Sell Out

A Blog about Villainy, Entertainment and Shameless Self Promotion.

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You probably don't know this about me (in fact, I'm quite sure that you don't), but I'm a big advocate of trackball usage. Vicious and I Recently had an in-depth conversation about the advantages of using a trackball as opposed to a mouse. Now I realize that there is a lot of stigmata among many computer users about trackballs. Many people claim that they don't like them. I think that people often come to this conclusion based on using a trackball only once and then realize that it is not quite as intuitive as mouse (intuitive meaning simple; I'm fairly sure a monkey would have a much easier time using a mouse than using a trackball).

Now I'm not one of these snobby tech bastards who believes in making things more complicated than they need to be (I'm a capitalist and user friendly is definitely more profitable), but once you get used to it, I do think that the trackball is a superior device in both speed and especially precision of use. If you want a Star Wars analogy (well too bad, you're getting one), I would say that a mouse is probably more like how blasters are described in the films (clumsy and random, but probably easier to use) and trackballs are more like lightsabers (elegant weapons, which require a little more practice to get the hang of). You only have to move one finger instead of your entire arm while using a trackball and you never have to pick up the entire device while in use as is occasionally necessary while using a mouse.

Vicious suggests that all of you hardcore gamers out there consider using a trackball as opposed to a mouse from now on, as you will see a noticeable improvement in your game play. For example, in the online game World of Warcraft, it is to your strategic advantage to be able to circle around a lot and effortlessly and this is something that trackballs excel at (he describes tournament level Rogues in the game as having to "constantly circle around like a twelve year old crack addict" in order to be any good in pvp). I imagine this would be an advantage in many games; especially first person shooter types. As a graphics guy, I find trackballs to be much less cumbersome than a mouse would be. This would probably also apply to individuals in fields such as architecture and engineering as well. In fact, anyone who spends a significant amount of time on the computer should consider using a trackball. It may take some getting used to, but in the end I think you'll find that it's well worth it.

- False Prophet