silverorange stuff

If you're considering getting the Microsoft Laser Mouse 8000, I have one word of advice for you: don't. Get this mouse instead.

The Logitech VX is the small cousin of the über-fancy MX Revolution. I chose the VX for its portability and the simplicity compared to the MX's two scroll wheels and other gadgetry.

Size

While advertised as a notebook mouse, the VX isn't as small as other mice that share the cartegorization. For me, this works in its favor as I don't have to pinch it in my fingers to hold it. While you can't exactly palm it, like you might with larger shaped mice like the MX, it fits comfortably in your hand with your fingertips providing the most grip. The shaped underside makes it very comfortable for right-handers and the heft is just about right for me — not too light but not tiring to push around.

Simplicity

This isn't the simplest mouse on the market, but the extra gizmos are well considered and are generally either useful or unobtrusive.

The scroll wheel is extremely well designed. You can easily toggle between a ratcheted mode and smooth rolling. I prefer the ratcheted myself. The scroll wheel also apparently tilts for sideways activity. It's not exactly an activity I want to do very often (if at all) but I've never accidently triggered it. There are also several buttons placed on the mouse. The scroll wheel acts as a button, there's a 'magnify' button on the top behind the wheel, there's a 'zoom' toggle at the front, and there's a back/forward toggle nearer the back. I use the maginify button in Photoshop and occassionally use the back/forward buttons. All are well-placed and are unobtrusive when you don't want them.

The VX and MX are not Bluetooth mice, so you're going to need to have a dongle plugged into your USB port. It's kind of annoying to have a nice simple laptop with a black thing sticking out the side. However, to Logitech's credit, they've kept it small and there's a super handy slot in the back of the mouse to keep the two tethered when you're taking the mouse somewhere. The mouse even powers down when the dongle is inserted into it, since it correctly assumes you're not using it. Nice.

Accuracy

The new laser technology that does the tracking on these mice is phenomenal. There is no delay and there is pinpoint accuracy.

Power and Charging

Unfortunately, the mouse doesn't come with a charging dock, which I believe comes with the MX. It simply takes a single AA battery. I've stocked a few in my desk, so I'm probably OK.

Software

The software for the VX allows you to easily configure the buttons on the mouse to do just about anything. I've played with using the 'magnify' button to trigger Expose, which is really handy, for instance. You can even do custom activities for specific applications. However, one annoying aspect to the configuration is that you can't tell each application to use a default you've set in the main configuration. As far as I can determine, you need to set your scrolling speed, for instance, for each application. I'd like to be able to set that to one thing and, unless I specify it otherwise, use that default in all applications. One small glitch in otherwise handy and intuitive software.

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