Don't you just hate how you can't use them on a glossy surface? Our lab tables at uni are glossy and the mouse goes spastic :( They just didn't think about it, did they?

I have to use a piece of paper or something to stop it. maybe i should start bringing a mouse pad to school?

you get optical mice at school??? where do you go?? over here in Scotland our schools buy the mice en bulk, 100kg of mice for a fiver, they suck.

I've got an optical mouse at home, I absolutely love it. never tried it on a glossy surface though, need to try it, tried everywhere else though.......... got quite bored once

Swinburne university of technology.

they just upgraded all the stuff so prolly didn't cost much more for optical mice (although there must be like 200 computers in that room alone so it prolly was a bit in the end)

I would've liked an optical mouse at home, the one that came with the computer draws so much dust to it that I have to clean it at least twice a week...

We get mousepads in school for both stationary and laptops...

Yes, my mouse is Optical as well, I will not have it any other way. I find you can find Optical mice faster then the regular Mice with one Ball.

Joking aside *ahem* I have an optical, how do you survive without one? But I do have a Ball Mouse just in case . . .

I think I shall spare the lot of you from more of my hideous Mouse/Mice jokes . . .

I have a very good wheelmuose at home, it's really a great one.

At school we've got optical ones, they're not bad either... I like 'em, I'll buy one if I ever need a mouse.

When my middle school got new computers, they all came with optical mice. I didn't see what was so great about them...the only good thing was that there would be no more mice ball stealing (that happened; two mice balls were stolen)

Mine's a couple of years old. I've had a few quick tries on a smooth plastic surface just to check and it seems to work OK.

Do all of the "mice" give the same problem throughout the lab?

I love my optical mouse.

achinz: as in glass or laminex or something like that. laser gets reflected too much.

I have an infared optical mouse. It is so fun. If I turn out the lights, then the area around it glows red. :D Some of the computers at my school have optical mice, but the ratio is like 40:1.

Originally posted by bobgote
achinz: as in glass or laminex or something like that. laser gets reflected too much.
I would think not only the laser - what about lighting in the lab in general? What's Swinburne building design techies doing these days? ;)

Originally posted by SuperBeaverInc.
If I turn out the lights, then the area around it glows red.
Is that a side effect, or just an effect? You can't really see infrared light.:)

I think it's just some sort of effect...

Maybe he means UV light?

An optical mouse uses a red beam, which would naturaly also emmit some infared light, and ofcourse some orange light. (unless its a very good laser, but I doubt thats true of common optical mice, they probobly just use a focused lens)

UV light would suggest a purple (violet) beam.

Oh, and people that sat next to me would often turn over the mouse and flash the infared light in my face. Grr. I would see spots for a couple of minutes afterwards.

Yeah, I love optical mice, I just keep it on a black mousepad and it works really well...

Only think is that some of the paint is starting to come off after excessive use, but thats ok (It's a logitech mouse)

Ive used optical mice at school they seem very good i may get one when my current mouse dies

I have one at home and we have them at University as well :)

I've been using a Logitech Dual Optical mouse for a couple of years now and I'm very satisfied with it and I wouldn't change it for anything else on the market right now. Its two optical sensors make it one of the most precise mouse on the market and it's very comfortable, the thumb button is a must and so on...

The Razer mice are very nice, I have a Razer boomer speed, and a friend has one of the new optical ones.

I never even thought of that. I personally hate it when a hair gets under the laser and makes it go freaking crazy.

Originally posted by Sobieski II
I never even thought of that. I personally hate it when a hair gets under the laser and makes it go freaking crazy.

How often does that happen?

Originally posted by Dell19


How often does that happen?


Never happened to me...

Me neither although I do know a couple of people who had mice that kept on going crazy every so often.

Sobieski's problem lies with the fact that his mouse pad is made entirely out of hair.

Well then he should get a new mouse mat!

When I was in college they had regular mice in the labs (opticals weren't as popular or cheap back then).

Anyway they had a problem with people stealing the mouse balls. So to solve this problem they started glueing the bottom on them. Of course in a very short amount of time they were functionally useless and since they were too cheap to buy new ones you had to deal with them for quite some time. You used to get so mad you felt like taking them and smashing them off of the IT guys foreheads while yelling "There! now it's broken! Will you replace it now!?!"

:)

Why do people steal mouse balls? Its not as if they ever need replacing so why steal them?

Originally posted by Dell19
:)

Why do people steal mouse balls? Its not as if they ever need replacing so why steal them?

They don't even bounce. People are just stupid.

Originally posted by Dell19
:)

Why do people steal mouse balls? Its not as if they ever need replacing so why steal them?

why do people steal the sign off the front of a Mercedes?? cause they can. and they can guarantee that it will SEVERELY irritate the guy who owns it. or in the mouse sense, it will annoy the hell out of the next guy who tries to use it.

Originally posted by steviejay
why do people steal the sign off the front of a Mercedes?? cause they can. and they can guarantee that it will SEVERELY irritate the guy who owns it. or in the mouse sense, it will annoy the hell out of the next guy who tries to use it.

I suppose the only solution are non balled mice...

Touche, Dell, touche.

:rotfl: