TimsBlog

Well its partially user error. With all trackballs you have to clean them twice a day or they get real gunked up. The 3 pivot points that the ball rest on get clogged with shit which makes for sluggish movement. On this model they changed from metal to these plastic balls. They are about half the size of a BB or about the size of birdshot form a shotgun shell. While I was cleaning it I lost one, sort of. It fell in my articulating keyboard tray. The part where the wrist rest snaps into. I saw it in there and grabbed hemostats and a flash light. I struggled with it for 15 minutes before it rolled into a deep deep place inside. I then took it apart and shock the hell out of it and nothing. I know its in there thats the worst part. So I tried to use it without the rest of them and with just 2 of them. Its so sluggish now that its not usable.

Good thing it was a 5 year warranty. I contacted support via email and got a response that they would ship me a new one. Better it was $100. I bought because of the warranty since i tend to replace all my other trackballs twice a year mainly because I wear out the buttons. Another reason I like to use the keyboard as much as I can. Buttons do have a lifespan. Anyways I then got another email saying that and I quote “NOTE: After receiving the new one please mark the old one as defective and trash it away.” Like hell I say. Thats the one I’m using for spare parts I will not “trash it away” Bad thing is they say it will take 15 business days. Lending to my next problem.

I need a replacement mouse till I get the new trackball. I cringed at the thought of using a cheap one. So I got the new Logitech MX Revolution I’m hoping my elbow and wrist can take it. We shall see. It was a bit pricey, but thats how it goes. Its another write off on taxes. It will make a good spare thats for sure. I thought about getting a cheaper one but that would make working harder. How would you like it if someone gave you a Yugo for a loaner when your cars in the shop. It has tons of function. The thumb wheel is neat and can be set to do different things in different apps. Like for browsing I have it switch between tabs. The wheels are metal too. The main selling point is the flywheel as they call it. It doesn’t click and you can spin the damn thing and scroll really fast. So fast that in itunes I can get to the bottom of some 8000 songs in about 2 or 3 seconds instead of the usual 10. Must have bearings because one flick and it spins forever. One flick and it spun for 15 seconds.