optical mice

As much as I am compelled to bash Microsoft for their buggy software, I can't help recommending this mouse. A previous reviewer noted the different shape, but to me the shape actually gives you the sense of a more secure grip on the thing. I admit though it took a few weeks to get used to. My only other observation is a lack of feedback in the scroll wheel. In the old wheel mice you could feel a slight notch at each increment that you rolled the wheel. Not so with this one. So this too takes a bit to get used to when estimating how far you need to roll the wheel in order to go half-way down a page. But those are truly minor quibbles. The installation was a breeze, and it does go easy on the AA batteries. The tilt wheel is a bit of a novelty, but it actually does come in handy on occasion. As far as optical mice go, it is very responsive. You certainly can't go wrong on the price. If you've never used an optical mouse, imagine never having to clean crud and dust bunnies out from inside around the mouse ball. Overall, I'd say if you're in the market for a new mouse and don't need buttons all over it (like the more expensive wireless Intellimouse), snap this one up.

Bought this great mouse in January and although I use it approximately an hour a day, maybe two....the original batteries are still going strong. Very easy to use and a pleasure not having the wire in the way.

This mouse is the most awkward and non-ergonomic mouse of any of the MS products I have ever used. It has a weird, tapered, bulbous base that forces your fingers into positions that are not natural. It actually feels more comfortable if you grab it backwards.

My simple MS Intellimouse Optical (corded) mouse blows this one away in shear comfort.

The side-scrolling wheel takes up too much real estate on the top of the mouse. The wheel action offers no positive feedback if you rely on that feature in games. I do.
The wheel button includes a feature to toggle through open applications. First of all, I usually have 10 things open at once so its faster to use the taskbar. Secondly, the pressure required to activate the button is brutal.

I was a bit dismayed to find that the driver was not Win98 compatible. All over box it says 'Windows and MAC'. Only in the fine print on the bottom of the box does it say Win2000 or WinXP only! My bad for not reading every square inch of the box.

I'm a big fan of Microsoft products in general. They USUALLY do their homework, but this one must have been designed by the new guy. The smooth scrolling works great in documents and web pages. But that feature alone does not compensate for the wack ergonomics.