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Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
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Pope John Peeps II
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
It is me, or is the phrase "the ball does it all" hilariously inappropriate?
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tinkertank
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
You can pry my Kensington Pro Trackball from my cold dead hands....
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diverguy
01/07/09

@tinkertank:

LOL I feel the same way about my kensington expert mouse.

I get a real kick out of seeing kensington trackballs on TV and movies. The IT guy on CSI:LV uses an expert mouse. I saw a kensington optical mouse (also a trackball but with just two buttons) on the desk of the guy that did the sound track for WALL-E.

They show up all over the place.
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OMG! Ponies!
01/07/09

@diverguy:

No need to be grabby, friend. Honestly, you're almost as bad as a certain damned dirty ape I know. He couldn't keep his filthy paws off my stuff.
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Voyou_Charmant
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
I prefer trackballs to a regular mouse, but very few are very ergonomic. If they are, they are, like this one, rather expensive.
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UberJumper
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
I've been using a thumb operated trackballs continously since pretty well since the 90's.

Here's someone else's shot of the Gen1 trackman marble. [www.flickr.com]

At work right now I'm using a Microsoft Trackball Optical.
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qbrad
01/07/09

@UberJumper: Sorry about that image, it's not the first gen. First gen logitech trackmen had (hehe) blue balls.
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rip
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
One word: Centipede!
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Monty
01/07/09

@rip: Two words: Marble Madness
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OMG! Ponies!
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
Gunmetal grey? Check.

No distinct logo? Check.

Reputable manufacturer? Check.

Name dangerously close to Sling Blade? You lost me.
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ripfire
01/07/09

@OMG! Ponies!: Got me a pad with a ball in the middle. Mmm-hmm.
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diverguy
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
I've been using a Kensginton Expert mouse for years. Standard mice should be banned outright. Trackballs, and I mean real ones, not those dinky things microsoft and logitech put out once in a while, are simply the most effective pointing device out there.

I used a standard mouse for years and I was left with so much pain in my wrist and shoulders doctors were considering surgery. I started using a trackball (the expert mouse specifically) and within two weeks the pain was gone. The rolling of the ball with the middle three fingers, and the 'clicking' with thumb and pinky is simply ergonomically better than how your hand is forced to contort around a mouse.

The only thing I don't see on that mouse is the scroll wheel around the ball like the expert has.

[us.kensington.com]

I will never go back to a standard mouse.
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ripfire
01/07/09

@diverguy: How is a trackball working out with drag-drop stuff? I imagine holding down the button while moving the ball would be tricky.
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OMG! Ponies!
01/07/09

@ripfire: It comes down to design. Microsoft's optical trackball is moved by thumb while your fingers comfortably rest on the left and right buttons.
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diverguy
01/07/09

@ripfire:

Nope, very easy. Press the "left button" with your thumb, move the ball with your three middle fingers, release with your thumb. It takes about 5 seconds to get used to but after that, it's just obviously more natural.

I build software systems and games for a living. I also create movies etc.. all with extensive drag/drop and I've never had any problem.
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ripfire
01/07/09

@diverguy: Cool. I'm thinking of getting one for work. (Maybe something slightly affordable). This Dell mouse is killing me!
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verythrax
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
Trackball is fine... until you need to do multiple selections on screen.
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diverguy
01/07/09

@verythrax:

Huh?? There's nothing you can do with your standard mouse I can't do with my trackball.
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verythrax
01/07/09

@diverguy: how about precise drag selection in strategy games?
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diverguy
01/07/09

@verythrax:

Easy. A good trackball has a higher DPI than a standard mouse does. That means it's more precise. I use my expert mouse for everything from FPS games to RTS games. Heck I've even played PC Madden Football with it. And because it rolls, I can move from one side of the battle field of an RTS faster than a mouse can with the continued shuffle/pickup/shuffle/pickup motion a mouse needs.
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ripfire
01/07/09

@diverguy: Funny you mentioned that because I thought it would be nice if someone comes up with a xbox360 controller with a trackball for FPS games.
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Monty
01/07/09

In reply to Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Built to Handle Digital Content
I am sad to say I can remember the first time I used a mouse on the original Macintosh and saying "oh, it is an upside-down trackball". And, while the mouse is newer technology, at this point we are talking about two brothers that were born a couple years apart and are now middle aged. Plenty of people use both, but most of us use a mouse because that is what ships by default. Neither are really better than the other, as far as I am concerned.

That said, I am a cheapskate that would not pay $20 for a mouse or a trackball, so this product is clearly aimed at someone different than me.
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