A mouse needs a pad

Mon, 02/18/2008 1:33 PM

In past columns I've told you how to do without the mouse (missed the columns? Email me and I'll send you them). Here am I going to tell you about the opposite: Using the mouse more.

Why, you may ask, might it be good to use the mouse more when you clearly told us it was better to use the keyboard? Good question.

Well, it's about productivity. We use computers for lots of things -- as glorified typewriters (we used to call our computers "word processors", to give you an idea of what they were originally intended for), but then, gradually, computers got more powerful and the interface became more graphically oriented for lots of fancier things.

There are some things that a keyboard makes sense for. If you're writing, you don't want to keep moving your hand away from the keyboard to move the mouse. In which case, keyboard shortcuts make a lot of sense. But try browsing the Internet using only the keyboard and you'll find you're stuck on the same page. Find yourself sorting through digital photos, or touching them up, or organizing songs in your MP3 collection, and you'll probably agree that a mouse makes more sense. So here are some tips about using your mouse better when you do need to use it.

First off, get a decent mouse. Unless you're an expert (and I've not met any yet), I would recommend using a mouse more than the trackpad (the little flat surface on your laptop) or TrackPoint (the little nubbin that is sometimes in the middle of your laptop keyboard). This is just because I think the mouse is better and faster at doing these things. But make sure it's a decent mouse and not the cheapest one in the shop (even if it does have Garfield's face on it and little whiskers sprouting out of the top).

Things to look for in a mouse: Size and shape; does it feel right in your hand? The scroll wheel (the little wheel in the middle of most mice), which is great for moving up and down documents without having to move the cursor to the edge of the screen to click on the up and down arrows.

If you can, buy a wireless mouse. These are ones that either use Bluetooth or other radio technology so there's no cables connecting the mouse and computer.

Why is this worth doing? Because the cable often gets tangled, or it restricts your movement. A mouse should be free to roam across the desktop, so it's worth paying that little bit extra.

But the mouse should have a pad. Once again, don't scrimp, or -- as many do -- go without. A mouse should move smoothly around the surface it's on. Most mice nowadays use a sort of laser to move the cursor around (it used to be a little ball), so they are much more sensitive to movement. Sadly, most mouse pads haven't really caught up with this, and are made of material that's a bit too heavy to get the best out of the mouse. I personally recommend a mouse pad designed for gamers (those people who play computer games for a living and really need accurate and responsive mice) made by a company called S&S (http://www.steelseries.com/). You know a mouse pad company is serious when it issues each pad with its own swanky bag and charges more than US$50 for it.

It's basically a slab of very thin plastic with a slightly indented surface, and the mouse moves around on it like a dream -- not too fast, not too slow. For an even smoother ride I found some little, well, pads, that you can stick on the bottom of the mouse. This may sound geeky, but you'll notice the difference immediately.

One final tip: You can change the sensitivity settings of your mouse, which allows you to control the speed with which the cursor moves across the screen in response to you moving the mouse itself.

If it all sounds a bit geeky, my apologies. You probably don't need to go quite as far as I have. But the truth is that unless you're still using Word*Star or a typewriter, you use the mouse a lot, and you owe it to yourself to make sure you have the best.

Don't forget the rookie's mistake: Not putting your mouse pad somewhere ergonomic. Many offices I've visited have the poor drones working on those desks where the keyboard is on a tray well below the optimal height, and the mouse pad either above them on the desk or else perched on a tiny little platform way off to one side.

Your keyboard should be where your elbows hang from your side, and the mouse pad should be right alongside your keyboard, touching it. You should, in short, be able to reach the mouse simply by moving your hand six inches to the right (or left.) If your layout's not like this, scream at your boss until it is. It's your hands and arms that are going to pay for it, not his/hers, so you need to look after yourself.

Next week I'll offer some tips on how to use the mouse in ways that may surprise you. That gives you a week to get a good mouse and give it a decent pad to hang out on.

Jeremy Wagstaff writes for The Wall Street Journal Asia and the BBC World Service. His guide to technology, "Loose Wire", is available in bookshops or on Amazon. He can be found online at jeremywagstaff.com or via email at jeremy@loose-wire.com.

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