Hardware
Review of: |
| This
mouse looks just like a standard Microsoft IntelliMouse until you turn
it over, then you will notice a strange omission: there is no ball! Instead,
there is a small indentation where the ball would normally be, and a pink
light shines out of the indentation. An optical sensor in the indentation
scans the position of the mouse 1500 times per second, and moves the pointer
on the screen accordingly. This is not the first mouse based on optical
sensing; Mouse Systems offered an optical mouse many years ago. That mouse
required a special mousepad, with embedded grids to track the position.
If you lost that mousepad, you were out of luck. The Microsoft IntelliMouse
with IntelliEye requires no mousepad at all; you can operate it on your
leg, or even upside down. In the photos, I show the mouse used on a standard
mousepad, in order to use the wrist support built into the mousepad.
A very likely question you may ask is: Why would anyone care if the mouse uses a ball? What benefit could this high-tech approach offer? If you’ve ever had to clean the interior of your mouse, you can answer this question. The IntelliEye mouse never needs cleaning! Installing the mouse was classically simple. Plug in the mouse at the mouseport or a USB port, and Windows 98’s Plug-N-Play senses new hardware. Install the drivers from the provided CD, and the mouse is ready to use. Operationally, it is just like a standard IntelliMouse, except slightly smoother to move. The wheel scrolls up and down; or clicked, sideways. The only problem I have encountered is a very occasional loss of the pointer as I switch to the Microsoft Outlook Express newsreader program to check my rec.audio newsgroups. Normally, if I close the newsreader by pressing Alt-F4, the newsreader closes and the pointer reappears. I believe this is a driver problem, which should be corrected with later releases. The mouse lists for $55, although it is available for much less (I found it for $40). A fancier version, the IntelliMouse Explorer, has five buttons instead of two, which probably offer programmable functions. It lists for $75, but often goes on sale for less. Unlike most mouses, these two come with a five-year warranty. If you are upgrading your mouse, take a look at Microsoft’s IntelliMouse with IntelliEye.
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