![]() But the trackball is an interesting alternative for occasional use-and it lets you avoid the trackpad in circumstances where other mice would be relegated to your bag. Online version of the manual is much better.)Īs with the tiny trackballs on Apple’s early PowerBooks, I wouldn’t want to use the SlimBlade’s trackball as my primary means of mousing around as much as I loved my old Duo, I still get phantom twinges in my hand when I recall using that little ball for a full day of work. I don’t recall another manual as difficult to read. ![]() It offers instructions in 11 languages, which is commendable, but it mashes that multi-lingual information into a separate, multi-language paragraph for each step. (As a side note, the SlimBlade Trackball’s printed manual is nearly unreadable. The trackball/scrollball switch also functions as a power button to preserve battery power you hold it down for three seconds to turn the mouse off or on. Kensington claims a pair of AA batteries should last up to six months I haven’t reached that point yet, but the mouse’s “fuel gauge”, which is built into the shell and lights up when you turn on the mouse or connect it to your computer, still shows a full tank, so to speak. These clever workarounds take some getting used to, but they worked well in my testing. For example, to select text you move the mouse cursor to the begging of the text, click the trackball/scrollball button, move the cursor to the end of the text to highlight it, and then click the button again to “release.” To drag an item-for example, a file or a bit of highlighted text-you position the cursor over the item, click the trackball/scrollball button, move the cursor to drag the item to the desired location, and then click the button again to release. The trackball/scrollball button comes to the rescue again here: click it once (outside of a scroll bar) and the mouse acts as if you’re holding down the mouse button. Similarly, although it’s easy to move the cursor and use the mouse buttons separately, it’s difficult to do so simultaneously for example, to select text, or to click-and-drag an onscreen element. However, Kensington does offer a workaround: if you move the cursor to a scroll bar and click the trackball/scrollball button once (instead of twice), the trackball switches to scroll mode until you click the button again. The second is that you can’t scroll documents and windows as you normally would, since the ball is controlling the mouse cursor rather than scrolling. The first is that you obviously lose the “middle click” functionality offered by most scroll wheels. (It’s almost like using a PowerBook Duo again-except without the tiny, ghosty screen and the miniscule hard drive.) That said, there are a few caveats to trackball mode. ![]() As of presstime, the beta software still had some kinks, but Macworld applauds the effort, and notes that at least the tracking and single button are fully functional with OS X 10.1.The trackball works well and is easy to use, especially if you came of age during Apple’s trackball days. Kensington is also among the first to port their software over to OS X. Pop up windows warn you when you’ve been working too long without a break to help prevent repetitive stress injuries. Once you’ve downloaded the software from their web site, you can customize your Kensington mouse by programming buttons for application specific settings. Kensington’s MouseWare software is the best in the industry yet they don’t include it in the box. ![]() Contoured edges further add to the mouse’s comfort. The symmetrical PocketMouse is set up for both the right-handed masses and southpaws. The extra weight feels right in the hand and gives you more control of minute adjustments. Compared to other travel mice, the PocketMouse is sturdier. Two aspects set the PocketMouse apart from similar products: form factor and software. What’s more, users aren’t paying a premium for the compact size, it costs only $5 more than the Mouse-in-a-Box Optical, and is in the same price range as other optical mice designed for the road. The PocketMouse, at 3.5 x 2 x 1.5 inches long, is roughly half the size of the Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box Optical, a similarly equipped, full-size mouse. Yet its main attraction is its miniscule size. The PocketMouse has all the features one would expect from a third party mouse–two programmable buttons, a scroll wheel, an optical sensor, and driver software. Among the best of these is the Kensington PocketMouse Mobile Optical Mouse. There are several compact optical input devices on the market that work on any surface. However, optical mice are giving the Mac user on the go another option. Although many people find the standard trackpad on iBooks and PowerBooks almost unusable, most travelers are unwilling to weigh themselves down with a mouse and mousepad. The single greatest selling point of notebook computers is that they’re portable.
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