Of mice and men

[Steve Hooley!]

   <RANT>     May I second this motion resoundingly? AVOID BUILT-IN
TRACKBALLS! They were designed by the devil and assembled in the ninth
circle of Hell by snickering demons. Every one still in use at the
University has a mouse plugged in beside it because the trackball doesn't
work, and they ALL QUIT A WEEK AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRED! </RANT>
        Plus, if you're going to use any drawing application such as
Paintbrush or PhotoPaint your lines are all wiggly. We've tried one touchpad
built-in and the first one had to be returned (because of key trouble) and
the second one works great - but probably not for drawing or editing
graphics. I'd be interested to hear from others with built-in trackball stories.
        We had to switch several staff to trackballs because mice were
giving them signs of carpal-tunnel syndrome. There's a small trackball
operated with thumb and finger that requires no arm motion and was a
life-safer to an employee in pain, plus working pretty good so far.
        That was at least $.05 worth...

>Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 08:39:38 -0700
>Errors-To: listchek at library.berkeley.edu
>Reply-To: steve at lalaw.lib.ca.us
>Originator: web4lib at library.berkeley.edu
>Sender: web4lib at library.berkeley.edu
>From: "Steve Hunt" <steve at lalaw.lib.ca.us>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib at library.berkeley.edu>
>Subject: Mice vs. trackballs
>X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas
>X-Comment: Web4Lib Information - http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/
>
>
>
>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.
>> 
>
> 
>
>

*+============================*
|   Stephen S. Hooley         |  Statesboro Ga
|  Romulan Tech Assistant     |  Home of the
|    Henderson Library        |  Statesboro 
|"It's Only a Job Description"|  Blues
| Georgia Southern University |
+=============================+
More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads.  One
path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total
extinction.  Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
                -- Woody Allen