After many years of use, my Microsoft model 1008 optical wireless mouse is giving trouble. I think a return spring for the scroll wheel may have broken, because unless I am very careful normal scrolling ends up "clicking" the wheel as a button press, causing it to do things I don't want.

I want a nice, simple, rugged mouse without bells and whistles. All I want is a left button, a right button, and a scroll wheel. I don't need the scroll wheel to "click" as a button when depressed, I don't need it to tilt for sideways scrolling, I don't need extra buttons on the side (or anywhere else) that can be programmed to do different things.

I do want it to be optical and cordless with a three-foot range. Some semblance of ergonomics would be nice. i.e., not a tiny little "travel" mouse.

Of course I'd also like it to cost less than $10, including free delivery in person by a factory technician who will set it up for me and instruct me in its use... but I guess I can't have everything, can I?

Recommendations?

tanstaafl.

I'm a big fan of the "hyper-fast scrolling" that some Logitech mice have as a feature. It's a toggle where the scroll wheel can either be in the traditional resistive scrolling mode of most mice, or it can be in a free scrolling mode.

The ones that feature this are here: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/mice?filter=f67&sort=s4

Looks like they have this feature in some of their basic mice these days.

I have a cheap GigaWare mouse that works well. Nice size and auto-on and off works well. EXCEPT, it has side buttons that I sometimes click by accident. I've been meaning to shut those off but I don't use the PC it's on much.

Still using a wired mouse on my main machine

I too have had problems with wheels that click 3 ways. Seems like the better made mice always have that feature.

My solution was to turn off the center & tilt right click. Then program the tilt left as mmb. This is on a Logitech G5 or similar mouse. Edit: actually the tilt left is softer than than the center click.

Sorry but you would have to pay me to use a wireless mouse.

I'm currently using a Logitech M310 with no complaints. I like the basic MS mouse too.

I have a Logitech M215 that I really like. It's a large travel mouse, only a smidge smaller than a full size mouse.

I stick to Logitech. I've always been happy with their stuff, and any time I try another company's accessories I've been disappointed. The nice thing about Logitech is that they have a mouse or keyboard at pretty much every price level without having too many products. I think they've done a nice job balancing their product line.

This looks like what you're describing, though it's double the price you wanted All I can urge is that you DO NOT buy anything with bluetooth. I know there are people here who have always disagreed with me on this, but bluetooth is particularly bad for this application. I happen to dislike it in all applications, but I haven't used a single bluetooth keyboard or mouse that has worked consistently. My RF accessories, on the other hand, have worked flawlessly for years with no lost connections.

I agree with you on that side to side mouse wheel motion you mentioned. I've used it for various functions before, but gave up on it because it's not a great input method. It isn't quick enough. However, I couldn't live without my additional buttons.

I have four in total that I use constantly, every single day:

Double-click - yes, I know I could just tell Windows that icons only need one click, but I also like to be able to single click on them

Back - for obvious reasons

Ctrl-Tab - to switch between open browser tabs

Ctrl-W - to close browser tabs and explorer windows


Anyway, I understand not wanting a lot of buttons, but they can be very helpful.

Not quite...

It is not a full-size mouse, and the reviews have been less than kind in that regard. It is quite difficult to come up with the real dimensions of mice. For instance, Amazon claims that the M510 (the full-size version of the M505 you linked to) is 2.2 inches long, 4.8 inches wide, and 9 inches tall.

The M510, for just a couple of dollars more, is a bit fancier than I want with the forward/back buttons, but I suppose I could stop being such a Luddite and try them. It is a better size (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.6", and it took a LOT of searching to find that out!) but... there are a lot of reviews claiming severe tracking issues with the M510.

Oh, wait! There are still a few of the old Microsoft 2.0 mouses (mice?) out there for sale. Just found one on Amazon, New In Box, independent seller, $21.44 including shipping. (Only one at that price, it's gone now because I got it, wuah-ha-ha-haaaa) That's the exact same kind of mouse I've been using, and I like it. Reassuringly, the reviews, negative and positive, all confirm my own experiences with this mouse.

So, I guess my old mantra prevails: If it's different from what I'm used to, it can't be any good.

tanstaafl.

Ah yes, that's right. Sorry, I forgot the 505 was the smaller version of the 510, which I'm sure doesn't have the issues they're talking about. I bet they're all trying to use it on glass or something

Yeah, I tend to ignore product dimensions on Amazon, unfortunately. I don't have a clue where they draw this information from, but it seems like half the time (as it clearly is in the case you provided) the dimensions are actually the size of the product packaging, and not the product its self. I've seen the product on store shelves and that's about the size of it.

