The Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse: A Ball Less Mouse that Still Works

It must have been about a year ago that I was really getting into Yahoo! Gaming and playing other games on the computer. We had an older, standard mouse with the ball on the bottom and it would get dirty often from all the dust and pet hair. I was getting annoyed with it and wanted something different plus a new mouse pad that had a gel wrist padding with it. So my fiancé and I went to Best Buy to purchase a new mouse.

The first one I brought home was the mouse that you have seen with the ball on the side and that is how you control the arrow. Well after about three days of trying that I returned it because it was too odd and rather difficult for me. I did however keep my new mousepad that I fell in love with.

So when we returned to Best Buy I looked through the shelves of mouses with my fiancé to find something that was comfortable for me. I have very small hands and a lot of times I have found in the past that most mouses are uncomfortable because they are so long or wide. We ended up purchasing the Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse, which came in a red box and you see the mouse clearly.

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The Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse, The Description of the Instrument Itself

The mouse itself is almost 5 inches in length and nearly two inches at its’ widest width. It has a dark charcoal/black bottom to it with a matching color scroller in between the right click and the left click. The top of the mouse is an ivory color, nothing hip or trendy as far as the color goes, but that would be my last concern. The “click buttons” are each about 1 ½ inches in length and 1 ¼ inches in width, very easy to use. There is a red light on the back end of the mouse that lights up to let you know that it is working. On the bottom of the mouse there is a small red light in the center that lights up as well. Even though you don’t need to, I pull out a dog hair every now and then to make sure to keep it intact.

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The Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse, How it Works

Recently I changed desks and I was upset that my nice mouse pad could not fit next to my keyboard as it used to. My fiancé asked me if I really still needed that mouse pad anymore as I wasn’t doing as much gaming and more typing these days. I replied that it wasn’t a necessary. So he took the pad and threw it under the desk. Then he put the mouse on my desk and said “Voila!” Well I never realized apparently that this mouse works on any surface practically. He started goofing off to show me by putting the mouse on his arm and sliding it back and forth and sure enough it worked. The precision of the mouse wasn’t lost either when sitting on my desk or his arm, which I thought was pretty cool.

One of my favorite features on this mouse is that it has a scroller in the middle that you can control how slow or fast you want to read a page. You just press down on the middle scroller and either move it up or down and the direction of the mouse will follow as well as the speed on how quickly you are moving it. It is really convenient rather than clicking on all those arrows that I used to have to do when surfing the net.

Another feature that I enjoy is that the mouse is designed for either left or right hand so my fiancé and I can both use it and it is comfortable for both of us. I was actually surprised by that and the fact that with the difference in our hand sizes he was just as at ease with the mouse as I was. Just another plus as far as I am concerned when it comes to the Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse.

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Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse, The Requirements

The system requirements for Windows for this mouse are as follows :
Windows 98
Windows ME
Windows NT 4.0 with a service 6 pack or later version
Windows 2000
Windows XP

The System Requirements for Macs for this mouse are as follows:
Mac OS 8.6 or 9x
Mac OS 10.1 (excluding Mac OS 10.0)

It is compatible with a PS/2 or USB port but the USB port requires that you have Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

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Overall I am extremely pleased with the Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse. It has never failed me or my fiancé. Now that I know it works on all surfaces, I have found that even more beneficial and you don’t need a mouse pad. My wrist is still comfortable without that gel padding I was so used to.

I believe it came with a disk to load but all we did was plug it in to our port and it worked, no need to run the disk.

Microsoft has made another stride in the computer world with an optical mouse that is reliable, you can scroll at your own pace in any direction, does not need to be cleaned underneath, and it still remains accurate in all that it does. I am very happy with this purchase and it was only $19.95 at Best Buy but I have seen it for less since we bought ours! Give it a try and you might fall in love with it like I have.

However if you are a “gamer” you may not like this mouse if you have to move it quickly. On Pogo.Com there is a basketball games that I like but the mouse does not move quickly enough for the game to keep up with it for shooting through the hoops. So be aware of that if you play a lot of the internet games. On all my other games I haven’t had a problem, but those are at your own pace and not a timed session.

If you are interested in checking out all the mouses that Microsoft offers check out: www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouse/default.asp for everything else in the mouse department that Microsoft offers. As for me I am sticking with the not necessarily the fanciest in design but the best in my eyes, The Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical Mouse!

Until next time,
K Parsons
© 2003


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