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For years--nay, decades--I've stuck with my old Microsoft IntelliMouse - I've had a few of them, but they've eventually all developed annoying quirks...the left mouse button would stop working and "drop" a window as I'm dragging it by its caption...right-clicks that wouldn't register unless I tried a few times, pressing harder each time...that sort of thing. I've taken apart/cleaned these a number of times, but in the end, I had to give up on all of them. Some just died altogether.
You can find the older model like mine on Amazon and eBay - but those who have them know they're no longer available, and they're asking $100, $200, even $250 for them. That's not gonna happen.
I've tried many alternatives over the years. I must be very fussy about mouse shapes and how it fits in your hand, because I hate just about every mouse that's in stores nowadays. I'm not a fan of wireless mice, so that limits my options. I've always found wireless mice to be trying too hard to go to sleep to save the battery - so if I'm slowing down to do some precision selection (moving just a few pixels at a time), it might go into sleep mode, so I have to give the mouse a jerk to wake it up, which means the cursor is now at the other end of the monitor. That could be just me, but my experience with them has been consistent. After I've purchased 4 or 5 different models, I had to wonder why I should expect a different outcome and have given up on them.
2 months ago I found some cheap off-brand $30 wired mouse I liked the shape of. I've put up with it for this long - it's not horrible. Less than 2 weeks ago however, the scrollwheel started to misbehave - if I scroll down 3-4 lines, it'll do it but also scroll back up a bit, so I have to fight it constantly, and simply scrolling to the end of a document is now taking roughly double the time it would ordinarily require.
So I told myself if Microsoft ever ran another batch of their original IntelliMouse - I'd buy enough of them to last me a lifetime. My lifetime, that is.
Then something unexpected happened: MS has brought back that very model. Well, a slightly updated version, but still the same basic model. Wired, USB, optical, that's all I want. Nothing fancy. So as I promised myself, I purchased 5 of them, and I just received the whole lot at lunchtime today. I've been using one of them since. I forgot how well these simply work.
Call me a shill if you want, I don't care. This is the model.
And IMO: You're not much of a computer user if you think all mice are equal.
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dandy72 wrote: Microsoft IntelliMouse
It's what I'm using, and I really can't remember when I bought it...I think it's been on the last 4 builds, so that make it around 15 years old. I do remember that it cost around $40 USD at the time. I also use a MS wireless mouse for the laptop. That one is at least 10 years old. Both still work perfectly. If either quit, I will be opting for MS again. 
The keyboard imho is the thing I'm most likely to miss when it finally goes. It's an HP from 1998...from my first Windows system. I had to find a PS/2 to USB converter for the new rig.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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kmoorevs wrote: so that make it around 15 years old. I do remember that it cost around $40 USD at the time
The timeframe sounds about right, and it just cost me $42 CAD right now, 15 years later. So...good value for the money, I have to think.
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I do the same thing with mice and my favorite keyboard is an old IBM that I connect to USB via a PS2-USB converter.
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dandy72 wrote: I've tried many alternatives over the years
I just use a boring old HP standard mouse. They're fairly similar to the MS Intellimouse.
A Fine is a Tax for doing something wrong
A Tax is a Fine for doing something good.
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dandy72 wrote: I must be very fussy about mouse shapes and how it fits in your hand
You got that right!
I'm left handed (all the most creative people are) but use the right handed button configuration of a logitec (or any other brand) of wireless mouse. When it dies, every 2-3 tears I get another one.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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I really like my Corsair M65. It's a similarly simple design and taller than most which is nice for my huge hands. They don't sell the original anymore but I'll probably pick up an M65 Pro whenever this breaks.
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I have a Logitech M705 "Wireless Laser Optical" at work, and another M705 I travel with for my laptop, and a very similar model (rechargeable battery, docking station) Logitech MX1000 for my main desktop at home, that mouse must be over 10 years old now and still going strong, had to replace the docking station power brick in 2016, but managed to find the correct exact replacement brick on ebay.
