Which IBM mouse..

[Raven]

RSD = Repetitive Stress Disorder. I got it in 2000 when I was working 40 hours a week at a regular IT job and moonlighting trying to write books. One Saturday I went to unload my dishwasher and found I couldn't grip the dishes to pick them up and put them away.

Chuck, to answer your touch-typist question, I am. I had to type 60 or 70 wpm to get into journalism school (I forget which), but at my peak I was much faster than that. I'm not as I used to be, but my typing still turn heads if I'm good and mad about something. Especially if I'm typing on a Model M, but it's not quite as impressive on the modern keyboards at work.

Once upon a time I clocked in at 130WPM, and that was on some shoddy Dell keyboard in the late 90s. I'd imagine that I could hit 140 on a Model M on a good day. I admit that I don't typically type that fast though, that's if I'm really trying and it's simple text. I've won a typing contest or two, though, heh. People used to complain that it sounded like a machine gun when I was typing, and they'd be annoyed that I was so loud.. I was used to big key action like a Model M and their little rubber dome boards were "attacked" by me.

For all intents and purposes, my day-to-day WPM is 90.

Well, I added the oil to my mouse pad and the mouse moves much easier. Yes, I can see how that will reduce RSD. Thanks.

Lol.

 

[Chuck(G)]

My parents' insistence that I take typing in high school (back then, we used Underwood manual typewriters with blank keys. An electric typewriter was an unimaginable luxury) was one of the best career moves they ever made for me, even if I was the only male in the class.

 

[EverythingIBM]

Same here--I have about 5 of them and they're all single-color.

That's great! I should add I threw mine out and butchered it after it started malfunctioning (mind you, I didn't think much about computer stuff back then, I thought it was all the same). Wish I would have kept it...

Guess I'll buy another one some day! Right now I'm using the trackpoint L40 as a replacement... it's very nice. The more spare mice the merrier though -- and I have a lot of computers anyways (some of which don't like USB mice -- even when plugged into USB slots on the mobo).

Me three! I have the "all same color" version...

I also have the original PS/2 mouse. Love them both, but I think the Compaq will go best with the middle one.

How well do those original PS/2 mice track? I've always been curious about them.

An unrelated-to-the topic question, but since this poll pretty much agrees on what to use, perhaps a little variety might be in order.

Who uses their mouse with their non-dominant hand? Way back in the stone age, I started using a mouse with my right hand but after a few months of working with a schematic design program began to develop RSD something awful. So I switched my mouse to my left hand and found that it had many benefits, in addition to reducing RSD. One is that I can do things with my dominant hand such as write or punch keys on a calculator while operating a mouse. It's probably been more than 20 years since I used a mouse with my right hand.

Am I strange, or is this common practice?

I think I commented on something like this before -- I believe using the mouse with your non-dominant hand isn't a good idea if you're an artist. An example to illustrate this is if you ever played a piano or a keyboarded instrument; you'll notice the player sometimes "crosses" their hands, simply because each hand plays a certain way in terms of peak performance.
So the same should be for a mouse -- possible to use both, BUT, not at peak performance.

My mouse is an ergonomic mouse, doesn't fit the left hand =p

RSD = Repetitive Stress Disorder. I got it in 2000 when I was working 40 hours a week at a regular IT job and moonlighting trying to write books. One Saturday I went to unload my dishwasher and found I couldn't grip the dishes to pick them up and put them away.

Chuck, to answer your touch-typist question, I am. I had to type 60 or 70 wpm to get into journalism school (I forget which), but at my peak I was much faster than that. I'm not as I used to be, but my typing still turn heads if I'm good and mad about something. Especially if I'm typing on a Model M, but it's not quite as impressive on the modern keyboards at work.

Isn't that similar to "lock jaw?" When I used to eat some oaty cereals, and chew a lot, after my jaws got fatigued they would act up; or a jaw muscle would ache.

Once upon a time I clocked in at 130WPM, and that was on some shoddy Dell keyboard in the late 90s. I'd imagine that I could hit 140 on a Model M on a good day. I admit that I don't typically type that fast though, that's if I'm really trying and it's simple text. I've won a typing contest or two, though, heh. People used to complain that it sounded like a machine gun when I was typing, and they'd be annoyed that I was so loud.. I was used to big key action like a Model M and their little rubber dome boards were "attacked" by me.

