I’ve discovered a new use for computer games, specifically mouse driven first person shooters. They’re great practice when you’re switching from a mouse to a trackball.
I know this because I have just switched from a mouse to a trackball (hence the picture on the right). And I’m in the process of getting used to it
Actually using it for most general purpose tasks takes surprisingly little adjustment. But it’s the finer motions that need practice. For example, the volume slide on a youtube video is still tricky for me. Especially when it’s one of those really loud videos where I seem to be sliding the volume between “extremely low”, “more extremely low” and “oops, the sound’s gone”.
The same problem also applies to trying to edit sound in audacity when I just want to cut a single little click. It’s still far too easy for me to end up instantly selecting ten seconds instead of a tenth of a second.
So I figured why not play some Startrek Voyager: Elite Force. Targeting Borg, Klingons, Hirogen etc. is much more fun than targeting youtube volume levels when all’s said and done.
I switched to that very same trackball several years ago in order to free up desk space (and because I hate running out of mousing surface and needing to pick up and move the mouse). As you mentioned, the response is a bit tricky for finer work, which improves over time. The trackball has served me well playing World of Warcraft and other games that require using the mouse to pan the camera back and forth.
[...] people will get them in one go and leave their mice behind… somehow I doubt it. ______ 1 Blogged here 2 Like this [...]