Don'd Understimate the Capability of the Lowly Mouse Pad to Mess with You

[Steve R.]

My cursor was acting weirdly. I went through all the steps of switching the USB mouse from one computer to another, inserting the USB mouse into different USB slots, and finally buying a new USB mouse. Nothing seemed to help. I essentially gave-up, attributing it to an unknown hardware issue.

Anyway, the other day I noticed that the mouse behaved "correctly" when off the mouse pad. Eureka. New mouse pad. Now no problem. I suspect that over time the mouse pad must have picked up some dirt that changed the pad's reflectivity thereby confusing the mouse. Sometimes our "high tech" issues are resolved by something "low tech" simple.

 

[Gasman]

I never use a mouse mat with laser mice unless the surface is glass, and I haven't used a ball mouse in years.
However I have found you still need to clean the feet of the mouse, else it will respond erratically.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

There is a religious joke in there somewhere regarding the washing of (mouse) feet but it's too late in the day for me to want to pursue it.

 

[Frothingslosh]

It's been my experienced that enough hours of use by a laser mouse makes the used portion of the mouse pad take on a glossy look that messes with its precision. That said, it still beats needing to wash your mouse ball and clean gunk off the rollers every few days.

As to the pads, I use a Logitech G-502 at home, so I don't HAVE pads to clean off, per se. There are three very large contact surfaces, instead, and they're solid plastic, so dirt really doesn't stick to them.

I DO have to replace my mouse pad every year or two, however.

 

[Gasman]

I once went for an iterview for a job in a local school as a IT technician.
In the interview, the interviewer showed me a ball mouse and asked me 'how would you stop someone stealing the ball?'. I was a little nonplussed at the question, but said 'Superglue the ring?'. Exactly, he said and gave me the job.

To clean the mice we dismantled them and I must admit it made it easier to clean than from the bottom.
We also used p-clamps on the leads to make sure the keyboard and mouse stayed with the computer.
We also superglued the voltage switch to stop the pupils switching to 110V when we use 220V in the UK.

 

[AccessBlaster]

'how would you stop someone stealing the ball?'.

Answer: You don't, you buy a new one. At least in the US.

 

[Steve R.]

It's been my experienced that enough hours of use by a laser mouse makes the used portion of the mouse pad take on a glossy look that messes with its precision. ...

I DO have to replace my mouse pad every year or two, however.

I had never considered that (new) mouse pads have somewhat rough texture and that overtime the movement of the mouse pad feet would eventually polish the pad's surface. Eventually negatively affecting the pad's reflectivity and resulting in the erratic behavior of the cursor. Replacing the mouse pad will now be one of the first steps in resolving erratic cursor problems.

 

[Vassago]

I never considered that anyone would just steal a mouse ball.

Glossy tables are a pain for laser mice. I worked for a company that had brand new glossy desks... they didn't expect to have to buy mouse pads.

 

[isladogs]

I never considered that anyone would just steal a mouse ball.

It was a very widespread issue in several schools I taught in.
Kids stole them as petty vandalism for fun and on several occasions completely wrecked IT lessons by doing so.
We also superglued the retaining ring to overcome this.
The advent of optical mice made the need to that a welcome thing of the past

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Removing mouse balls is one way to assure they won't reproduce?

(This IS the watercooler, after all...)

 

[isladogs]

I suppose putting balls into holes is also a good way of preventing procreation

 

[Gasman]

I never considered that anyone would just steal a mouse ball.

Glossy tables are a pain for laser mice. I worked for a company that had brand new glossy desks... they didn't expect to have to buy mouse pads.

They would steal the mouse if it was not checked at the end of the lesson.
Even after superglueing the ring, they would break that off and steal the ball, just as Colin stated as an act of vandalism. It was quite a tough school. It is not as if they needed a mouse at home, but I installed P clamps on the keyboard and mouse leads to the base unit, so if you wanted the mouse or keyboard, you had to cut the lead and hence no good to anyone.

The headmaster had a procedure in place whereby at the end of every lesson, the pupil had to turn the mouse over to show the ball was present and then leave the classroom, observed by the teacher. Some of the younger trendier teachers thought this was demeaning to pupils, and did not enforce this very much, hence when the next class entered (rooms were locked in between classes, if not an immediate change), some pupils could not do their work easily as the mouse ball had been removed.

The school had 6 new computers for teachers and some pupils found out that if you put the dual voltage switch to 110V, the power supply would blow. We lost two power supplies, before we superglued those.

Why they bought dual voltage computers, no one knew.:banghead:

 

[Frothingslosh]

Why they bought dual voltage computers, no one knew.:banghead:

My first guess would be that whoever bought them got slipped an extra hundred or so.

 

[Insane_ai]

Why they bought dual voltage computers, no one knew.:banghead:

Pretty much every PSU I've seen on a desktop has the voltage switch. It's easier to put the switch in the PSU than it is to worry about which market it will be used in.