It looks like my mouse is finally giving up the ghost, which is a bit of an arse. It's been temperamental for a while, howver last night it pretty much died...the buttons work, but the laser either refuses to work, or is extremely in-accurate (doing small circles with it results it the pointer careering off-screen).
The grief comes from the fact that I'm on of the estimated 6-7% of left-handers, which causes more issues than you can ever imagine (and I mean that quite literally...if you are right-handed I don't think you'll ever be aware of how much of the world is designed around you). In computer terms, I always have to rebind keys (as anyone who has been to a LAN with me knows), and if I want additional buttons on a mouse I have extremely limited options...
My current mouse is a Logitech MX610, which was released in 2006 (it only seemed decent to buy one when they finally came out...I had been annoying Logitech and Microsoft's customer services with emails about their support for left-handers for ages). 4 years down the line it looks like this is still the only left-hand contoured mouse out there, depite the fact that they got away with charging double for it.
So I need to decide on a new mouse. My choices are;
1) A new MX610, though it doesn't look like it is produced anymore, you can still find them
2) Fuck all from Microsoft
3) A.N. Other
My requirements are;
1) Thumb buttons (I use these a lot, as I'm used to re-binding keys, doing a couple on the mouse is no extra hassle)
2) I far prefer wireless
3) I use the whole hand (palm-style), but not too wide
I was having a look at the Razer site last night, and going through their Configurator...
- Left-Hand
- Large Mouse
- Palm Grip
- Hard Mat
- Unsure about monitor size (19' x 2)
- Don't care about Macros
- Wireless
- Don't care about portability
...and it comes back with the Lachesis, which seems to be the closest they get (the second option they give is right-hand only, and the 3rd option a mobile mini-mouse, which doesn't work when you use your entire palm). It's wired depressingly...
The other ones that caught my eye are the Diamondback, which is apparently for "Claw-Style", but visually would look to work with a palm-grip as well, and the Copperhead (which doesn't seem to be made anymore).
I have some Amazon vouchers, and they sell Razers, so I can get hold of one, however I am wary about getting non-ideals. Does anyone have any experience with either the Lachesis or the Diamondback...specifically;
1) re: Lachesis - it looks pretty wide...has anyone found that an issue?
2) re: Diamondback - are the side buttons properly mirrored? It's hard to see in the pictures
3) Generally, what is the wire like? I'm rubbish at desktop cable management, and constantly snag them (hence my preference for wireless)
Pete
I think the mouse I have is
I think the mouse I have is an diamond back (it's been a while since I got it) it's certainly that casing though it looks like they've made some internal tweeks since I got mine and upgraded the sensor (diamond back was razer's first optical mouse). It is fully symmetrical with the thumb buttons mirrored. The cable is pretty lightweight and made of slippy plastic I've never had a problem with it snagging and my desk looks like someone took the contents of a tool box, a cd collection, and a months mail and dumped them then shoved a keyboard on top.
Razer stuff tends to be on the expensive side but it is reasonably well made and comfortable to use. Their kit is designed around fast response times and great accuracy though they've had a few thoroughly daft ideas (see the razer naga a numpad on the side of a mouse) for niche stuff it does what is says on the tin. I've been pretty happy with the diamondback and had it for a long while without it breaking or letting me down it works well in games and the buttons are comfortably positioned with enough to do all you want without getting silly.
Admittedly I'm not a sinister freak so your mileage may vary :D
How do you tend to hold your
How do you tend to hold your mouse Matt? Razer describe the Diamondback as a "claw" mouse, where you contact with the heel of the palm and the fingers, and the middle of the palm is raised. I spent too long last ngiht working out how I hold a mouse, and I'm definitely a "Palm" user, where my entire hand is in contact along the length...
Cheers for the info on the buttons and cable...
Um ... I've never really
Um ... I've never really thought about it ... judging by my work mouse I just put my hand on it thumb on the side two fingers over the buttons palm on the body of it other two fingers on the side to clamp it. I'm pretty sure I do the same with the diamondback.
I can't imagine that claw positioning would be very comfortable, maybe it works for people with small hands or something.
Me neither... I was trying
Me neither... I was trying that and the one where you just use the fingers (with the wrist well off the desk)...felt awful.
I may well give the Diamondback a go...I'm not totally weird and have the buttons the "right" way round
I am a Deathadder user (RH,
I am a Deathadder user (RH, no use there) and had a go at the Lachesis when we were in PC World (Rose Kiln Lane PCW has a gamer section now) and it felt much the same as the razer - it is a little wide but not too much for my girly fingers. I am a palm user.
Love Razer. Won't go anywhere else now.
I've had a Lachesis for a
I've had a Lachesis for a while, and it's... OK. I use a fingertip grip, and it's really not ideal for that, but otherwise I have no real issues with it. Solid build, good tracking (but not on a soft-pad; it's too high-res for that,) and reliable drivers. The thumb buttons are really stiff, which might not be a problem for a palm-grip, but causes me a massive loss of accuracy every time I push one. It has a cable, but it's extremely light and flexible, so it's never been a problem for me (and with my fingertip grip, I hate cable snag.)
Edit: With regard to width, the Lachesis flares very wide at the front, where the buttons flatten out, but at the back, where your palm would rest it's not that wide; I'd say slightly narrower than the logitech mx518 I use at work.
Hmm...I tend to have
Hmm...I tend to have "reload" and "speak" bound to those keys, so stiffness may be annoying.
I've been looking at the Copperhead as well, which is similar to the Diamondback, but a little more overall. What is the difference between 3G infrared and Laser for tracking purposes? Would I actually see any descernable difference ?
laser has a higher possible
laser has a higher possible resolution (by their numbers 4000 dpi vs infrared's 1800dpi)
I would suspect you wouldn't really notice the difference in game
I'd say they're too stiff
I'd say they're too stiff for anything you use as regularly as 'speak.' Holding one down would be pretty uncomfortable.
Cool...so the Copperhead has
Cool...so the Copperhead has the higher potential (being laser), though I'd probably not notice it.
In that case it will probably come down to price vs final value of vouchers (I still have some I've been advised to expect).
Cheers for the info all...it's all been very useful, and now we all know that Aggro uses his fingers, while the rest of us use the entire hand, while no-one thinks the claw is a very good idea.
The copperhead does look to
The copperhead does look to be a nice mouse - had the diamondback for years, then the buttons went.
The one thing I'd say is to find somewhere with demo kit out (PC world definately do) and give them a try - its quite subjective what is a good shape, and you want it to be comfortable.
I am of the claw school of mousing....
I'll see if I can get myself
I'll see if I can get myself there sometime this week. I have a while until all the vouchers are here, so have a bit of time to play with. Until then I will cope with this one (which has a tendancy to go south-east today...)
I've ordered the Copperhead.
I've ordered the Copperhead. I tried PC World in the Oracle (old Dixons) at lunchtime, but they don't have a gamers section, or any Razer mice. I don't think I'm going to get a chance to get out to Brunel Park this week, and after having just searched the house for mice (P/S2 ones don't seem to work at all, I probably have the option turned off somewhere) I can't find a short-term replacement.
This one is now suffering percussive maintainence on a semi-regular basis, so it probably won't last much longer...
The Copperhead was sitting
The Copperhead was sitting on my desk as I wandered in this morning, so I'll get it up and running tonight. Size is fine, the thumb buttons are a little far back on the mouse to be easily clicked, but that might just be moving from a contoured mouse to a non-contoured one...