Tag: trackball

Simplified hand-switching for pointing devices

What is the problem?

Work needs to be done to make it easier for left-handed and right-handed users to use the same computer

Work needs to be done to make it easier for left-handed and right-handed users to use the same computer

A feature that I notice is sorely missing from Windows is the ability to switch between left-handed and right-hand use of the mouse without having to go to the Control Panel and select the Mouse option there.

It would be OK for a person who has a normal hand to “switch” the computer to work to their hand using this method, but would be difficult in some circumstances.

One of these circumstances would be where a computer is shared amongst multiple users with one of the users being left-handed and others being right-handed. Examples of these include workplace, school or public-access computers or computers shared amongst members of a household including houseguests such as the common “his ‘n’ hers” setup.

Windows mouse control panel

Mouse Control Panel dialog – Windows 7

Another circumstance is where a user has to switch between left-handed and right-handed operation as part of a physiotherapy requirement for their hands or simply to keep their hands supple. It is something that is becoming common with older people who want to stay active with their hands.

But having to head to the Control Panel or similar preference settings in your operating system each time you have to do this can bewilder people who don’t have much confidence with technology.

There are ways that Apple, Microsoft and the open-source community could facilitate this.

What are the possible solutions?

Hot-key selection

One would be to use something like a hot-key combination or a simultaneous-mouse-button combination to switch between the operating modes. This could be an option that one could enable in the preferences settings for the pointing devices.

Having this feature would earn its keep with shared computers, workplace computers and public-access computers because users only need to press a certain key combination or operate the mouse buttons in a certain way to “switch hands”. It would also earn its keep with users who find navigating dialog boxes very bewildering and intimidating.

Maurice Tejado wrote an “add-on” utility for Windows (available through CNET Download.com) that allows you to “switch hands” using a hot-key routine.

Set preferences on a pointing-device basis

Another way that could work even better would be to set the operating mode for different pointing devices. Here, you could have two mice connected with one sitting on the left hand side of the keyboard and one on the right hand side. Or you could resolve to use your laptop’s integrated trackpad as a “left-hand” device and a Bluetooth mouse as a “right-hand” device or vice versa. Here, you could set one device to be left-handed while another device is right-handed.

Some laptops like some of the Toshiba / Dynabook business-laptop range and a significant number of Lenovo ThinkPads implement two pointing devices. One is in the form of the thumbstick mounted on the keyboard while the other is the trackpad below the keyboard. In these cases, there is a separate set of “select” buttons for each of these pointing devices. Here, having pointing-device-specific hand-selection as outlined here would come in to its own with these computers so you could have the thumbstick set for right-hand use and the trackpad for left-hand use.

This function is supported by some desktop Linux distributions but isn’t supported on Windows or Mac OS X. But there is a third-party free utility that can support this in the form of EitherMouse which supports multiple pointing devices in use at the same time with different settings.  This can cater also for users who are slow with trackballs and trackpads but quick with mice.

How can this be done better?

Having to use add-on programs to achieve this goal can become awkward, especially when it comes to computer performance and stability and operating systems could go better by baking this kind of functionality in to their pointing-device code.

As well, some computer users and IT departments don’t have confidence in the use of add-on programs because of the fact that these programs can be poorly written or can contain questionable code that can jeopardise computer stability and security. This is more so with those of us who had passed through the “bulletin-board” / “download-site” / “CD-ROM” era of computing where there was a lot of poor-quality software for download.

Rather, operating system developers could write this functionality in to a subsequent version of their products to answer these needs more effectively and especially cater towards older users who are still using today’s technology.

Updated to cover experience with Lenovo ThinkPad and Toshiba laptops that are equipped with two pointing devices. This includes the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook (2015) and the Toshiba Tecra R950 (2012) that are suitably equipped.

Choosing the right input device for your laptop

Some of you may want to decide whether you want to use a laptop’s integrated trackpad or thumbstick as your pointing device on that computer. On the other hand, you may want to use an external mouse or trackball as your pointing device “on the go”.

