12-12-01 This
special series of Holiday
Buyer's Guides is dedicated to the holiday shoppers that
also happen to be terminal procrastinators. Every day through
the 21st, we will post a new guide covering gift ideas from
a variety of categories and price ranges.
Today, we take a look at USB trackballs. Trackballs, while
generally bulkier than mice, stay in a fixed location on your
desk for a net saving in desk real estate. Many people with
repetitive stress injuries also swear by trackballs. Trackballs,
like mice, range in size, shape and features. Common to all
is the namesake trackball for moving your pointer on screen.
While the first generation of USB trackballs had, had an ambidextrous
design with the trackball centrally located, current offerings
sport contoured designs that only work comfortably in one
hand, the right. If you are a lefty, you may want to check
out some of the other
offerings from Kensington which are designed to work comfortably
in either hand.
Each trackball comes with software for configuring actions
associated with each button. We are familiar with the "MouseWorks"
software from Kensington and have been very impressed with
it. If you are less than impressed with the software that
came with your trackball, be sure to check out USB
overdrive which acts as a universal driver for many USB
peripherals.
"Like the wheel on a scrolling mouse, the movable ring
on Kensington's TurboRing trackball lets you scroll through
long documents with ease. To scroll the active window, you
simply rotate the ring clockwise or counterclockwise. MouseWorks,
an application that ships with the TurboRing, lets you reverse
the scroll ring's action, adjust scrolling speed, or disable
scrolling entirely. The program also lets you customize the
trackball's cursor response and configure its three buttons."
— Macworld
MacAlly Qball (optical, 5 buttons, scroll wheel)
Too new for reviews, but looks promising. Keep an eye on
MacDirectory
for a review in the near future.
Microsoft Trackball Explorer (optical, 4 buttons +
wheel)
"The Microsoft Trackball Explorer's four buttons and
scrolling wheel are located directly under your fingers for
quick and easy access. Your thumb operates the two buttons
and scrolling wheel on the left side, while your pinky and
fourth finger operate the two buttons on the right side. Practice
makes perfect, and you'll never have to move your index and
third fingers off the trackball. The Explorer demonstrates
the importance of good design and making the user comfortable."
— macHOME
"IntelliPoint [software included with the trackball}
is an easy-to-use and powerful button programming application.
As well as standard features, such as allowing you to set
up buttons to double-click with a single press of a button,
you can also switch applications, cut and paste, and even
trigger an AppleScript. The functions of each button can also
be programmed so that they differ for each application."
— MacUser
UK
Copyright 1996-2007 by Cider Press Publishing LLC all rights reserved. MacReviewZone is not authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Computer. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPod, iBook, iMac, eMac, and PowerBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
This
special series of 
