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Comment by sharkweek | Hacker News Reader

I remember when my school got a handful of Macintosh computers in the early 90s.

My friend's mom came into the classroom for a parent day shortly after, and I remember my friend asking her to try out this new cool thing.

When he was showing her the mouse and keyboard, she picked up the mouse and rolled the little rubber ball on the underside around with her finger to move the cursor.

We all got a kick out of it at the time. Now that I have young children, I wonder what my moment of "don't really get how this is supposed to work" will be when my kids show me some new technology.

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No, your friend's mom was correct. She was figuring out that the trackball is superior to the mouse. It was obvious to her.

Yep.

I used a Microsoft Trackball Optical for many years, and found it much easier on my hands. After some time I found that I was much more accurate with it as well, and about as fast as using a mouse. I played a lot of CS with that trackball, and I never once felt it held me back.

I did get made fun of a few times at LAN parties when I whipped that thing out, though!

I miss LAN parties :(

I was also among the first to get the optical MS mouse - the days of cleaning lint were finally over! I jumped over to the MS Trackball Optical on developing onset of RSI though - until laser mice by Logitech just ended up feeling comfortable enough in my hand (the G9X).

Presently I have a Kensington Slimblade and a Logitech G903 at home - trackball on left, mouse on right.

It feels like I've reached a certain pinnacle of tech here; both products are great. Due to RSI I try to mix up my hand usage; I've become ambidextrous as far as input controllers are concerned.

LAN parties are great. When getting older, it's good for your mental health to set aside some time to just hang out with friends - even if it's just once or twice a year.

Elecom makes some good modern trackballs. I personally use the thumb style track balls. I was getting severe pain in my shoulder (Mouse Shoulder) from using standard mice. Going back to my beloved thumb trackball has save my shoulder.

For many years I've used a basic Kensington Orbital. I've got one on my desk at work. Our computers get refreshed every three years, but the IT guys know anyone who tries to take away my trackball will lose a hand.

I love the Kensington Orbital, flicking the trackwheel has become second nature for scrolling through console output or long webpages. I do miss a middle button occasionally though.

I might take a look at one of these Elecom trackballs or the 'expert' Kensington with four buttons

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