Hacker News Reader

Comment by jnellis | Hacker News Reader

Some of us have been waiting for this trackball. Not just any trackball, this particular and exacting design of trackball. Twenty years ago Microsoft came out with a $35 trackball called the Microsoft Trackball Explorer. The single most awesome input device ever designed. Then for some reason they stopped selling them. The price for used ones and lost inventory has been increasing ever since. Just check out the amazon page for it. Read some of the reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-D68-00007-Trackball-Explore...

Over those twenty years I've acquired three of them for parts. Two of the people I've gotten them from asked to buy them back once they spent time without them. The design is simply that amazing and to think it came from Microsoft and was originally $35, often a combo buy with their 'web' keyboard. So it will be interesting to see how much this reverse engineered version will feel like the original.

View on HN

These and the Ploopy are right-hand use only, which seems unfortunate. I use trackballs with my left hand (I am right handed, but on the left is much closer to the letter keys, and my right hand joints are worse).

I currently use a Kensington Expert Mouse (well, three of them!), which despite the name is a trackball. It has a great ambidextrous design, and a scroll ring that's really easy to use (you can use thumb and finger to walk it around, or go round and round without lifting your finger). That Microsoft/Ploopy scroll wheel would destroy my thumb in no time.

I previously used several (cheaper) Logitech TrackMan Marbles, which have a smaller ball, but their main problem is the lack of scrollwheel/ring.

Cheap trick: keyboards without numeric keypad.

Also die hard Kensington Expert Mouse user, it sits immediately right of my Return key, drastically reducing motion needed to use.

// For those reading along, if you haven’t used this device, it’s amazing for accurate work on dual 4K screens. The trackball is the size and weight of a billiards ball, so you can “fling” the cursor with physical momentum, yet due to its diameter, position with sub pixel accuracy.

This is my current setup (Expert Mouse + numpad(-) keyboard). However, it was kind of hard to find a good keyboard without the numpad. Lucky for me, I'm one of those people who kind of likes the Mac wireless keyboards, so that's what I've got going now. (I also had a similar cheap wired chicklet keyboard, but the 'a' stopped working reliably).

What keyboard did you settle on?

Kinesis Freestyle Pro:

https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle-pro/

Goldtouch:

https://www.goldtouch.com/ergonomic-keyboards/

> Logitech TrackMan Marbles, which have a smaller ball, but their main problem is the lack of scrollwheel/ring.

In X11 you can use an EmulateScrollWheel option by holding the little button with your thumb. I cannot for the life of me figure out why this isn’t the default or even an option in the Mac / Windows drivers. I LOVE the Logitech Marble Mouse, but only with this option.

Curious what makes this design amazing compared to the alternative offerings shown in your link, which look quite similar and are much cheaper.

Have you tried a logitech Trackman Marble?

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/trackman-marble-busin...

I use one all the time with a utility that maps one of the little buttons to turn on mouse wheel emulation.

What OS? I do this in Linux and X11, but was unable to figure out Wayland. Also, macOS was no joy for me.

I'm no Mac using a hammerspoon script.

https://gist.github.com/arlaneenalra/a3ea9cf2d3a57397bda14a7...

https://www.hammerspoon.org/

I just switched to a trackball last week and spent a lot of time looking into these; the Microsoft one came up a LOT, but so did a cheap one from Elecom called the Huge.

I ended up getting the Huge (since I live in Japan and it's easy to get here) and I'm liking it a lot. I'm wondering if it hits the same buttons that you like with the Microsoft one.

I've had that in my wishlist for a couple years now but haven't bought it since my MTE hasn't broken again since my last rebuild. The key difference between all other trackballs on the market is that they are all thumb controlled on the ball. The Elecom is an index finger ball like the MTE, and if you read the reviews has a lot of MTE converts. I've probably bought every trackball style and keep going back. Kensington Expert Mouse was a good contender years ago but their quality dropped sharply once they got semi-popular in the late 2000's. Logitech trackballs are pretty much all garbage.

Also on my to-try list is a rollermouse. https://www.contourdesign.com/product/rollermouse-red/

I've only been using the Huge for a week or so and I'm really loving it. The padding and size are just right for my (admittedly small) hands, but the best part of all is that there are TONS of buttons, which can all be re-aliased.

The only down sides I've run into so far are:

1. It's a bit clicky

2. The wheel being thumb-driven is a bit awkward for me

The utility I'm using (SteerMouse) sadly doesn't seem to properly support chording for using the trackball for scrolling, but I've contacted the dev about that and if he can get it working, then I'll be 100% happy with this.

If you can find a Huge at a decent price (they're ~$37 USD here in Japan), I'd highly recommend giving it a shot. The Ploopy seems like a far worse deal in comparison to me (though I don't have the nostalgia connection) at $200 CAD.

Have a link to where you can get the Huge for ~$37 USD? I checked out a few places, but it was generally around 5000 JPY w/ tax.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B079FBN9VQ

Edit: And here it is for 800 yen cheaper, but no free shipping through prime so you pay 700 yen for shipping: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0735584RM

ah thanks! didn't think to check Amazon. I don't have JP prime anyway so that's perfect.

Why is it surprising that Microsoft did it? They had produced some of the best keyboard and mice back in 90's.

The same for the classic Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical. Best mouse ever but they just don't make it anymore. They did resurrect the IntelliMouse briefly recently due to demand, but it has stupid extra side buttons and isn't symmetric. :/

I was always a fan of the humble Microsoft Intellimouse Trackball, mechanical though it was. It's the only finger-trackball I've ever seen which dedicates the ring finger to scrolling, which works very well in practice.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com