The old Kensington orbit started getting erratic and had to be replaced. Reading reviews on amazon, it looked like the users were split evenly between the Orbit with the scroll ring and Logitech's Trackman Marble so I just ordered both.
I plugged in the Marble first. (No software or drivers installed, SCREW that.) In addition to the usual large left/right buttons there are 2 small buttons inset alongside them --1 on each side. Damn, they're hardwired browser Back/Forward buttons. Man, that's useful.
Then I plugged in the Kensington (again, no software but maybe there is legacy stuff from previous Orbits). Crap, no forward/back buttons. Double CRAP, they've changed the profile a little bit so it doesn't feel the same the one it's replacing. So I'm thinking I'll go back to the Marble but I decide to try the scroll ring. Whoa, death match over. Kensington wins.
Really? I've been on marble for years, love the f/b buttons.
Scroll ring eh?
>ring
Yeah, I thought it was a cheesy-looking marketing add-on when I looked at it on amazon but I decided to go with the crowd (my old one is still available).
Looks useful but I'm hardwired to the nav buttons now.
>I'm hardwired to the nav buttons now.
I hear you. I'm not used to scrollwheels so jumping down the page makes for not-so-smooth reading. But I'll eventually get the hang of it. The question is which saves the most ball movement --scroll rings or back buttons?
BTW, the kensington cursor movement is blazingly fast compared to the Marble but I think that may be the legacy Kensington Pro drivers kicking in.
Hmmm, I could program the kensington buttons for chording=back.
I got the Logitec Cordless Optical TrackMan for my home machine a while back. The forward/back buttons took a little getting used to, but I think I've got it now. I'm not sold on the trackball though. I underestimated the amount of movement it takes to get around dual monitors.
I may move back to a mouse. I still mourn for the Microsoft mouse lineup. They used to have some good ergonomic models, but now they've all gone funky with their shapes.
I've been on the marble for years and love it.
Quote from: grnidone on October 22, 2012, 02:50:39 PM
I've been on the marble for years and love it.
Sounds like you've got a problem and you need to see a specialist :P
"I'm not sold on the trackball though. I underestimated the amount of movement it takes to get around dual monitors."
You need to turn up movement acceleration. Multimon was one of the main reasons I went trackball over a decade ago. One flick of the ball and I can be three monitors across and one up (or down.) Thinking about doing that with a mouse makes me shudder.
I have acceleration turned up to Max, so I'm not sure that is my issue. It may be that I'm running Windows 8 on that machine. It's a bit of a PITA to hover the pointer in the right spot to get the new menus. I find myself using the keyboard more.
>Sounds like you've got a problem and you need to see a specialist
Yes. And Yes. ;)
I've switched to the Marble, Dras. Never used the scroll ring (space bar is easier and I'm used to it). Kensington's slight rearward move of the left button turned out to be maddening. If I've got to learn a new feel anyway then I think I'm going to prefer the narrower footprint of the Marble and the back button.
>switched to the Marble
I'm sticking with the Marble but only after I modified the case. I like the narrow body but that overly long 'tail' made it awkward to rest my hand for long periods. So I cut off 1.5" and it's now stub-tailed. Feels better.
Hadn't thought of that. I have two mouse pads under mine so my palm rests easy. I might have to try cutting one up, when it's near death.
There's a circuit board that is installed toward the rear. Open it up and you'll see there's plenty of empty shell to cut off and it'll still have more than enough screws left to hold it together.