Nine?!

[kareina]

clovis_t needed a new mouse--his right mouse button didn't work any more. He told me that he didn't just want to get a cheap one, so I gave him permission to look for something better than bottom-of-the-line. After all, I insist on a pen/drawing tablet instead of a mouse, so I understand being fussy about how one communicates with one's computer. But, I do have to wonder, does a mouse really need NINE buttons? Sure, I like having a pen with two buttons--one for "double click", and one for "right mouse". But Nine?! Isn't that a bit excessive?

Comments

[thisfox.livejournal.com]

Um. Five fingers, counting the thumb. So if they're dealt out equally, each finger gets two buttons each. Which finger only gets one button? Thumb? Fifth finger? Or is one finger a glutton and get three buttons to itself?

It does actually make sense to have several buttons on a mouse, makes you have to use the keyboard less, which means less transitional work.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

I asked, and he reports that the fingers do not share equally, the index finger gets four of them all to itself, the middle finger three of them, and the thumb gets the final two. He also points out that two of the buttons (belonging to the index finger) just adjust the sensitivity of the mouse, so are not used terribly often once you've got them set correctly.

[emma7926.livejournal.com]

Wow. I can't even imagine nine buttons on a mouse! (I also have very small hands, so wouldn't be able to use one that "advanced", simply because it wouldn't fit my hand. Nine??!!!??)

[kareina.livejournal.com]

It isn't really any bigger than normal, and, indeed, he says that is it noticably smaller than the last one he had. There is a picture of it here. However, it does look like left handed folk are out of luck if they don't want to learn to push buttons with their smallest finger...