Kensington Orbit Mouse - Wired Ergonomic TrackBall Mouse for PC, Mac and Windows with Scroll Ring, Ambidextrous Design and Optical Tracking - Blue (K72337EU)

I am a programmer, and spend a lot of time in front of computers: I generally use a computer for 7 hours each day at work, and also use one a lot in the evenings at home too. For the past few years I have been experiencing muscle twitches and spasms in my arms and hands, especially in periods where I have spent extra time on the computer.A while back I decided to buy a trackball, and bought a Logitech thumb trackball. I really liked it, but after a while some of the buttons stopped working properly, and I also found it difficult to move the ball forwards and backwards with the same speed and accuracy as I could move it side to side.A few months ago, I bought one of these trackballs to use at work, and I absolutely love it! I find it so much easier to use than the thumb trackball, and I find it easy to use with my left and right hand, which means that I can switch hands when I get twitches or pains.A week after buying this I bought another one to use at home so now I own 2!A lot of people have complained about the scroll wheel feeling cheap and scratchy, and I even read somewhere that it feels like it has sand inside it! This is definitely true when you first buy the unit, and it still does feel like that to some extent, but the action of the scroll wheel gets better and better as you use it and feels much more fluid.I have used this trackball with both Linux (Ubuntu) and Max OSX and it works fine with both of them. The (unofficial) Ubuntu driver is brilliant, as I can set one of the buttons to be a scroll button. If I tap it, I have set it to navigate backwards, but if I hold it down then the main ball works like a scroll wheel which is really smooth. Unfortunately you can't do this with the Mac driver and I don't know if this is possible on Windows.Overall this is the best 'mouse' I have ever owned for general usage (I have a regular mouse for gaming still), and takes up a lot less space on my desk than a regular mouse as I don't have to move it around. I don't think this has cured my RSI on its own, but it definitely helps as I can switch back and forth between this, my thumb trackball and a normal mouse depending on the state of my hands. I 100% prefer this to a thumb trackball.Edit: 5 Years later this thing is still going perfectly. The mouse wheel is smooth, I get less weird muscle twitches in my thumb and it's a joy to use. I definitely recommend this.

I've been suffering from mouse-related elbow tendonitis since late last year, so I have been through various pointing devices trying to find one that will not keep damaging the tendons. Finally, with this trackball, I have found a solution ... not just in helping with the tendonitis, but also in feeling easy and natural to use.As a hardened mouse user, I was initially wedded to the idea that I needed to find a better mouse. So I tried various "ergonomic" alternatives, but I realised that my problem came from the left-right pivoting of the elbow, and not from the angle of my wrist or the stress of pressing the buttons. In fact the "ergonomic" mice I tried made things worse, since being wireless they added the weight of a battery to the mass I was pushing around. One or two small batteries doesn't sound like much, but it's all extra load on a problem joint/tendon.Next, I went for a Logitech M570 trackball. I found steering with my thumb clunky, and the trackball was not pixel-accurate; it jerks by several pixels when you move it, rather than rolling smoothly. Cleaning and lubricating helps but does not completely solve the jerkiness (in fairness it's fine for general desktop use, just not for pixel-perfect control). The final drawback is that the M570 is right-handed device; I used it for a period with my left hand in order to allow time for my right elbow to heal, but it's not designed for this at all.I also tried a Wacom tablet, but again moving the stylus put stress (if less than with a mouse) on the damaged elbow.Then a few weeks ago, I happened to see one of the large Kensington trackballs (it was in a producer's intro to the Battlestar Galactica box set; he was sitting in front of an editing system with a Kensington Expert trackball front and centre). As soon as I saw it, I instinctively felt it was the kind of thing I needed. I searched for "Trackball with large ball" and soon identified it as a Kensington device; a SlimBlade soon arrived and now, a few weeks later, my elbow is not troubling me at all and I'm as comfortable using this, as I used to be with a mouse. The large ball has a definite feel of "heft", running smoothly and allowing pixel-perfect placement. So for me it has been worth every penny, even allowing for the rather high price. I have spent more than that price on trying other solutions that didn't work for me.The initially-released software was rightly criticised but the latest version is fine, allowing each button to be programmed with a different function, as well as being able to detect when the top pair or bottom pair of buttons are pressed simultaneously, giving six functions overall. The "twist ball to scroll" feature feels completely natural, and is the main feature that sets the SlimBlade apart from the slightly cheaper Expert. But I'm sure that an Expert with its physical scroll ring would do just as well, and it offers the benefit of coming with a wrist rest ... however I don't personally feel that the SlimBlade needs a wrist rest because of the way it slopes gently down to the desk -- and it would be easy enough to improvise or purchase one if needed.-----Updates following a few more weeks of use:LUBRICATION: lanolin is apparently what Kensington uses for lubrication at manufacture, and is thus perfect for re-lubricating the ball if necessary. I just moisturised my fingertips with a tiny amount of solid, 100% pure anhydrous lanolin, and then used the ball for a few seconds, and a day later it is still gliding like new.GAMING: I got around to playing a first-person shooter with the trackball, and am happy to report that it works for me just as well as a mouse. Equivalent control, but no more running out of mouse-pad! The only disadvantage is that your index finger is naturally used to steer the ball, so you may need to map a different control to fire weapons etc. But overall, FPS gaming is at least as enjoyable for me with this, as it was with a mouse.

I really like trackballs because I hate moving the mouse around on a small pad. This trackball looks really cool on my desk and works well. The ball glides real smooth and my hand lays on it real comfortably.

I just got this trackball, first time using a trackball ever, i was delighted by how well this one works. the included wrist rest is really helpful especially for my hnda when on a hard surface, the ball rolls smoothly and with precision, the only slight thing is the scroll ring has a slight wobble to it, but it is not that bad, i am just very particular. but i do really like the scroll ring, i am able to operate the left click with my thumb and right click with my little finger. very easy to use and the optional kensingtonworks software is great, its not needed to use the trackball, but you can set so many options for the 2 programable buttons, the top 2 buttons are great, but you have to be very very precise about clicking both at once when using shortcuts, overall this was an amazing purchase, and i am impressed by the quality of kensington products

Amor ao primeiro toque. Aliviou bastante as dores nos meu pulso.

Mi papá necesitaba otro de estos ratones porque se acomodó con la forma y estilo, este es muy parecido al que tenía y aunque creo que los botones podrían estar en mejores posiciones le gustó.

Muito bom e prático, ponto negativo, não tem botão de rolagem de tela, mas no geral é bom e está aprovado.