Anyway, I'm glad you got a mouse you like. I know how it is, we really get accustomed to our mice, I think. I used the same mouse for about 8 years before getting the one I have now, and it took me a good 6-8 months before it felt right. And that was with a small difference in ergonomics.

Seems like you should buy a second one to put in the shelf.

I've gone through a variety of different mice over the years. I'm not a gamer. I want comfort, reliability, a scroll wheel, and a real cord. My most recent Logitech purchase, a few years ago, was an earlier version of the M500 (without the "hyper" scrolling thing). After two years, the thin rubber layer had worn off in the areas where my fingers frequently touched it. The mouse buttons didn't always click right. Etc.

Much as I hate dealing with batteries, I'm currently trying the Apple touchpad thing on my computers. I don't use all the crazy gestures, and I had to cobble together something of a wrist pad from a folded t-shirt to make it comfortable on my work desk. Still, it's a very solid device. It's just too bad it doesn't have a USB cord.

I've like the Logitech Performance Mouse MX. I've got two. It's pretty much the complete opposite of what you're asking for, Doug: it's got more than two buttons and it definitely doesn't cost $10.

On the other hand, you've already found a replacement, so I'll just throw it out there for others. It's a good size; I find it comfortable; I sometimes find the continuous scroll that Tom mentioned useful. I particularly like Logitech's unified receiver: one (tiny) receiver can deal with up to 5 peripherals (although why you'd have more than one mouse, one keyboard escapes me).

On the subject of keyboards, I like the Logitech K800. Again, I've got two of them. It lights up when you wave your hand near it; that's all you need to know.

I've never had so much pre-carpal-tunnel as when I had a keyboard with a flat profile like that one. I'm sure there's something you like about it more than the fact that it lights up; that seems a silly thing upon which to base a decision about something you use more than anything else.

Right now I'm using this keyboard, though it's not as clicky as I'd like, and this mouse. If anyone knows of another mouse with three dedicated buttons on top, I'd like to hear about it.

I thought I'd hate the Apple flat aluminium keyboard, but in fact it's my favourite I've ever used (at least when mapped as a standard keyboard, without the silly Apple mappings) -- finally consigning my old RiscPC keyboard to occasional server duties. When it comes to Apple mice though, I thought I'd hate them and was darn right. I use a Logitech MX310, which has more buttons than I need but not aggressively so.

Peter

For my keyboard, I use a Kinesis Advantage. If you read the Amazon reviews, you'll see quite a split of opinions. It's really a wonderful keyboard, comfortable for extended use, with hardware remapping so you can move keys that you need to places where they're more useful (e.g., I've moved the Escape key onto one of the thumb buttons).

Pretty much the only problem with it is that the firmware has a few bugs which the vendor seems unwilling/unable to fix. (When I asked about this a few years ago, they promised they were going to develop new firmware and would contact me as a beta tester when it was ready. So far, nothing.) These bugs only manifest themselves when you're doing things like holding down a modifier key and using the arrows to select text (there will sometimes be an extraneous keypress that blows away the text that you were carefully highlighting, so you have to be on the ball with the undo command).

The only other caveat is that it takes about two weeks to teach yourself to type on this thing. Many of the peripheral keys, like the tilde, are in very different positions relative to a normal keyboard. You just can't expect to buy this thing and be up to 100% productivity without retraining yourself.

Now, I just wish they'd come out with a new model with some sort of integrated pointing device.

I've been using an Apple Magic Trackpad since the summer and I don't think I'll ever go back to a mouse. Besides two finger scroll and two finger plus thumb click for RMB, I don't use any multi-touch gestures with it.

Every MS mouse I've ever owned (4 I believe) other than the very first (huge and wired) Intellimouse Explorer has disintegrated within 2 years, some with barely any actual use. The rubber and glue start to change color and fall apart even with the mouse sitting on a shelf (away from sunlight). I won't buy another MS mouse again.

It's wireless; it has normal F-keys; and the Ins/Del/Home/End/PgUp/PgDn cluster has not been messed with. In short, it doesn't suck.

And it hasn't (so far) given me a hint of carpal tunnel. I think it might be because the key travel's so short, so I'm not hammering on it.

My biggest dislike for all wireless input gadgets is the wake up lag. With lag I find myself having to reposition the mouse far too frequently.

If a mouse had that kind of activation, where proximity activated it before I even moved it - I would have to reevaluate my position.

I meant "soft", rather than "short". What is giving me slight carpal at the moment is the PS3 controller -- I'm finding a bit more time for gaming at the moment.

Woot! I made the winning suggestion there!

I, too, love the K800. Don't worry, Roger, you had me at "lights up when you wave your hand over it."

