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Boo Hoo my Trackball's Dead!

38 REPLIES 38
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Message 1 of 39
AllenJessup
1674 Views, 38 Replies

Boo Hoo my Trackball's Dead!

I knocked my Trackball Explorer of my desk this morning and broke an internal plastic part. Krazy glue fixed that. But then I broke of a pin trying to reseat the ribbon cable. All our IT will supply is the cheap mouse that comes with the computers. So I guess I'll try to solder the pin back in this weekend.

 

I just needed someone to complain to.



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

38 REPLIES 38
Message 2 of 39

Complain away, that absolutely stinks!

 

I don't go for the whole "IT Standard" thing. I've got my own logitech mouse for my desktop (two extra buttons and more ergonomic, tyvm), plus the small mice they gave away at AU2004(?) for the laptop... instead of the cheap lenovo model that is standard (no offense, but, it's not even contoured even slightly).

 

I've also got the SpacePilot Pro, that makes the IT guys drool when they walk in.

 

I did kick and moan until they finally gave me a 'non-standard' 64bit pc, and it's a horrible monstrosity that's too big to even fit on my desk. If I could work off my own pc without violating company policy, I totally would.



Melanie Stone
Facilities Data Management
IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / AutoCAD / Archibus / Tririga / Planon / MRI Manhattan CenterStone / Revit / data normalization, data mapping, reporting and process documentation
mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/
Message 3 of 39
asommer
in reply to: AllenJessup

I use the ootb mouses to smash when my comp locks up.  Cheap keyboards are pretty satisfying, too.  Ever see "Office Space"?

Message 4 of 39

I have dreams about being able to do that to our fax machine one day...



Melanie Stone
Facilities Data Management
IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / AutoCAD / Archibus / Tririga / Planon / MRI Manhattan CenterStone / Revit / data normalization, data mapping, reporting and process documentation
mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/
Message 5 of 39

Realize the dream...  convince the boss to upgrade, and celebrate by taking the old stuff to the roof and the office make bets on which one will have a bigger parts spread.  It makes a great half-day party.

Message 6 of 39
Charles_Shade
in reply to: AllenJessup

Finding a mouse you like is like finding the mouse that keeps you up at night; in the trap.

Both are ultimately satisfying.Cat Very Happy

Message 7 of 39


@Mistress0fTheDorkness wrote:

 

I've also got the SpacePilot Pro, that makes the IT guys drool when they walk in.

 

I did kick and moan until they finally gave me a 'non-standard' 64bit pc, and it's a horrible monstrosity that's too big to even fit on my desk. If I could work off my own pc without violating company policy, I totally would.


The Space Pilot Pro seems a little overkill for my needs. But they do look impressive.

I finally got IT to put Win 7 64 on my Dell T7400. Then I asked them to do the same thing for our Surveyor and they said it was now against company policy because Dell didn't certify it for Win 7. They know it WORKS!!!



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 8 of 39

LOL... that's probably not a good idea man, I work at the hospital and we've got cardiac patients here.

 

It would be tempting to see how far the parts would scatter if we dropped them from the 19th storey penthouse, though.

 

We hardly ever have to use the fax machine, though, so I couldn't, in good conscience, ask to have it replaced.

 

(fun fact, I've still got a laptop in use here with a "Y2K READY" sticker on it. Hey, it still works.)


@asommer wrote:

Realize the dream...  convince the boss to upgrade, and celebrate by taking the old stuff to the roof and the office make bets on which one will have a bigger parts spread.  It makes a great half-day party.






Melanie Stone
Facilities Data Management
IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / AutoCAD / Archibus / Tririga / Planon / MRI Manhattan CenterStone / Revit / data normalization, data mapping, reporting and process documentation
mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/
Message 9 of 39


@AllenJessup wrote:
The Space Pilot Pro seems a little overkill for my needs. But they do look impressive.

I finally got IT to put Win 7 64 on my Dell T7400. Then I asked them to do the same thing for our Surveyor and they said it was now against company policy because Dell didn't certify it for Win 7. They know it WORKS!!!


Oh, it's overkill for me, too. When I first got the thing, it didn't even work with Revit, and that's pretty much the only thing we've got 3d stuff in. But, ya know, as a member of the press, there are perks. I get to show this off to all of the CAD Manglers who come into my office... 'look what I can do... wheeeee.'

 

😮 Oh good gracious! That's awful. I cried a little inside when my new 64bit pc came in... and IT wiped Win 7 off of it and replaced it with XP. ~sobbing~ I just had like half a million pieces of paper scanned, and I can't use windows preview on any of them. Thank you, IT. (and, yes, I tried the suggested reg edits to fix that, and it didn't work... oh yeah, don't tell IT I was mucking around in the registry...)



Melanie Stone
Facilities Data Management
IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / AutoCAD / Archibus / Tririga / Planon / MRI Manhattan CenterStone / Revit / data normalization, data mapping, reporting and process documentation
mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/
Message 10 of 39
asommer
in reply to: AllenJessup

The trick is launching it off the roof and not launching yourself off.  Might be visiting you in the hospital soon.

