DaddyO Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Quick question for CMBN players. I've been using a Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse for years, but I've started having problems with a sore index finger from constant use of the scroll wheel. I'm considering moving to a track ball mouse. Yes, I know how to read user reviews on Amazon like anybody else, but I thought I'd sound out my friends at the CMBN forums for anyone who has experienced a similar problem and see if the use of a trackball really helped them. Also I'd appreciate any input on a trackball mouse someone might use that they find particularly well-suited for use with Combat Mission (buttons, etc.) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pak40 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Hmm, I use my middle finger for the mouse wheel. Shouldn't your index be on the left mouse button? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JyriErik Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I'm a fan of the (discontinued) Microsoft Trackball Optical 1.0. I find the spacing of the (large) buttons to my liking, and its size allows my hand to rest comfortably for long periods. I just did a look at the going price for them and it seems that they're going for $80+ (some sellers are asking over $350!). Jyri 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Get a programmable mouse with 8-20 buttons, it really helps. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I like Logitech G5 - lasted me a few years. Got a G500 that broke after a couple weeks. Just got a replacement G500, so we'll see. Trackballs seem to be going out of favor... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkEzra Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 While we are discussing it: how is game play with a wireless mouse? I tried one maybe 5 or 6 years ago and it seemed to lag when playing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 While we are discussing it: how is game play with a wireless mouse? I tried one maybe 5 or 6 years ago and it seemed to lag when playing. I prefer cordless mice. I don't think that mouse latence is any kind of issue unless you're playing professional Counter-Strike or something - I haven't seen any kind of noticeable mouse lag myself, and my mice haven't been top of the tier or anything. Wires just drive me nuts, I don't know why but they almost always get entangled with the keyboard or something else when I use them! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Cordless mice are da bomb! Unfortunately they enjoy the life expectancy of a moth. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkEzra Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Thanks, Sergi. Perhaps I should give wireless another look see. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xian Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 If I had a £1 for the number of times my mother phones me up panicking that she can't move her wireless mouse on screen I'd be a rich (well, richer) man than I am now. And every time I have the same reply - "have you checked the battery?" and my mother always answers: "oh really? do you think it could be that?" 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarquelne Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I use a wireless trackball: Cordless Optical Trackman. It's great. I switched to trackballs from mice years ago and never regretted it. (Though it'd be nice if they were cheaper and readily available in local stores.) IMO while common thumb-operated trackballs offer worse cursor control than mice, index finger designs give better control. I don't use any buttons on the trackball other than the basic ones with CM, so that may be a sign of the device being well suited to the game. (Lets see... there are 6 buttons I don't use that could be assigned some function.) Ergonomically, finger problems seem unlikely with my current trackball - there's never any strain on them. The wrist sometimes, but not the fingers. I don't remember any problems with the model I used previously either (Kensington Expert Mouse - a rather different design), but I may have just forgotten. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyO Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Hmm, I use my middle finger for the mouse wheel. Shouldn't your index be on the left mouse button? Dunno. Maybe so, but I've always used my index finger for both the left-click button and the mouse wheel. Maybe that's part of why I'm having this problem. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyO Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 I use a wireless trackball: Cordless Optical Trackman. It's great. I switched to trackballs from mice years ago and never regretted it. (Though it'd be nice if they were cheaper and readily available in local stores.) IMO while common thumb-operated trackballs offer worse cursor control than mice, index finger designs give better control. I don't use any buttons on the trackball other than the basic ones with CM, so that may be a sign of the device being well suited to the game. (Lets see... there are 6 buttons I don't use that could be assigned some function.) Ergonomically, finger problems seem unlikely with my current trackball - there's never any strain on them. The wrist sometimes, but not the fingers. I don't remember any problems with the model I used previously either (Kensington Expert Mouse - a rather different design), but I may have just forgotten. Thanks, that's some specific feedback I was looking for. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyO Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Thanks to all who responded, you've been very helpful. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnart Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 The Logitech MX Revolution is very good. Have had mine for years. Scroll wheel has two modes; ratchet and free spin. Once you free spin you never want to go back. I set it to ratchet for only a few programs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I have avoided wireless mice and keyboards as I hate having to pay extra and store extra batteries. Also, there is a latency problem - altho' not an issue for CM. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hessian deserter Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I use a logitech MK710 wireless mouse and keyboard. I would really like to get my hands on a wireless mechanical keyboard! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I had a Kensington trackball about ten years ago that I loved...until some crud got into the mechanism and it wouldn't track accurately any more. There was no way I could clean it without voiding the warranty. I was using wireless keyboard and mouse with my new eMac until the Bluetooth chip went out. Now I am back to using USB equipment again, which actually I like better in spite of the inconvenience of the wires. The mouse I am currently using is a V7 3 button (one is the scroll wheel) optical mouse, an el cheapo that I got from Amazon for $7 last fall and it seems to be holding up just fine. No complaints. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Belenko Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Basic wired 2 button + wheel optical mouse works fine. I have a stack of mouse pads about 1 and 3/4 inch (43 mm) to keep any carpal tunnel/fatigue issues away. Yup, I just measured the mouse pads. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake_eye Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 If it helps, I have a Wireless TRUST MI-7700R (laser) . It works pretty well and the batteries have more than half a year life expectancy (it takes seconds to change them). It replaces another wireless (optical, no laser) on which the internal battery had to be kept in charge everyday if I didn’t want it to let me down. The only problem I have found with the TRUST mouse is that I have had frequents interference when I used it during my travels. I had to close it and open it again in order to have it function. So I use an old Ione Lynx Q-22 (laser) during my travels to avoid that problem. No wireless no batteries and no wireless dongle, that could be lost ! These have a scroll wheel and very good DPI changeable setting and I use an optical - laser mat which doesn’t slide away when I move rapidly the mouse 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umlaut Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I´ve used a Logitech trackball like this one (http://www.logitech.com/en-hk/mice-pointers/trackballs/devices/156) for about 13 years. And I have had no wrist, shoulder or elbow problems since abandoning the traditional mouse. However, I have recently (since may 2011?) begun to expericence some pains in the thumb (used for left clicking). Maybe that is because I use the same track ball at work and at home. But I´ll still highly recommend the track ball. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snake_eye Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 What is best recommended by the praticians faculties, wrist and or thumb problems ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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