I like it for all the reasons you mentioned, Roger, and I also haven't had any problems with carpal tunnel. I do make sure to have it at a good, ergonomic angle.

I'm also using the Logitech Performance MX Mouse, and I love it. It works flawlessly for me. The only problem I have with both devices is the short battery life. How have you fared with that, Roger? I mean, it's not even close to a deal breaker, since both keyboard and mouse are rechargeable via micro USB cable, and still work while charging, but I find the two need to be charged every couple weeks at least. I guess it's more of an issue for me with the keyboard, since I'm used to wireless keyboards lasting on a AA battery for a year

I have a micro USB cable on my desk for charging my phone (HTC Desire, so once a day); because of this it's no problem to plug the keyboard or mouse in occasionally. I get a little over a week out of the keyboard at work, maybe three to four weeks at home.

It feels like the mouse lasts a bit longer. Charging the mouse results in it getting warm, which I find uncomfortable, so I tend to do that overnight. This is not a problem with the keyboard.

I'm still completely in love with this Logitech Anywhere MX Mouse.

I'm currently still using my Logitech DiNovo keyboard combined with the MX1000 laser mouse. Both are Bluetooth, so also the mouse. (the Bluetooth version of the mouse was only available in this set, never as a separate product). But my mouse had been acting up lately. No Bluetooth issues (sorry Matt ), but simply the left mouse button that is starting to show signs of wear since clicking it sometimes fails now. Especially click and hold (like eg. to move a window) often fails now.

I absolutely love this keyboard and mouse set. The best I've ever used, hands down. Sure, the Bluetooth has acted up once in a while (say every couple of months, I had to re-connect the Bluetooth connection for some reason - but never enough to put me off it). I've customised the buttons of the mouse to my liking and this is what keeps me using it. If it were possible, I'd simply replace the mouse. But they are not available anymore, and as said the Bluetooth versions were never sold separately to begin with. They are some on Ebay, but only as used models and the included pic does not show them in their current state so I don't really trust that.

So I'll probably continue using my DiNovo keyboard and have a look at a new mouse. My best bet is probably the Performance Mouse MX which was already mentioned here, but it seems it's got fewer buttons to customize. Tough choice...

Is the mouse still under Logitech warranty?

Also: mouse button micro-switches are relatively easy to replace.

I doubt it...I've been using it for more than 7 years now.


No doubt. Well beyond my capabilities though...

I also had the MX1000. I'd forgotten the model name, but that's the kind I was using for the 6-7 years prior to the mouse I'm using now. I'll say that if you ever have to replace that MX1000, the Performance MX is a great alternative.

The main difference is in the button layout. In terms of clickable buttons, you lose two from the top (in front and behind the wheel), and add one to the side (at the base where your thumb rests).

This was what took the most getting used to. On my MX1000, I used those buttons on either side of the mouse for going back and forth in Google Reader stories (mapped to J/K). I've had to abandon that, but it's not the end of the world.

I also kind of miss having the docking station, but on the other hand it meant I didn't have yet another AC adapter plugged into my outlets draining a little power when not in use, and it saved some space from my desk top.

I'm afraid I'm stuck in the past too. I'm still in love with my mouse that came with my Cordless Freedom. Feels more natural to my hand than any other mouse I've used. Especially the location of the thumb button. It's on the bottom of the side of the mouse instead of midway up or on top which is a totally unnatural place to put your thumb.

I don't game, so the lag of wireless doesn't bother me. I keep rechargeable batteries plugged in under my desk, so swapping the set in the mouse for the set in the charger every couple weeks doesn't bother me either.

Speaking of which.. the Digikey part number for the left/right button micro-switches of most common mice is SW502-ND (Omron D2F-01F).

I just recently tacked a few of these onto a parts order, and they are perfect replacement switches for the simple Logitech mice that SWMBO and I use here (hers is the Ladybug model).

Cheers

I've tried several mice over the years in the office, and today I'd chose either a Logitech or a Microsoft, Logitech being generally my favorite among the two. Those are the only ones I actually really liked.

Today, I'd get either the Logitech Wireless Gaming Mouse G700 or the Performance Mouse MX . The reason being that they just feel wondweful in my hand (but that will not at all be true for you should you be left-handed).
Yes, they're full of buttons, but you can disable them. As far as I am concerned, they're so compfortable to use, that they're worrth the high cost.

It's too bad to read that battery life isn't as long as it used to be.

Also, I know you don't need/like too many buttons, as I used to feel like that. But, once I started to use the back/forward buttons under my thumb, life was good. My suggestion is to try.

... also, I am curious about the new Touch mouses. I've never tried them, though. I suspect that once you get familiar with gestures, they may be a nice thing to have.