Message 11 of 39


@asommer wrote:

The trick is launching it off the roof and not launching yourself off.  Might be visiting you in the hospital soon.


lol, no worries, man... we've got tie-offs and safety gear, suit up and you'll be okay.



Melanie Stone
Facilities Data Management
IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / AutoCAD / Archibus / Tririga / Planon / MRI Manhattan CenterStone / Revit / data normalization, data mapping, reporting and process documentation
mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/
Message 12 of 39
troma
in reply to: AllenJessup

Are there any of these fancy trackballs or whatever that work well for both hands?  I'm starting to get tendonitis, and the one thing that gives relief is swapping hands every couple of hours.


Mark Green

Working on Civil 3D in Canada

Message 13 of 39
AllenJessup
in reply to: troma

2 on this page are or claim to be.

 

This one looks interesting.

 

Here's a nice list. Quite a few look suitable for either hand.



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 14 of 39
troma
in reply to: AllenJessup

Thanks Allen, I guess I could've googled that myself!  I just took one look at the picture in the link on your first post, and thought there's no way I could abandon my simple standard mouse if I'd have to go to something so one-sided.  Anyway, something to think about; now I have options.


Mark Green

Working on Civil 3D in Canada

Message 15 of 39
AllenJessup
in reply to: troma

Everyone has their own preferences. I switched to a trackball because of shoulder and neck pain. Finding the right way to position my arm and us the trackball helped me a lot. I'm already unhappy after a few hours of using a mouse.

 

I did have a mouse hooked up for my left hand. But I'd only use the select button for when I was tracing over a scanned image. That way I wouldn't jog the position when making the pick.



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 16 of 39
pendean
in reply to: AllenJessup

A fellow Trackball user: good to know. I switched way back in the day (on a MAC of all things) and never looked back.

It's funny watching none-trackball users sit at my desk and try to do a simple mouse motions, no eye-finger coordination LOL

Message 17 of 39
GilesPhillips
in reply to: pendean

I had a former colleague that insisted on a fairly expensive trackball once he'd figured that IT would buy him a mouse/pointing device of his specification as he was a full time computer user.

 

He hated it, but couldn't say anything because it's what he'd asked for.

 

I'm dreading the day my MX-310 expires - Logitech don't seem to do a direct replacement (i.e. it's ambidexterous and 5 buttons+) apart from a fairly lurid looking gaming mouse.

 

Us lefties still seem to be getting the short end of the non-ambidextrous stick 😞

ACad, MEP, Revit, 3DS Max
Message 18 of 39
AllenJessup
in reply to: GilesPhillips

I buy my own. I don't want the company to own it. I had to ask one of the bosses if I could go to the hardware store for glue to try and fix mine. He said that maybe they could do something about replacing it. A generous offer because I can't see it being easy to try and get a purchase order for something you can only get from Amazon or Ebay. But I said "no thanks" and have already ordered a used one for $150.

 

You can get a used MX-310 on Amazon for $12 - $20.



Allen Jessup
Engineering Specialist / CAD Manager

Message 19 of 39
GilesPhillips
in reply to: AllenJessup


@AllenJessup wrote:

 

You can get a used MX-310 on Amazon for $12 - $20.



Eww. 😞

 

Sorry but that's kinda like wearing someone elses underwear. Sure it may *look* clean, but who knows what's been going on in/around it.

 

I've got a plan B which is a cordless LX8 which is okay but not as solid feeling. The other disadvantage with cordless mice is they tend to fly further when my temper hits the buffers. Like yours the LX8 is mine as our IT dept were feeling stingy that day.

ACad, MEP, Revit, 3DS Max
Message 20 of 39


@GilesPhillips wrote:

 

Us lefties still seem to be getting the short end of the non-ambidextrous stick 😞


I guess most of us have been reprogrammed by the ruling party.

 

The majority of people on the Engineering staff here are actually left-handed. But, my boss is the only one who uses the mouse with his left hand.

The stock lenovo mice I mentioned from IT work just as well for him as they do for anyone else. But, of course, it throws me off whenever I have to work on his pc and he's got his buttons backward from  mine. Smiley Tongue

 

Of course, that does make me chuckle, remembering back to when I worked as a cashier at Cracker Barrel during college. People kept stealing our pens, so, the boss finally bought the pens on chains for us. I usually set up new displays, and was given the pens one night along with my normal assignments.

 

Well... I mounted the pens all on the left sides of the registers.

 

Bwahahahahahaha. I spent the next two days secretly delighted as all of the right-handed people kept flipping the chain out of their way in exasperation. Bwahahaha. The third day, the manager had them removed and restuck on the right side. ~pouts~ (they couldn't be mounted directly in the middle, because that's where the 'total' screen was)



Melanie Stone
Facilities Data Management
IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / AutoCAD / Archibus / Tririga / Planon / MRI Manhattan CenterStone / Revit / data normalization, data mapping, reporting and process documentation
mistressofthedorkness.blogspot.com/

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