For all intents and purposes, my day-to-day WPM is 90.

Lol.

I got 90 WPM on a rubber dome, and 120 WPM on a model M; so it might even be more than 140, theoretically.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Isn't that similar to "lock jaw?" When I used to eat some oaty cereals, and chew a lot, after my jaws got fatigued they would act up; or a jaw muscle would ache..

Very different, and with a wide variety of symptoms. Swelling, tendonitis, nerve irritation (CTS), even focal dystonia.

 

[EverythingIBM]

Very different, and with a wide variety of symptoms. Swelling, tendonitis, nerve irritation (CTS), even focal dystonia.

Well it's good a use an ergonomic mouse then! It seems like mice tend to be a larger problem than keyboards: I guess cause you move your fingers around more freely and can adjust in any position that feels comfortable.

Keyboards don't tend to bother my fingers (unless the back is tilted too high; I prefer it almost flat) as long as my hands have "room" to type. My hand positions for keyboards are pretty much the same as when I play the piano. Except model M keys are way lighter.

 

[Raven]

How well do those original PS/2 mice track? I've always been curious about them.

Mine was NIB, so I can't speak for a heavily used one, but mine is INCREDIBLY precise, but slow. If I jack up the sensitivity in Windows (when using it on a 9x or modern box) it comes close to feeling like an average-spec modern mouse. If you do artwork or sniping in games they're nice for precise brushing/aiming.

My modern box is kitted out with a Microsoft Arc set, keyboard and mouse. The mouse is one of the best I've ever used (I was formerly a Razer user, and sold my Lachesis 4000dpi gaming mouse because it was useless once I got an Arc, heh), the keyboard is above-average but pales in comparison to a Model M - I bought it because I wanted a wireless keyboard and my opinion of the Arc mouse was quite high already, so I figured the keyboard was a safe bet (and I was right). Unfortunately the only problem with the Arc set is that the USB transceivers have horrible interference handling - if you plug them into the BACK of the PC instead of the front (or side, in the case of laptops/netbooks and some desktops), they cut in and out. I have ports in the front, so I have no trouble.

 

[EverythingIBM]

Mine was NIB, so I can't speak for a heavily used one, but mine is INCREDIBLY precise, but slow. If I jack up the sensitivity in Windows (when using it on a 9x or modern box) it comes close to feeling like an average-spec modern mouse. If you do artwork or sniping in games they're nice for precise brushing/aiming.

My modern box is kitted out with a Microsoft Arc set, keyboard and mouse. The mouse is one of the best I've ever used (I was formerly a Razer user, and sold my Lachesis 4000dpi gaming mouse because it was useless once I got an Arc, heh), the keyboard is above-average but pales in comparison to a Model M - I bought it because I wanted a wireless keyboard and my opinion of the Arc mouse was quite high already, so I figured the keyboard was a safe bet (and I was right). Unfortunately the only problem with the Arc set is that the USB transceivers have horrible interference handling - if you plug them into the BACK of the PC instead of the front (or side, in the case of laptops/netbooks and some desktops), they cut in and out. I have ports in the front, so I have no trouble.

The microsoft keyboards are just cheap rubber domes: no mechanical switches are used. That's why it probably feels "mushy".

Aha! You're one of the few people who knows something about those old mice, they are more accurate for a pixel-by-pixel movement (great for pixel art actually -- which I used to do with my old IBM mouse). I tried telling many people that mechanical ball mice were good for that, but they basically smacked me and said "U ned to gett teh lazer mous".
One reason that mechanical mice are easier for accuracy is you get more "threshold," because, it's easy to control exactly how much force you want to excert on the ball. Whereas optical mice just jump over two pixels with one tiny tap. Of course it's adjustable... but still cannot be perfected like mechanical mice. Maybe I'm not explaining it right, but controlling a ball is much easier for human muscles than optical/laser which tend to be too skiddy.

The funny thing is, most people don't know there's a difference between laser and optical mice. Ooooh my microsoft optical mouse glows red, so it must be laser! :confused5: