Thinking of getting a Trackball

off · 26 Apr 2012, 17:23

domin8r wrote:Microsoft trackball came in today and using it now.. So far so good!

So, 6 hours later; what's your opinion now

domin8r · 26 Apr 2012, 17:29

off wrote:
domin8r wrote:Microsoft trackball came in today and using it now.. So far so good!
So, 6 hours later; what's your opinion now

Hehe pretty good actually!

I have noticed that sometimes I have to surpress the idea of moving the trackball across my desk

But overal I'm really picking up speed and accuracy using it.. definitely something that will feel natural in a couple of days!

And the trackball itself is great! Great shape, easy to use..

Not suitable for lefties though

off · 26 Apr 2012, 17:34

domin8r wrote:
off wrote:
domin8r wrote:Microsoft trackball came in today and using it now.. So far so good!
So, 6 hours later; what's your opinion now
Hehe pretty good actually!

I have noticed that sometimes I have to surpress the idea of moving the trackball across my desk

But overal I'm really picking up speed and accuracy using it.. definitely something that will feel natural in a couple of days!

And the trackball itself is great! Great shape, easy to use..

Not suitable for lefties though

WHO YOU CALLING LEFTIE?!
Good deal you got then, 11e ex shipping I presume for your first trackball; and it's a thumbball, which (uneducated opinion) seems nicer to me. And the shape seems nice indeed. Suppression can take place easily by utilising the power of superglue btw.

Jim66 · 28 Apr 2012, 12:10

The Kensington expert arrived this morning; this trackball business is alright, I think I could get used to this.

The trackball itself is ok. The scroll wheel is a little scratchy (isn't there a fix for this somewhere on GH?), other than that, the software for controlling the pointing precision and button remap is nice. the wrist rest is kinda cool too.

fossala · 28 Apr 2012, 13:13

If you grow to enjoy using trackballs, you really need to check out an L-Track X.

Jim66 · 28 Apr 2012, 14:44

I'm pretty sure that I will in a couple of weeks.

I think it was just a bad experience with the slimblade last year that put me off trackballs.

fossala · 28 Apr 2012, 16:18

I enjoyed my slimblade. But the Ltrack is 100x better.

Tarkoon · 28 Apr 2012, 16:24

If the LTRACK was cheaper... =(

fossala · 28 Apr 2012, 16:27

My thought is that if it is made in the UK, US, JP, Europe I don't mind paying a premium because I know 5 year olds didn't make it for 5p

Jim66 · 28 Apr 2012, 18:52

I'm thinking about buying one already... More money on high-end input devices...

fossala · 28 Apr 2012, 19:14

As I said, I'm out of the keyboard "game" for a while. I need to start saving more and spend money on bicyles.

Jim66 · 29 Apr 2012, 00:31

Well, it's not really as if you need to buy anything for a while; recently you've bought the best HHKB and CST that money can buy...

fossala · 29 Apr 2012, 10:05

Don't forget my wrist rest.

.

Jim66 · 30 Apr 2012, 13:55

I've been trying to get used to using the trackball with my left hand for the past couple of days, so far it isn't a right lot of fun...

fossala · 30 Apr 2012, 16:36

I went for a while using it with my left hand. Then realised all I use is a HHKB and it is the same distance either side.

Jim66 · 30 Apr 2012, 21:40

Yeah, it is slow and painful. As soon as I started some 'real work' I had to move back to my right hand temporarily.

hoggy · 30 Apr 2012, 22:34

Stick with it for a few days. Once you get it, you've got it and can then swap hands no bother.

mSSM · 01 May 2012, 01:18

What's funny about the LTracX - the main feature I use is the amazing scroll-wheel. The trackball itself is actually just ... nice to have.

Jim66 · 03 May 2012, 10:39

hoggy wrote:Stick with it for a few days. Once you get it, you've got it and can then swap hands no bother.

Yeah, I'm getting better with it now. It's great, I'm actually starting to feel comfortable at my desk!!!

I have the 5000 set on a medium setting (i.e., split about 1 1/2 inches) and I'm feeling really comfortable. I think I'm even starting to like... No appreciate ISO?!?

fossala · 03 May 2012, 20:02

Jim66 wrote:I think I'm even starting to like... No appreciate ISO?!?

nathanscribe · 03 May 2012, 20:29

domin8r wrote:Microsoft trackball came in today and using it now.. So far so good!
Like the feel of it. The top is exactly like a mouse so your fingers are more or less in the same position.. scroll too.
Ball itself is smooth..

