Chris's Wiki :: blog/tech/MouseFear

My secret mouse fear

April 16, 2008

One of my little computer terrors is that someday I won't be able to find good quality plain three button mice any more, because everyone will have stopped making them. In fact it may already be too late to get decent USB three button mice, which worries me; although I have a stash of PS/2 ones, I may someday have to migrate to a USB-only machine.

(Searching the web is basically no help in finding out, and since I have a reasonably large stash of suitable PS/2 mice I haven't had to go out into the computer store wilds to find out.)

What I would really like is something that I am not sure is even made: a mouse with three regular buttons on top and then a scroll wheel somewhere on the side. This would handily deal with my major objection to the scroll wheel, that it gets in the way of easy and fluid use of the middle mouse button.

Comments on this page:

From 194.8.197.204 at 2008-04-17 02:19:44:

I have a Logitech MX 300. It’s not exactly what you are asking for – but see the little extra button at the top? It’s much easier to click than the wheel, and without the expenditure of effort to make it not so, it acts as button 3 in X.org, which suits me perfectly well. Maybe it works for you too.

I really like the mouse overall: bog-standard design (so no superfluous buttons and reasonable size), modestly ratchety wheel, really good optical sensor, inexpensive. Couldn’t be happier.

—Aristotle Pagaltzis

From 144.32.126.12 at 2008-04-19 10:14:54:

I had a similar annoyance and solved it by stumbling over a cheap Mikomi mouse which has a (1cm) wide, convex scroll wheel. As a middle button it's something of a half-way house between the standard wheelmouse and what you're asking for, but it's a compromise I'm very happy with.

Unfortunately, now you mention it I can no longer find it. It came from Argos (UK), and claims to be a "Model BW-23".

From 203.206.64.101 at 2010-04-05 01:31:02:

The Contour Mouse is what you want, albeit for $100.

James

Written on 16 April 2008.

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