Conference 7.286::atarist

    
    Hi 
    
    I remember years ago, there was a number of notes in the old Atari
    notesfile about DEAD RATS aka Trackerballs. I think Jeff L. had one, is
    that correct Jeff?
    
    PJK.

    One problem I have heared about hem is how do you "drag" with them.
    When your holding down one button how do you roll the ball?.
    
    Richard

    
    I have a Marconi Trackball since one year now. The first two weeks
    it's a little confusing and unusual feeling, but as soon as you are
    used to it you won't miss it anymore. You're a lot faster with a
    trackball and you don't need that much space on your desk.
    The trackball has three buttons, two small ones at each side and a
    big one in the middle. I soldered the big one parallel to the small
    one at the left, 'cause this one is mostly used in GEM.
    So holding one finger above the middle button you roll the ball with
    your thumb, dragging is no problem. Best use of a trackball is in
    addition with a mousespeeder. For the author of the basenote: the
    trackball came for about 80-90$ a year ago here in Germany.
    How about the Stacy users, do you prefer to work with the built-in
    trackball or the mouse-option?
    
    Bernd
    
    

I use the trackball in the Stacy out of necessity, and I have used the
modified $10 Atari game trackballs on full-size Atari's.  Mechanically,
the $10 trackballs seem, to be, to be just as good as the expensive
ones.   Read PRNSYS::USER2:[LOMICKAJ.HOBBY.ST]RAT.TXT for conversion details.

Personally, I don't like the trackball for most applications.  It's
almost impossible to sketch with one (in DEGAS, for example).  Text
selection is slower than with the mouse, and menu picking, while okay,
is no better than with a mouse.  I'm much faster, overall, with a
mouse.  I sometimes have the aforementioned "dragging" problem with the Stacy.

The trackball/mouse decision is definitely a personal preference issue.
 I LOVE mice, I think they're great.  I know how to touch-mouse, and I
do.  I almost never have to lift the mouse from the mouse pad,
something that amateur mousers do often, although I don't know why. I
use the mouse for text editing in VAX Emacs and MicroEMACS, have for
years before DEC had workstations, and I am severly constrained when I
can't use it due to my using a VT100 or something.