Any still use trackballs?

Not trackball but I'm using a vertical mouse. Definitely much less wrist strain.

We had a comically oversized one when I was a kid, but not since then.

I love my Logitech M570 that I've had for years now. It's perfect for my PC under my TV. Works great for lightweight browsing and clicking the occasional dialog box when Steam brings one up. If I tried, I could probably do decent in shooters with it as well, but that's not its purpose.

I could never get into them. I even bought one (Logitech) back in like 1998 thinking I'd replace my mouse but I couldn't stand it. I also didn't like trackpads until I got a Mac. And now I can't even use a mouse anymore. I even play FPS games on my MBPs Magic Trackpad because I cannot play a FPS with a mouse. I'm actually dreading getting a gaming PC eventually because I don't know if I'll be able to find a control scheme I like.

My buddy uses one. He plays Overwatch with it too which is insane to me.

Now that I think about it, my friend back in high school used to bring his to Lan parties. Both of these guys swear by it but I could never get into it. Honestly it makes my thumb ache using it for too long.

M570 at work and home

I use the Logitech trackball with the ball at the thumb.

Don't use it for gaming or anything intense, just as a comfy couch mouse.

I use one but not for computers, I used the ball itself to make myself a mahl stick.

entremet said:

Can't you pair the trackpad to your PC?

I like trackpads too, but not for gaming.

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I dunno. I have a separate Apple Magic Trackpad that is connected to my iMac right now and I've wondered if I'd be able to pair it to a PC if I need to. I don't really own any PCs right now except an old Windows laptop my sister gave me when she upgraded to "fix". I should try to pair it but it's so old I'd be surprised if it even has BT in it at all.

I considered just getting a Steam Controller instead since it has trackpads in it I might be able to get used to. Or maybe there's a Windows trackpad that's comparable.

Also everyone calls me crazy when I say I play FPS games on my Mac with the trackpad. Even my brother who bought a small mouse to use with his Air because he didn't want to use the trackpad. It really only has one issue, and that's that right clicking is finicky and if you're in a game that ever requires you to click both the left and right buttons in any sort of rapid succession it'll be realllllly hard. Especially when the right clicks sometimes don't register if you're too hasty.

Side note: First/third-person games I've played with my trackpad: Minecraft, DOOM via GZDoom source port, Bioshock Infinite, about 10 minutes of Duke Nukem Forever, Delver.

Used one for like a decade but I prefer a mouse these days.

Use a Logitech M570. I use it for work, browsing on a laptop, and gaming.

Yeah, I use one of these and I always have! I've been using it for 20ish years so I'm pretty used to it and I honestly haven't had any problems playing games with it either. I've been decently high ranked in some games, so it's really okay to use if you like them!

I have one of the basic logitech trackballs for the laptop I use at work. There's no way I could do my job without it. The trackpad is no substitution because the scroll wheel adds as a shortcut to different things. A regular mouse just sucks because I'm moving around the screen constantly and I don't have to make a wide space to use it.

For $25, I like having one on hand. I also like it when I'm writing papers. I find it much easier to move the pointer to the place I need. I keep the dongle in the usb port and the mouse is recognized instantly.

Trackball users in Quake are demonic entities who cannot be trusted

I only use trackballs. And usually thumb ones if I can.

The three I prefer are:

Microsoft Trackball Explorer (the greatest trackball ever made)


Logitech M570


Elecom Deft

I've been using a Kensington Expert Trackball for years. The ball is huge, takes 2-3 fingers to move it, and it feels really... dense, like spinning a small bowling ball. I love it, and both it and the giant scroll wheel around the perimeter just feel cathartic to use. Not great for gaming, but great for everything else. and especially for avoiding wrist pain.

Ketkat said:

Yeah, I use one of these and I always have! I've been using it for 20ish years so I'm pretty used to it and I honestly haven't had any problems playing games with it either. I've been decently high ranked in some games, so it's really okay to use if you like them!

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I forgive you.

Robin said:

I forgive you.

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No no, I forgive you! One day you'll understand that these are the future and you're just all stuck in the past!

ElectricBlanketFire said:

We had a comically oversized one when I was a kid, but not since then.

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Think the last time I even saw a trackball is when I was a kid

Yup, for years now. Have a wired and wireless. But I used my Galaxy note 9 and surface pro alot these days. I am starting to use my trackball when I use my surface docked however.

I used a Logitech trackball of some kind for half a year when I was having issues with my wrist. It helped alleviate that, and I got about as good as you're going to get with one of those things.

I still always felt like I was handicapping myself. But I guess it's not nearly as bad as having to use a Thinkpad nipple.

