When I got my new laptop, Venus, and decided to make her my primary computer, I knew that I would still frequently want a full keyboard/mouse/monitor setup in many situations, so I set up a “docked” environment at my desk that she could easily be connected to and disconnected from, comprised of an amazingly nice Dell monitor I have, a wireless Logitech LX7 mouse, and (oddly) a generic Dell keyboard.  The keyboard is an anomaly — it was just a spare I started using when a previous wireless Logitech keyboard failed, and I haven’t had a good enough reason yet to go out of my way and replace it.  The LX7 mouse was actually an identical duplicate of an earlier LX7 mouse I had, which after many years of use started to exhibit phantom double-clicks.

Then all of a sudden, after 9 years of use, this LX7 also started to exhibit phantom double-clicks, making it nearly unusable.  I had had this mouse for 9 years (it was my oldest computer component still actively in use), so I think it had quite a long and useful life.

It just so happens that I had recently been giving some thought to buying a new mouse (since this one was so old), so I didn’t have to start from scratch in doing my research.  For quite some time, I’ve been wanting to shift towards Bluetooth peripherals, with the goal of eventually having no wires other than power and video.  The only devices I had connected via USB were my speakers, keyboard, and the wireless receiver for this LX7 mouse.  So, I had a strong preference towards getting a Bluetooth mouse, as one step towards a USB-free computer.

Bluetooth mice are less common than wired or “wireless-with-a-dongle” mice, so  there’s less to pick from, but still some good, well-reviewed choices.  After trying out several in person, I settled on the Apple Magic Mouse.  It’s got a lot going for it: It’s Bluetooth, has a good, solid feel to it, and, best of all, has support for multi-touch gestures on its surface.  It doesn’t support as many different gestures as a good track pad does, but it is cool having that ability, in a more limited form, right on your mouse.  It works great for things like swiping to go back or forward, double-tapping for zoom, etc.  So far, I think this mouse is great — and now I have one less USB device!

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Posted in Venus by Greg Leedberg No Comments Yet