Each device has its own application

Laptop trackpad

The laptop trackpad which is good if you are on the couch or in an airline seat

I would find that the external mouse can do the job better if you are frequently using your laptop computer on a table or desktop. This is more so if you are doing advanced graphics work and you find that these devices are easier to manipulate for this work and you have the benefit of the larger table or desk surface as your working area. Some of the external mice are available in a very small size so you can stow them in your laptop bag without them taking up too much room.

The regular mouse which works well at a table or desk.

The trackpad or other integrated pointing device can become more handy when you are in a lounge area or are travelling in a plane or train because you don’t have to worry about the extra mouse or trackball in these circumstances. As well, you don’t necessarily have the room to move a mouse around if you are confined to an armchair or sofa. In the case of working in a lounge area like the hotel lounge or someone’s lounge-room, you may get away with moving your mouse around the coffee table if the computer is on that table or on a thick armrest if the computer is on your knee.

You may find that the large ottoman like this one at QT Melbourne may work well with your mouse in controlling this Dell XPS 13 Kaby Lake edition laptop

It is also worth knowing that you may have trouble using your optical mouse on a glass table due to there not being any reflection or texture that the mouse can work with. You can work around this problem by placing a tablemat, napkin or piece of paper on the table and moving the mouse on that surface. This may not be of concern if you use one of those wooden dining tables that is finished off with a glass top.

A laser mouse which uses a laser as its tracking light is more flexible with different surfaces like glass tables than the regular optical mouse. There are newer technologies like Logitech’s Darkfield technology that are even more adaptive with glass tables whether they be the wooden table with the glass top or a desk or coffee table that just has a glass top.

What kind of connection

Wireless mouse dongle

The typical easy-to-lose dongle that comes with most wireless mice

When you choose an external mouse for use with your laptop, you could go for a USB-connected wired mouse or a wireless mouse. If you do go for a wireless mouse, I would recommend that you look for a Bluetooth or WiFi-Direct mouse like the Logitech Bluetooth Mouse M555b rather than the common type that come with a receiver dongle so you don’t need to carry around an extra dongle that you could easily lose.

This is due to the mouse using the laptop’s integrated Bluetooth or Wi-Fi circuitry as the connection path rather than something that is as big as a key and at risk of being lost.

Driver software

Most mice and other input devices don’t need to use any user-installed software for them to work with the host computer. Here, they just use class drivers that are integrated in to Windows, MacOS X or Linux for their basic functionality. Some of them may use a manufacturer-supplied driver for touch functionality or other advanced functions.

Batteries for your wireless mouse

Most of these wireless mice work on AA or AAA batteries so it is easier to get your hands on a set of the batteries for your mouse. You could just pick up a set of them from a drugstore or supermarket or ask Front Desk or Housekeeping for a set of these batteries if you stay in most hotels.

If you are using a wireless mouse, it may be worth running it on lithium batteries rather than the regular alkaline batteries. These allow the mouse to perform at its best at all times that you use it because they are adept at handling short bursts of short power demand. Similarly if you use it with a laptop that you only use during travelling, the lithium batteries have a longer shelf life.

Rechargeable batteries can come in to their own if you use the mouse very frequently such as with a main computer. Some of these can simply be charged on an overnight basis if you are using them daily. The chargers can be ran from AC power directly or there are some that run from a USB socket which would be handy if you have a laptop that uses a “sleep-and-charge” USB port or you use USB power supplies. Some newer wireless mice even have their own fixed-in batteries and are charged by connecting them to the host computer’s USB ports or a USB-based power supply.

All wireless mice will have an on-off switch on them. Here, you use this switch to turn off your mouse when you pack it in your bag for travel so you don’t find that the battery has run down. You will also find that if you haven’t used your mouse for some time, it will “go to sleep” to save battery runtime and will come alive when you press one of its selection buttons.

Conclusion

Once you choose and use the right input device for your laptop, you are then able to gain better use of the computer for the situation that you are using it in.

Additions – November 2020

Further details on Logitech’s Darkfield technology from further personal research, along with further usage notes regarding wireless mice.