Looks like a lot of thumb work though. Seems smoother to me to move the fingers more instead - interested to know what you think after a few days of use.

Jim66 · 07 May 2012, 00:24

Look what I won earlier today...

A really old NIB CST (MicroSpeed) serial trackball.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251050983009? ... 720wt_1396

Can I go straight from serial to USB or do I have to go serial --> PS/2 ---> USB?

webwit · 07 May 2012, 00:31

You can go straight to USB. It's much more expensive than your win though.

Jim66 · 07 May 2012, 00:47

I see; do you think that either of these fellas might work?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Serial-RS ... 290wt_1163

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-RS232 ... 413wt_1163

webwit · 07 May 2012, 00:57

I don't know. When I needed one I googled for one with good reviews.

domin8r · 23 May 2012, 16:42

nathanscribe wrote:
domin8r wrote:Microsoft trackball came in today and using it now.. So far so good!
Like the feel of it. The top is exactly like a mouse so your fingers are more or less in the same position.. scroll too.
Ball itself is smooth..
Looks like a lot of thumb work though. Seems smoother to me to move the fingers more instead - interested to know what you think after a few days of use.

Well actually it's easier to use the thumb since it can more or less move independently from the rest of the hand. With a finger you have to move some of the hand too. Now I can just put my hand on it and keep it there. Works pretty nice.
Use a Razer mouse at home and that will always be a LOT faster in use.
But definitely digging the trackball!

RC-1140 · 19 Oct 2012, 01:00

I hope you don't me, digging up this thread, but I was always wanted to get a real Trackball. Until now I've used an old Logitech Trackman Vista, but it has trouble turning diagonally, and the 'ergonomical' design is too small for my hand, and the small trackball on my G80-11800. I liked them both better than mice when working for prolonged times. I don't have the money to buy a L-Trac, or a Slimblade, so I just jumped into the cold water spontanously and ordered a Kensington Orbit with a scroll wheel. Using a rest of a gift card and Amazon Warehousedeals I only payed 7,20 € from my bank account, which is tolerable for a tryout I might use daily if I like it, I think. Does anyone have any experience with this trackball?

Vierax · 19 Oct 2012, 09:03

Owner of an Orbit since March, I choose it because of the scroll ring and the price. I'm very happy to use it than a mouse.

Pros +
cheap, scroll ring, easy to clean, fingers fits naturaly on it, left and right handed, discrete design, the ball seems a good quality build, very stable.

Cons -
just two buttons (in my luck I got it when I changed for Linux so I didn't experimented the special features of the 3rd mouse button), the scroll ring is a bit too sensitive because it isn't notched and turns freely (really pisses me off in-game), because of the both handed design the wrist rest plate on the tendons (I'll woodcut a inclined plane to putt under to have a good wrist position)

Now I really hate to use a mouse or a trackpad, IMO it's like to use some ****ty KB layout.

RC-1140 · 23 Oct 2012, 14:05

Alright, so it arrived today, and I'm really happy. I think that it's a great device for it's price. It's relatively small, but still big enough, and the missing third mousebutton can easily be replaced by pressing both buttons at the same time (TrackballWorks under Windows, and a X option for Linux).

At first I was a little bit disappointed by how the ball turned. It is not scratchy at all, but I thought the resistance was a bit high. I guess the bearings of the L-Trac are by far superior, but after five minutes of use it gets better with this one too. And the scrollwheel is a great addition. Much more comfortable than having to keep a third mousebutton pushed. The only downside is that the scrollwheel is not notched, and it doesn't appear to be of a really high build quality. But in the end I think this is a trackball I can really recommend to anybody who just wants to try if he likes trackballs at all.

Edit: huh, I just tried gaming with it, and have a strange latency on the buttons. It doesn't respond to fast clicks in games. It reacts to fast clicks on the desktop and in menus, but ingame I have to keep the button pushed for around 300ms for it to react. My Razer Mamba reacts immediately. I tried turning off the Mousebutton Emulation, but that didn't help. I wonder whether it's a driver problem. Maybe I should try uninstalling Trackballworks and use the ordinary USB-HID driver…
Does anyone else know this kind of problem? Vierax, could you confirm whether this is typical for Kensington Orbits?

Edit2: Alright, it was the driver. After uninstalling TrackballWorks and returning to the USB-HID driver, the latency is gone.
I just finished the campaign of Battlefield 3 without any trouble. I don't even think I played worse than with the mouse. But I'm a bad gamer anyway.