Microsoft Trackball Explorer
© 2000 Microsoft Corp.
What first struck us about this USB trackball was the eerie glowing red light surrounding the ball, contrasted against the metallic silver finish. Once you get past the sharp looks you'll find a well designed, easy to use alternative to the regular mouse. The Trackball Explorer features five customizable buttons which can be set to perform just about any action you'd like. It is intended to be used with an Internet browser, and two of its buttons are set to Forward and Backward by default. The other two buttons serve as left- and right-click, and a wheel provides scrolling options in many popular programs. The device itself has an ergonomically appealing design, although sometimes the buttons are accidentally pressed. The ball rolls very smoothly, as does the cursor on screen. Although we have no major complaints about this product, its usefulness eludes us. Unless you're accustomed to a trackball already, it will take some time to learn to move it fluidly. Keeping in mind this learning curve, we see no real advantage to it over a regular mouse.
$74.95, Win
Teaches: mouse peripheral