• Jhex@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    not OP but I think trackballs are superior because of 3 reasons:

    1. they don’t move so you can blindly reach where you set them and they’ll be there making them a better extention of the keyboard
    2. because they do not move, you’ll never find yourself in a delicate operation while getting to an uncomfortable position at the end of the mat or the table or run out of room against the keyboard
    3. you can lay back and chill while operating them just the same resting on your lap or chests or wherever
    • mangaskahn@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      I was very confused for a minute but then I realized you are talking about trackballs over mice. OP was asking about ball mice vs optical mice. Way back mice used rotary encoders to move the cursor horizontally and vertically. Those encoders were moved by a ball that stuck out of the bottom of the mouse to roll on the desk. The ball and rotary encoders were eventually replaced by the optical system we use now.

      • Jhex@lemmy.world
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        6 minutes ago

        yes I’m old enough to remember using those… but are you sure that’s what they were referring to? I even remember using those enough to see the ball wear out unevenly causingirregular movement hahaha

        ps: went up in the comments and you are correct