a scrollwheel, and pressing that button (without holding it down) is a middle click. Before I had that script I hated it because I could not scroll, but now it is awesome.
>>54523579
They made godly tier hardware, and the Trackball Explorer is the best mouse I'd ever used. But it died.
Too bad they gave up on that and instead went with stupid gimmicks like the Arc.
>>54518021
trackball is a meme. try pic related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaGhWN2cvUY
It depends. Do you actually need one? They're mostly used for applications where you need a lot of mouse travel and have very little desk space.
They also have the ergonomic advantage of not forcing you to move your wrists around. Helps avoid carpal tunnel.
>>54523582
Fuck these in particular. After a couple hours of use I can feel that bullshit scraping skin off my finger. Fuck that. Fuck that SO HARD.
Trackpoints are the superior mobile pointing device.
>>54527120
>After a couple hours of use I can feel that bullshit scraping skin off my finger.
>>54518021
My old man loved trackball mouses so I grew up with them on our "family computers" and shit like that. I actually used the one in your pic for a year or so. It was weird adjusting to using the ball with your thumb, but otherwise I enjoyed it. Two things though. I wouldn't use it if you are a regular gamer. In particular for FPS. And second, you need to clean them more often than a traditional mouse. They can get pretty nasty pretty fast around where the optic meets the ball.
>>54518021
The M570 is the best trackball in the world (even better than competing wired models). The only downside is that there is no bluetooth version.
>>54518021
I got pic related a while ago, but returned it the next day. The ball just isn't smooth enough, I couldn't move the cursor less than 10px at a time which made microadjustments impossible. It was also really uncomfortable moving my thumb so much.
never got used to them but a friend of mine owns one and i must say it's really comfy
>>54526464
Cleaning them sound really inconvenient.
>>54518508
For day to day general use, the kensington expert trackball is awesome. My wrist feels so much better using one of these all day than a mouse or trackpad.
I'm curious about the slimblade, but I didn't like that it didn't have actual buttons and just click panels.
That being said the scroll ring on the expert is not that great. I've had to grease it a few times to keep it smooth
>>54518768
It's a lot easier, since the ball isn't dragging across the mousepad surrounded by the friction from the bottom of the mouse.
>>54518021
I developed RSI in my right arm from using a regular "move your entire arm to move a mouse cursor" mouse.
I then switched to this and have had virtually no problems and can use a computer all day. The arm is not designed for fine motor movements, while the thumb is much better at doing so.
Coming from a guy whos been using computers for like 25 years, I highly recommend this mouse. It takes a little getting use to but highly worth it. I increased the mouse sensitivity to almost the highest so it doesn't require much force at all to get your cursor where you want.
>>54521442
If you're resting your wrist on the table, you're doing it wrong.
>>54528825
Yea man, this paired with a mechanical keyboard is straight autism efficiency..
>>54526473
They make them with scroll wheels too. They cost more though. I've just always done like you and worked around it. Back when I first started using them, scroll wheels weren't all that common anyway. After I got used to having a scroll wheel though, it's one of those things I don't want to live without.
>>54528825
Another great attribute is that no one wants to use your computer at work cause they can't use it well.
I pair this trackball mouse with dwell click software (when your mouse stops moving for .3 seconds, it clicks). Comfy as fuck.
