My favorite mouse ever!
Written: May 10 '02 (Updated May 10 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good looks and comfort, tracking is precise, scroll wheel lights up blue!
Cons: Included Software CD is out of date.
The Bottom Line: It tracks precisely, looks great, is very comfortable, and costs less than the competition. Go to the Micro Innovations web site for current drivers.
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| technolicious's Full Review: Ovation Optical Navigator Mouse 4 Btn (MPN-19K200... |
Intro:
Recently, my left mouse button started giving out, so I headed for Staples to get a new mouse. The Microsoft models were either beige (ugh!) or too expensive. The Logitech models were really ugly, to my taste. This IBM mouse caught my attention, since it looked great and costed less than $40.
Package:
It comes in a pretty package advertising its 5-year warranty. Inside is an out of date software installation CD and the usual papers. The connector is USB, which is exactly what I wanted, but a USB to PS2 adapter is included.
Installation:
I plugged the mouse into a USB port, and the scroll wheel lit up in a pretty blue-purple color. Windows XP took care of installation promptly, but of course the thumb button didn't do anything. I put the "Mouse Suite 1.6" CD into the drive, and installed the software. No reboot was required. The thumb button now worked, and was programmable.
Using it:
It scans its position 1500 times per second, which seems to be adequate for playing my games like Quake III and Morrowind. It's quite comfortable. The lit-up scroll wheel is so neato, that it occasionally distracts me.
The thumb button stopped working after a while. Glancing at the installation CD, I noticed that Windows XP was not mentioned, so I visited www.ibm.com in search of newer drivers. I gave up my search about 30 minutes later - IBM's massive web site had no listing for this mouse! I finally looked at the Micro Innovations web site, and found updated drivers. Go here:
http://www.mi-products.com/SOFTWARE.html
Apparently, Micro Innovations makes these mice for IBM.
The software is pretty good; it extends the mouse control panel to give you more options. The speed is adjustable, but not the acceleration. You can calibrate the up and down motion to correspond to the way you hold and move the mouse, which is nice for people who tend to move the mouse diagonally. The thumb button can be configured to do a variety of functions, but it brings up the start menu by default.
Optical Mouse Quirks:
After having various tracking problems with the optical mouse, I've discovered that reflective surfaces really mess with the tracking. If you happen to use one of those 3M "Precise Mousing Surface" pads, which work wonderfully for roller-ball mice, you will find that it causes the optical mouse to track movement even when the mouse is lifted slightly off of the "mousing surface". I taped a square cut-out of graph paper to my desktop, using small pieces of masking tape. Using the cool looking graph paper surface with the mouse, the optical tracking is perfect.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 39.95
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Epinions.com ID:
technolicious
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 1 member
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