★★★★★ 5
Finally, A Great Trackball for Macs
After reading the other Amazon reviews, I thought I would respond to some of the issues other reviewers raise from a Mac user's perspective. I run a new PowerBook 15" with OS X 10.3.2.
Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't notice any directional/orientation problems--the cursor follows the ball movement very well, even before installing the included Logitech software. Perhaps the necessary drivers are now universally available, or perhaps the Mac version is just better. Also, the "finger layout" has not proven to be an issue for me--I can use any or all of my fingers to control the ball without any cursor-direction problems.
The wireless function has proven flawless on my Mac. The reciever is a couple feet away and actually off the desk (no line of sight) and works fine. It was essentially plug-and-play on the Mac--I didn't even have to push the 'Connect' buttons to establish a signal, it just worked.
The software is necessary, however, to re-assign new functions to the several buttons on this model. As a former PC user, I can't go without a right-click button (one of the reasons I bought an external device for my notebook at all). The Mac software is very easy to use, and one can re-program all of the buttons and the wheel if one so desires. You can set a button to automatically double- or triple-click, or select keyboard shortcuts (e.g., Command and W to close the current window). Very easy, and quite useful--I use buttons to close windows, quit programs, delete files, and still have a handy web-browsing 'Back' button.
The only possible drawback to the Mac software is that one cannot "train" the ball's orientation (from what I can gather from other reviews, this option is not available on PC either). This really only matters if you know you hold trackballs at a different angle than most people do.
Please note that the software I'm reviewing is for Mac OS X only; the program for those running OS 8.6-9.2 is a different piece of software, which is also included in the package.
Those are all the Mac-specific comments I can think of at this point; if you're a Mac-user you're probably used to things "just working," and this device is no exception.
I'll also comment on some of the more universal issues raised by other reviews:
Ergonomically, there is a period of adjustment--anyone moving from a conventional mouse to any trackball or from one trackball to another should expect that. It's never a bad idea to try one out in-store to see how they feel, especially since trackball models vary from one to another much more than mice do.
This is not, as some have termed it, a 'disadvantage'--all new things take some time to get used to. If you've never used a trackball, it's weird for a while; it's also ergonomically superior/healthier in the long term.
Also, I use trackballs for computer drafting/design, and find superior control to mice--finger-control is just more precise than either thumb-controlled trackballs or wrist/arm-controlled mice.
The optical ball-tracking technology requires almost no cleaning, and there are zero moving parts to clean. Just pop the ball out and blow any collected lint out of the socket if necessary--which very rarely is.
For any pointing device that's wireless, optical, and has this many buttons, this price is pretty decent--lower, I think, than my previous trackball that was wired and lacked the wheel.
As for Logitech's reputation/reliability, I have had good experiences. My first trackball had to be replaced during the warranty period, but its replacement has lasted the four years since--I only replaced it now because it wasn't Mac-compatible. Now Mac-users can rejoice with a high-performance trackball that works seamlessly in OS X.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2004
