an experiment

[calimac]

This is something of an experiment: I am posting this using a web browser, but without a mouse. It is possible, though a bit awkward, to navigate around Firefox without a mouse. As I've always believed that the computer mouse is like the hammer in the old proverb - "If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail" - and has been applied in many places where it was not the most appropriate tool for the job, this confirms my suspicions.

My problems began when I found that my trackball device - which I much prefer to a standard mouse or a touchpad - was rolling sluggishly due to accumulated gunk. So I detached it to clean it out. Big mistake, apparently. After I re-attached it, the pointer started rolling across the screen without the trackball moving. Then I found that my web browser was starting to issue page-back commands without my touching anything. How the trackball was responsible for this, I have no idea, but when I detached it again, it stopped. I shall have to buy a new one, it seems.

Comments

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

There may be some fluff in there that is causing a switch to stick. It might be possible to blow it out with a can of air. And if you don't have a can of air, I'd be happy to give or lend you one. They tend to come in 3-packs.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I have a can, thanks. What should I be blowing it at, the inner workings of the trackball? I just washed it!

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Lisa very much likes being able to use programs that don't require the use of a mouse. When she gets hold of a program that cannot work without a mouse*, like she did tonight, she gets very cross indeed.

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*You couldn't quit the program without a mouse because there was no way to select the "Yes, I want to quit" button using the keyboard.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

What I like are the "hot-key" programs that flourished immediately before the advent of the Mac, like WordStar 3 and Paradox 1. They are now so forgotten that there are people who apparently think that the only alternative to GUI is Unix-style command lines. Their thinking is so far inside the box that they don't even know there is an outside.

[pyffe.livejournal.com]

I despise the mouse. I learned Word Processing back before they were all the rage, so keyboard shortcuts are what I prefer. But there are some tasks that are just easier with the mouse. If I have to take my hand off the keyboard to put it on the mouse, my speed decreases significantly!