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From: mayer@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM (Niels Mayer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Mouse cord nuisance from lap (was Re: Monitors: What Next?)
Message-ID: <2699@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: 6 Dec 88 20:33:52 GMT
References: <15572@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> <16891@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> <31811@bbn.COM> <2184@iscuva.ISCS.COM> <1425@neoucom.UUCP> <1988Dec2.195929.9185@utzoo.uucp> <342@inuxj.UUCP>
Reply-To: mayer@hplabs.hp.com (Niels Mayer)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Labs, Software Technology Lab, Palo Alto, CA.
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In article <342@inuxj.UUCP> wgb@inuxj.UUCP (Walter Burton) writes:
>I knew there was a reason track balls always seemed attractive.

Yes, indeed, trackballs are wonderful. On my HP9000s350 (aka Bobcat),
I replaced my HP 3 button mouse with an HP 3 button trackball (P.N.
M1309A) and I love it! Either or both plug right into the HP-HIL
(human intrface loop) bus.

I no longer have to take my eyes off the screens to locate the mouse,
and I find that hand-eye coordination is improved for most windowing
operations such as cut/paste, boinking on buttons, scrolling
scrollbars, resizing/moving windows, etc. With a trackball, you can
control the sprite position with much precision by "letting your
fingers do the walking" whereas with a mouse, you must move your wrist
and arm too. The muscles controlling the latter have far less
resolution and control than one's fingers. Finally I often have to
move the sprite large distances when I need to zip between the two X11
displays on my system: with a trackball, that's easy, you just spin
the ball and stop it when the sprite reaches it's destination. With a
mouse, you have to drag it across the mouse pad, stop, pick up the
mouse, move it to the other side of the mouse pad, drag it again, etc etc etc.
A very tiresome, unintuitive and unnecessary set of actions.

I've also put the trackball on the floor and used it as a "football".
Unfortunately my foot-eye coordination ain't so hot, and it's
difficult to keep your toe on a button while rolling the ball.
However, in that position, you can als ouse it as a foot massager,
like the ones found in yuppie new age stores, next to the orgone
regenerators and mystik chakra fluffers. 

-- Niels.