It just feels right in terms of weight and shape, and guess I have just got used to it over the god knows how many years I have had it. The M705 battery lasts for ages which also helps.
Feels really weird if I use any others now.
Logitech for Business Marathon Mouse M705
Logitech MX1000 Laser Cordless Mouse Review & Rating | PCMag.com
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I'm a fan of the 705 myself. My only complaint is the middle mouse button click is a little wonky on mine, so I remapped that to the thumb button. 
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yes, the logitech m705. for a wireless it actually works always.
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
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It doesn't look bad.
I've sworn off Logitech however when their drivers started getting ridiculously bloated. Have they changed their ways?
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What drivers, plug in the wireless dongle, turn on mouse, it gets recognised and works.......
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These days I guess Windows comes bundled with a lot of drivers. But the 2-3 Logitech mice I've owned (granted, well over a decade ago now) all required their proprietary drivers, otherwise they weren't being recognized. And they were huge. And included other software (that couldn't be unselected in the installer) that only served to shamelessly promote their other products.
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Ditto on the M705, for both home and work. For my laptop I use the very similar Logitech MX2 Anywhere. It's a Bluetooth wireless and rechargeable. I've had to charge it twice in the last 9 months - once when I got it and once about 6 months in. The 705s however run for years on the same batteries. I've replaced them once on my home system in ~5 years, and so far not at all at work in about 2.5 years.
Da Bomb
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dandy72 wrote: but they've eventually all developed annoying quirks...the left mouse button would stop working and "drop" a window as I'm dragging it by its caption...right-clicks that wouldn't register unless I tried a few times, pressing harder each time...that sort of thing. I've taken apart/cleaned these a number of times, but in the end, I had to give up on all of them.
The mouse of my old Atari ST is from 1986 and still works fine. Why don't you just buy a few microswitches in an electronics store, solder out the worn out ones in the mouse and replace them?
Edit: Has it really become so absurd to make simple repairs? So yes, instead of buying a new mouse, I suggest you get yourself a 25W soldering iron, a solder pump and some replacement parts.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
modified 18-Jul-18 3:49am.
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I've never had the finesse for soldering guns, and on top of that these days I lack the patience. I also wouldn't know what electronics store to order these parts from.
Maybe I'll just snailmail you my whole box of dead mice.
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It's not major surgery. just five minutes work.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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At work they saddled me up with a pricey 3dconnexion cadmouse, although I don't do any CAD work. The right mousebutton is very small, which drove me crazy at first, but now I'm getting used to it.
Also it has very sensitive extra buttons which I press accidentally all the time and which do unpredictable things.
For some strange reason this mouse was given an "IF Design award" 
3Dconnexion: CadMouse[^]
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I've used Logitech M187[^] for ages. I currently have 4 (in different colours!). I like the small size and light weight - it engages my fingertips, not the whole paw. In the dim distant past, I had one in the same package (or very similar) that did Bluetooth.
Cheers,
Peter
Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012
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I use a Logi Trackman - the "upside down mice" - and they work really well for me, much better than standard mice.
Every now and then the switches start to play up - normally after some years - so I take 'em apart, desolder the iffy uSwitch and solder a new one in, and I'm good for more years. Normally costs me about £1.50 or less per switch and the code is printed on the side of the switch itself. Easy to get from Fleabay.
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I've always been intrigued by these trackballs. I've used one exactly once, and it didn't take long for my thumb to get sore. I have to assume this is something that goes away with time, rather than get progressively worse...?
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They take some getting used to, but once you develop the muscles a bit, you don't want to go back!
No more falling off the mouse mat, no more mouse moving when you click the button, ...
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Did you drill yours to your desk? 
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No, it just sits there. Because the movement is only controlled by your thumb, and the physical position of the trackball doesn't affect the mouse pointer at all, clicking do anything except a click - independent systems. So if you're trying to align controls, you can "drop" without risk of movement.
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Weird - on Friday I dumped my multi-button, multi-function gaming mouse for a basic Microsoft mouse - optical, USB, and I am much happier with it. Wasn't cheap though, compared to others.
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