...or at least mine does.

Seriously I am getting ****in fed up with this piece of crap. It keeps stalling every 10 seconds and I have to move it around a bunch to get it to work again. It's getting damn annoying to the point where i can barely use it. What is the problem here? I think it may be the surface I am using. What is the ideal surface for optical mouses to be used on? Right now it is just on my desk. Should I use a mousepad?

Regular old mouse pad works for me.

I put it some paper under it and it works like a charm now. Hmm maybe I should have actually tried to solve the problem before posting it here? NAAAAWWWW.

You must use a nice smooth gel mousepad complete with wristrest and cool swirly designs built in.:em321:

mousepads work for me. Mine messes up on rare occasion, but then i shake it and gain control again. How old is it? Maybe it's just old, and if it's on a desk the little cracks and stuff with impact it i think, because it's optical.

I just use my desk. Mousepads just get in the way.

Sometimes I use my face.

optical mice blow, wireless optical mice rule your bum.

Something is wrong with not the optical but the USB itself I think. Optical mice just randomly shut off. The laser goes kaput, but you can still left and right click. If I unplug it and plug it back in it works like a charm...but then 5, 10....90 mins later....BANG, laser shuts off. Weird as hell.

I've never had any problems at all with the optical mice I've had.

Just got this mouse/keyboard combo today. It's sex.

If the desk has a really smooth finish and is a solid color it might have a problem(and pretty much not work if it's glass). Desk scratches aren't going to hurt the tracking, they're going to help it because they provide contrast, which is how the opitcal sensor works. The best surfaces as far as tracking goes are textured surfaces.

A good smooth textured surface is going to give you both good tracking and smooth movement. Things like Ratpadz mouse pads. Darker surfaces are better than lighter surfaces because their contrast is more pronounced.

If the surface isn't the cause of erratic responsiveness, it's probably a loose connection. Most likely at the point where the wire enters the mouse. Those can sometimes be problem areas. I remember the original Intellimouse Explorer design was pretty bad for that. I had one suffer from that, got it replaced, then that one started it and I had to take it apart and do some soldering. The later models never really suffered from that as much though.

I was so happy when I spent $70 or $80 on that first Intellimouse Explorer when it came out cause we could finally get rid of those damn balls. I was many more times happier when I got my MX1000 cause we could finally use wireless without suckiness.

My optical mouse is fine as well. Hasn't messed up......yet.

Optical trackball > *

Well, when I was having these problems I had it on a black wooden desk, I put it on a pad of white paper and it works perfecttly.

Sounds like it either has a reflective finish or is incredibly smooth then.

Black absorbs red light the LED projects much better than white and thus creates more contrast for the sensor to read.

Yay for infrared laser based sensors that are precise enough for almost every surface though.

Trackballs win. No room needed, no need to move your hand, just you thumb.

...did you try changing your batteries?

Wireless optical? :em321:

...yeah, why?

Exactly what I'm looking at right now. I love it, but my mouse is starting to skip during laggy times on my machine.

OMG, something is wrong with your keyboard, looks like someone dropped it and it split down the middle! (If you can't tell, I don't like those kind of keyboards :p)

That looks sooo awesome... *mouth waters*

Heh, it'd be hell for someone who uses the "hunt and peck" method of typing.

That keyboard to me would not be fun. I could see myself trying to press the plastic in the middle when trying to hit all of the middle keys.

Meh. I use one just like it with no probs.


And a trackball.

It's great for modelling and animation with 3ds max!!!



What's you guy's problem?


My desk is smooth with a wooden texture, no problems with MY optical mouse.

It's ps2 though.

That's how i type. However, I can hunt and peck faster than some people can type because I use both hands to do it.

Word.

the only Optical mouse problems I've had is the cord crapping out

my mouse doesn't fully agree with my desk... occasionally the pointer will want to jump to a random corner... usually if the mouse is in one spot for too long then i move it quickly... it's only really annoying in a game i might try a piece of paper some time

still want to get a MX1000... my mouse is wired and the cable catches on the desk sometimes

Oh yeah, foreign objects getting caught right in front of the sensor do good job of screwing them up too. A strand of hair right in front of the sensor will drive an optical mouse crazy.

That hurts me that god allows those things to be made. Not only because Microsoft make horrible wireless and optical mice, but also because those 'ergonomic' keyboards are hellaciously uncomfortable.

Oh yeah, Steelpad > Polycarbonate mousepad > *

Anyone who uses their desk is really quite silly. It destroys the teflon feet on your mouse. Hell even cloth pads aren't that amazingly smart of a purchase, especially not Ratpadz. I'd say your best bet are steelpads, icemats (NOT THE GLASS ONES) and the other odd polycarbonate pad. You want something big and spacey.

In my experience, Microsoft's optical mice have worked great. I had a logitech, but it couldn't handle surfaces like a simple Intellimouse Explorer could. I've also got that same mouse that's in NoESC's pic that keeps getting quoted.

Also, those ergonomic keyboards are HORRIBLE for gaming, and I could never use one anyway because I use my right hand for the B key by habit.

I have a Logitech MX510, and it's wondrous.

I use this mouse and I love it. I could do with an extra button, but only if it could be added without disrupting the awesome light-weight feel of this mouse. And it's like 13 bucks.

Microsoft's optical mice are decent, I suppose I mistyped there, but their wireless mice are HORRIBLE.

And what kind of Logitech did you have? Some crappy 5 dollar one? Seriously, Logitech makes a few of the best gaming mice out right now (MX518 and MX1000).

I tried the MX1000 when it first came out. From what I could tell, it's only good if you want/need the wireless capabilities and can stand using a heavier mouse. It really didn't seem that much more responsive than something like an Intellimouse Explorer, and it was too heavy for me to use comfortably in the space I have. I don't know. Maybe you get used to it after a while, and maybe you're supposed to change the level of responsiveness from a default or something, but I wasn't really willing to spend $100 to take the chance.

I've been looking at the MX510/518 for a while, but I don't see any rush to upgrade from my Intellimouse Explorer yet. It still works fine after about... 4 years.

Well, for starters it's only 60 dollars more, and secondly it's got more accuracy than even the MX518. The only reason that it's not perfect is the ever so small latency because it's wireless. And I do mean EVER so small (that you'll never even notice it)

But your average laymen would never notice it. Really, only hardkôr gamers and graphics creators would notice, as that's the main appeal of the MX1000 and 518 respectably.

At one point Amazon was selling them for $50, and other placed had them less than $60 plus $10 rebates for a while, but they seem to have stopped that for now and they're back up to $60 at Amazon.

I bought mine when it came out at $80 or whatever it was though and I didn't find it to be priced that high, because that's what it cost you to get an Intellimouse Explorer when they were introduced.

And yes, Ratpadz will eat feet quicker than most anything, but teflon tape over them keeps them safe.

Back when I got mine a few years ago they were the best thing around though.

Then we would miss out on the opportunity to show our genius and at the same time ridicule you!