Mice vs. trackballs

[Steve Hunt]

We started out with trackballs on our public access workstations but 
recently switched to mice.  We went with trackballs because of the 
anti-theft arguement.  The trackballs were integrated into the 
keyboards.  They were small and cheaply made.  They got dirty easily, 
and then would not work well.  This would cause users to press down 
harder on the trackball, which caused mechanical failures to start 
occurring.  I think trackballs are more difficult in general for users 
to use.  Mice are cheaper than trackballs, and cheap mice work better 
than cheap trackballs.  My $.02.

Steve Hunt
steve at lalaw.lib.ca.us

On 13 May 97 at 20:49, Trielaw at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Listmembers asked about how to prevent mouse ball theft.  Why not
> use a touchpad?  They're getting pretty low in price.  They also
> have no moving parts - important in the library.
> 
> You could also use a trackball.  Some of them have access to the
> trackball only through the bottom.  The trackball housing can be
> mounted to a desk with removeable screws - this would prevent or
> deter theft of the ball, since you'd have to really work at it.
>