Linux Getting Two-Line Patch To Finally Deal With The Quirky Microsoft OEM Mouse

[Vistaus]

I wish they'd bring back the Optical trackball, best mouse I've ever owned and still using it now after a few microswitch replacements, must be about 18 years old now. Don't know what I'll do when it finally dies.

I never saw the point if optical trackballs. What exactly would you say are its greatest advantages?

[Tomin]

I wish they'd bring back the Optical trackball, best mouse I've ever owned and still using it now after a few microswitch replacements, must be about 18 years old now. Don't know what I'll do when it finally dies.

Is it better than M570 that I have?

[M@GOid]

The last mouses from MS I had contact with were not durable at all. And they also managed to use a not so common Torx (4 or 5?) screw below so you can't easily disassemble it for cleaning/repair. Thank God they were not mine.

Logitech ones also are not so resilient as they used to be, but mine (M510) at last used a standard Philips screw so the switch repairs I had to do were easy.

[starshipeleven]

I never saw the point if optical trackballs. What exactly would you say are its greatest advantages?

I like them.
They also require less desk space.

[STiAT]

Oh, I got that one of my company. Safely resides in the drawer of my desk for quite a while now :-).

[edwaleni]

I wish they'd bring back the Optical trackball, best mouse I've ever owned and still using it now after a few microswitch replacements, must be about 18 years old now. Don't know what I'll do when it finally dies.

MSFT, Kensington and Logitech still sell these.

Not sure you wanna pay what they want. MSFT wants $200+ on Amazon.

I bought a few Kensington's years ago since my spouse loves them and I was afraid they would disappear. They are still around, just expensive.

Anyone who wouldn't use a particular tool because it has some silly name on it like MSFT, probably has more issues with themselves.

Who goes to build a house and refuses to hammer nails because it doesn't say Craftsman on the hammer?\

If I reach the supplier for Microsoft and ask them for several hundreds of thousands of the exact same thing but put a penguin on it instead of MSFT, would you not use it?

[boltronics]

I wish they'd bring back the Optical trackball, best mouse I've ever owned and still using it now after a few microswitch replacements, must be about 18 years old now. Don't know what I'll do when it finally dies.

Oh man, I love that mouse. I still have mine in a draw (I can't bring myself to throw it out) but unfortunately it has died. I've been forced to move to more traditional mice since nobody has ever made anything directly comparable.

[boltronics]

To be exact, I had this one in white:

[rene]

Unless root has a set password, which isn't the case for Ubuntu.

Oh wait, we also have the init=/bin/sh security hole... (unless the bootloader is locked)

No, but full disk encrypted, so they would 1st need to break the full disk encryption to init=/bin/shell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MELYA68qQyo

[Slartifartblast]

Is it better than M570 that I have?

I also own the M570 but your hand doesn't sit quite as naturally on it and you can't use both the finger and thumb to operate the track ball, don't get me the wrong the M570 isn't a bad mouse it's just the MS TB is a very good one, perhaps if I had smaller the hands then perhaps I may prefer the M570 but it just feels a bit small and more awkward.