Finding a Better Mouse

Several years ago, I found myself wanting a better mouse. My computer at the time was a Mac Pro provided by my employer, and the aluminum keyboard and Mighty Mouse that came with it were downright awful. The laptop-style, low profile keyboard was terrible to type on and the mouse had a tiny ball for scrolling, which would get gummed up very easily.

At first, I simply traded them in for a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse set which I used for quite some time. It was a basic rubber dome keyboard and standard wireless optical mouse. They were okay. They worked. Ultimately, I wanted something better.

I noticed that my boss would try out other mice, but ultimately return to his old trackball. He explained that it was more ergonomic and he found it easier to use. Unfortunately, the model he used had long been discontinued and regularly sold for over $300 on eBay. Too rich for me. But I figured there must be some modern equivalents.

So I went on a search. My initial requirements were simple. It needed to cost less than $50 and I didn't want to give up my scroll wheel, which seemed to be a commonly missing feature amongst trackball mice.

Logitech M570

My first stop was the trackball mouse everyone seems to go to when they ditch a regular mouse: the Logitech M570. It is a thumb style trackball with 3 buttons, a scroll wheel and a pair of back/forward buttons. The buttons and scroll wheel performed just like the other Logitech mice I had used. That meant the ball was the only thing I would need to get used to.

Unfortunately, this mouse has a relatively small ball that doesn't have much weight to it. Because of this, I had difficulty moving the pointer any distance by spinning the ball. I also had quite a bit of difficulty with accuracy. The pointer seemed to jump around a bit. To be fair, I think I must have a thumb impediment. I never could get it to do what I wanted it to do. I can't exactly blame that on the mouse. Even though I used it for over a month, I never really felt comfortable with it.

Pros:

• Extra navigation buttons
• Standard scroll wheel
• Mouse buttons are operated with the usual fingers

Cons:

• Small, lightweight ball tended to lift out of its place a bit
• For me, movement was awkward with my thumb

Kensington Orbit with Scroll Wheel

The other mouse I tested was the Kensington Orbit with Scroll Ring which I was able to find on sale. The name is quite a mouthful. There is a previous version without a scroll ring simply called the Orbit. I'm not sure why they didn't just rename it when they added a scroll ring. Anyway, it's a center ball with two buttons and a scroll ring, which I thought was very intriguing. The ball is a bit bigger than the Logitech M570 and the buttons are noticeably firm.

I quickly adapted to using the trackball with my index and middle fingers, and the scroll ring seemed completely natural after the first few days. It took a short while to get accustomed to left-clicking with my thumb, which does present a bit of finger confusion if I need to use a regular mouse for some reason.

It was easy to spin the ball to bring the pointer from one end of a dual monitor setup to the other. I was able to accurately place the pointer where I wanted, and I found that I preferred the firmness of the buttons. This became my new favorite mouse after only a few days.

Pros:

• Larger, heavier ball with smooth movement
• Center ball that you move with your fingers (or whole hand) instead of your thumb
• Smooth scroll ring

Cons:

• Using your thumb for left click can result in a little finger confusion when switching to use regular mice for gaming or at another machine
• Only the two buttons. It could use a third button or some navigation buttons

Conclusion

If I had less than $50 to spend on a trackball mouse, I would choose the Kensington Orbit with Scroll Ring. I prefer the middle ball, and the scroll ring is nice and smooth. Having only two buttons may be an issue for some people, but made little difference to me.

If, however, you prefer to operate the ball with your thumb, the Logitech M570 is an excellent choice for the price.

Chris Meyers is a software developer and writer. He enjoys writing software, playing with new technology and writing fantasy stories. You can read more of his stuff here: http://www.chrislmeyers.com

Free Antivirus Software

It is important for you to install antivirus software at your computer or notebook. Antivirus software will give protection from various harmful things such as viruses, spywares, adwares, worms, Trojans, rootkit infections, and much more. The old version of antivirus only detected the viruses while the old version of spyware removers just detected spyware. Now, the limit between antivirus and spyware removers is unclear. The antivirus software available today provides better detection rates for various malwares.

Those malwares are including viruses, worms, adware, keyloggers, and many dangerous threats for your computer. Since the number of malware keeps increasing, it is impossible for antivirus software to keep up. However, using more than one antivirus can cause the conflicts and reduce the protection. Because of this reason, it is more recommended for you to choose the best antivirus for real time protection. You will be able to increase the protection using security software. Here are some free antivirus software programs which can be your consideration.

The first program is Avira AntiVir Personal Edition. Due to its high quality, many people choose to use this program. Avira faced some controversies related to re-branded Ask toolbar in their installer and temporary spate of advertisement to promote a possible scareware company. Despite of its negative issues, Antivir is still top notch antivirus. It offers outstanding detection rates of malware. The ability is higher than other antivirus programs. Because of the ability, Antivir is still a good choice for free antivirus software programs especially for high risk users.

When you are using Avira, you will not be able to scan any website or e-mail. You can only get this feature from commercial versions. For the people who are using the free version, you will not get any warn of an infected emails before you open it. However, when you open the infected email, Avira will take the action.

Another option you can get is AVG Anti virus. In the past days, this antivirus provides some shaky results in detection. Current AVG antivirus provides higher level protection due to Identity Protection. It provides very important layer of protection. The weakness of AVG free antivirus software is its big size and slow scan speeds. It also has advertisements but you can disable them.

Avast free antivirus software can also be good option. This program improves the detection rates over these past years. It offers real-time capabilities such as web, e-mail, IM, behavioral blocker, and much more. The latest version even offers more features such as internet site ratings plugin, script malware, and much more.

You may also consider using Microsoft Security Essentials. It provides outstanding detection rates. This program is suitable option for average users due to the minimal user interaction required. The update process is done automatically. When your computer is attacked by viruses, the program will remove the threat automatically. If those programs are not suitable for you, you are recommended to try other free software antivirus such as Panda Cloud Antivirus.

Nowadays have knowledge related with computer is so much fun. And its more important because computer would save your time to finish your current job task. There are so much update antivirus software that available in as free accounting software directory. All you thing to do, is read a software review, specification and read documentation after installed it on your computer.