I just bought the Logitech mx ergo a month ago. works like a charm with Linux and is all around the best trackball I ever had, been using them since nearly 20 years.
Alway went for the Logitech "trackman"-design, I never managed the one with the ball in the middle, always move the ball with my thumb.

I also use it for gaming, counterstrike etc. works like a charm. I went through hard time tho. The white trackman with the red ball was an absolute classic, sturdy as hell and really nice to handle. I went to the grey one, also with a cord, but it did feel much cheaper. I then went to the cordless trackman wheel i think which was wireless for the first time. I upgraded to the m570 with its unifying adapter and while i really liked it, the built quality was garbage aswell as the button clicker. I had 3 of these pieces of shit. After the third one started to make double and triple clicks a stopped using a trackball for the first time in over 19 years. My life was ruined. I hated my computer, I just wouldn't use it as often. But lo and behold, the kings returned and brought the MX ERGO and this thing is the shit I really love it. It brought some long needed progress to the trackball game. the build quality feels very nice, this thing is heavy and sturdy oh my god it feels so good to touch this thing and rub its ball. stylish grey with a matte design, I hope it lasts forever. Bluetooth integrated, switching between my two machines without having to disconnect, precise mode for gfx, scrolling wheel with left and right-click, I just hope they used some high quality button clickers this time and OH LORD LOGITECH please don't disappoint with a battery that only lasts a year. But anyways, after going nearly a year without a trackball and just a regular optic red light having piece of shit mouse I'm finally in heaven again and the mx ergo was the best way to embrace the renaissance of ergonomics.

xeroborn55 said:

M570 at work and home

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Yep. Same here.

My wrist has been fine for a couple years now, but I keep the M570 around just in case.

I've always been irrationally afraid of swallowing the ball and dying even though it's pretty much impossible.

So no...

Maurice Hamblin said:

I've always been irrationally afraid of swallowing the ball and dying even though it's pretty much impossible.

So no...

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Why...why is it in your mouth, though?

Ketkat said:

Yeah, I use one of these and I always have! I've been using it for 20ish years so I'm pretty used to it and I honestly haven't had any problems playing games with it either. I've been decently high ranked in some games, so it's really okay to use if you like them!

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This was my daily driver for a long time because I had my desktop computer on a stand next to my bed with no room for regular mouse movement. Still use it on my media server. I also remember it being pretty good for gaming, though I haven't used it for that purpose in years.

Pickman said:

Why...why is it in your mouth, though?

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It's not. That's my point. I never had the ball in or around my mouth but I always felt like it would get in there and kill me somehow.

By FAR my most irrational fear.

Ketkat said:

No no, I forgive you! One day you'll understand that these are the future and you're just all stuck in the past!

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Was at Wal-Mart the other day, they had some kind of multi game arcade cabinet you could buy, had to be put together (wasn't set up), had a track ball, had mussel command, centipede and other games can't remember which.

Ketkat said:

Yeah, I use one of these and I always have! I've been using it for 20ish years

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This was the trackball I used most recently (like 15 years ago), and it's probably the best one I've used. I still have this trackball somewhere in my drawers.

I used to prefer trackballs, and based on my recent experiences playing arcade games (e.g. Missile Command, Centipede and Millipede all have a trackball), I still don't mind them, and don't think it would be bad to use with my PC.

I have my PC in the living room, and I use a trackball when on the couch.

Bringing this post back from the dead because I've gotten really into trackballs as of a couple of years ago.

I started off with the Elecom Huge (a finger trackball) and moved on to a Nulea M501 trackball (a thumb trackball). Overall, I've gotten used to using a finger trackball and enjoy it - I don't have wrist pain, but I didn't want to wait until I got joint pain to do something preventative, considering how much I use my computer.

Moving from using a finger trackball to a thumb trackball is quite an odd experience, in comparison; I feel like I both prefer and dislike it compared to a finger trackball. Sometimes I go to scroll the screen and move my thumb, which just moves the cursor - this confuses me for a bit until I realize the difference, haha.

I feel like using the ball with two - three fingers gives you way more control, but I also feel like the Nulea trackball rolls smoother than my Huge (which is, admittedly, almost a couple of years old at this point). There's definitely lower friction on the Nulea, which would explain why it feels better. Maybe I just need to clean the Huge a bit more precisely, but I've also heard Elecom's QA is spotty at times, so it might just be that I have a bad unit or ball (especially after I already returned the unit once for a replacement as the connection failed pretty regularly).

The wireless connection now fails every couple of days or so, possibly because I'm using rechargeable batteries? Some people say that they replace batteries for it every 6 months or something like that, which is definitely not the case for me.

Anyway, I'm just kinda thinking about trackballs I guess.