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winneganfakeOk, so, the plus side of the weekend is that I've got that new laptop. Nice, shiny, etc. Only thing is, I need to figure out a peripheral, since the touchpad is annoying all hell out of me.
While just a basic mouse would do the job, I don't have the table space for it where the laptop's currently set up, besides which, it currently ends up on the floor a good bit, so a mouse gets pretty impractical in general.
Trackballs, on the other hand, are nice and lovely, great for precision, but terrible for doing some simple stuff, like drawing a long, straight line in photoshop. (for those not used to photoshop, or to thinking in those terms, while I may not draw in PS, enough of the mouse movements for resizing, etc, etc, etc are pretty damn similar- the less I have to stop during the act of making the gesture with the peripheral, the better.) They do, however, fit well into the deskspace I do have, or can be easily used while witting on the floor with the laptop in my lap, etc.
Then there's option #3: a tablet. While I wouldn't be using it for the most basic thing that most people get tablets for (digital drawing), I think it might compensate for a trackball's shortcomings, not to mention giving me better precision than the touchpad, at the very least. Dunno how it'd work as a gaming controller though, especially seeing as I've never used one at all previously. Right now, I'm kind of looking at this model- it at least looks like a decent bled of affordability, and usability, and if nothing else, I can switch over to the integrated mouse when the stylus isn't cutting it, right?
So, people, tell me of your peripherals. What works, what doesn't, or is there some secret supplier that now has cranial jacks available at an affordable rate?
While just a basic mouse would do the job, I don't have the table space for it where the laptop's currently set up, besides which, it currently ends up on the floor a good bit, so a mouse gets pretty impractical in general.
Trackballs, on the other hand, are nice and lovely, great for precision, but terrible for doing some simple stuff, like drawing a long, straight line in photoshop. (for those not used to photoshop, or to thinking in those terms, while I may not draw in PS, enough of the mouse movements for resizing, etc, etc, etc are pretty damn similar- the less I have to stop during the act of making the gesture with the peripheral, the better.) They do, however, fit well into the deskspace I do have, or can be easily used while witting on the floor with the laptop in my lap, etc.
Then there's option #3: a tablet. While I wouldn't be using it for the most basic thing that most people get tablets for (digital drawing), I think it might compensate for a trackball's shortcomings, not to mention giving me better precision than the touchpad, at the very least. Dunno how it'd work as a gaming controller though, especially seeing as I've never used one at all previously. Right now, I'm kind of looking at this model- it at least looks like a decent bled of affordability, and usability, and if nothing else, I can switch over to the integrated mouse when the stylus isn't cutting it, right?
So, people, tell me of your peripherals. What works, what doesn't, or is there some secret supplier that now has cranial jacks available at an affordable rate?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-28 03:58 pm (UTC)Although most of the time she just uses a mini optical mouse with the laptop. It's small enough to use on the laptop surface in front of the keyboard so she can use it while laying on the couch.