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IBM Model 10K3849 Keyboard and 3 Button Optical Mouse |
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The Mouse and Conclusion.
In my long quest for the perfect input device, I have also spent a long time shopping for a good mouse.
I have gone against my usual preference of buying a non-Microsoft product whenever I can help it and have been using MS mice for years. MS used to make a nice mouse encased in shiny white plastic which you can see in the image below. Before I upgraded to this mouse, I was using the ball version which looked exactly the same. Personally, I think current MS mice look silly with the redundant red LED that shines out the bottom. However, mine was an early generation product and does not track as well as a current optical mouse.
The IBM mouse is roughly the same size as an old MS Intellieye mouse.
I then started using the cordless mouse which came with the Logitech combo mentioned above. I was very taken aback when I started using it – very simply, that mouse tracks extremely poorly. Part of my surprise was that this characteristic was rarely mentioned on any internet review website. Even Dan, who can sometimes be quite critical, does not mention it. Some reviews, like this one, even praise the mouse for the accuracy of its tracking. HWExtreme gave it 5 stars. At least GamePC mention that the mouse does not track too well. I was starting to wonder if I got a dud unit, but by this time I had already decided to get rid of it. The ergonomics of the mouse did not quite agree with me either – I found it too heavy, and the slant of the buttons made it uncomfortable for me to right-click.
The polite and impolite sides of the IBM mouse.
In contrast to the keyboard, I was very impressed when I took the IBM mouse out of its box. This is a “normal” 2 button mouse with a scroll joystick. A third mouse button (equivalent to clicking the scroll wheel in an MS or Logitech mouse) sits in between the two main buttons. The mouse is made in two halves – the upper half has a nice matt texture, and the bottom half is rubberised plastic. Again, it feels expensive! And it was, at $109 from IBM until they dropped the price to $59 two weeks after I bought it (grrr).
It is also very nice to use. In contrast to my early generation MS optical mouse and the disappointing Logitech cordless mouse, it tracks beautifully. The scroll joystick lights up blue and is pressure sensitive. It works just like a scrollpoint device on an IBM laptop. If you want to scroll slowly, you apply less pressure, scroll faster by applying more pressure. You can also scroll in four directions. It works for most applications too. It made me wonder why all mice do not have a similar scroll "joystick".
Incidentally I bought an Everglide optical mouse pad after reading Wolfy’s review of it here on OCAU. I bought a Giganta for myself and a normal sized pad for my cousin. It really does improve the tracking of your optical mouse – you should try it. Wolfy also made a comment that the rubber feet on the Everglide were improperly applied – I had the same problem with my mousepad. Not a big deal but it does rock from side to side a little.
I was quite surprised by how big the Giganta is – as you can see from the pictures, it is big enough to use two mice on it at the same time! The normal one should be big enough for most people.
Conclusion.
Overall, this keyboard and mouse does not seem to be as well built as the IBM units of the old, although it does seem to be of higher quality than most of what you can buy in the market these days. It is lacking in any other special features and gimmicks which may make it seem to be poorly specified, but I do not mind that. It does cost a lot of money to buy from IBM's website - especially when the $25 shipping cost is factored in. In the end, this may make it too expensive to compete with the Microsoft and Logitech opposition.
And finally, I end with the obligatory dog pic …
Woof! Woof!
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