New mouse day

[Starship Krupa]

I posted a while back about using my Logitech M705 Marathon Mouse with Cakewalk. It has two extra mouse features that I've really come to love: the scroll wheel can be switched to freewheel mode with the press of a button and it has 2 extra assignable buttons on the left side.

I have these assigned to Ctrl and Alt, which means that I can perform clip and note splits with one hand as well as drag copy and paste and wheel zoom. Those are actions that happen a lot at my house, so those buttons come in very....handy.

Issue though: with its 2 AA batteries, the thing is heavy, almost twice the weight of the standard little $10 Logis that run off a single AA. I had reason to swap one of mine in for the M705 and was struck by how much lighter and zippier it was. I've been doing a touch of gaming on the computer recently, and this really illustrated it. It's also kinda big, but that can mean better comfort if you lay the rear of your palm on it.

So I went in search of a lighter Logitech (it's Logitech for me) with the extra buttons and the speed scroll wheel. Didn't even have to be wireless. Turns out that the combo of features and weight that I want all came together in the Anywhere MX 2. They're up to Anywhere MX 3 now, and those are kinda outta my price comfort zone for mice, and the 2 is lighter. It's micro USB rechargeable, the only drawback being that the battery is not a generic NiMh AA. Still, I'm a handy guy, so when the day comes that the battery stops holding enough charge, I can replace it.

It came today and I am digging it. If you haven't tried a mouse with extra buttons, as long as they are fully assignable it makes working in Cakewalk, with all of its key modifiers, faster. Being able to zoom in other programs with Ctrl-wheel is nice, too. The Logitech lets you set up custom assignments for each program, but that seems like too much trouble.

The Marathon, the Anywhere, and a couple more models have them, although if you also want the speed scroll function that narrows things down.

[Jack Stoner]

I've tried several (maybe 6 or more and last one was a "Logi") Logitech mice and after 10 to 15 minutes of use my hand (palm) is sore.  I have a Microsoft mouse and no hand pain.  The Microsoft only has left/right click and scroll button.  I like the Logitech's with the extra mouse functions that are not on Microsoft mice.

[Xoo]

I've got one much like that one (and have had similar in the past) and no matter what I do, I find the extra side buttons are too far forward to be of any use without moving my hand from a comfortable position: if the left buttons are under my thumb, my middle fingertip is so far forward, it can't use the scrollwheel without contortion, and my left and right mouse button fingers are perilously close to touching the mouse mat.  My hands aren't huge, but they're not tiny, so I've never been able to work out who has a hand with a thumb the same length as their fingers (maybe they're designed for oranhutans?).

[Glenn Stanton]

i'm liking the logitech mouse with the side button (about 20 years now). although if i am using a MS mouse with the normal buttons, not a problem. however, going back to a single button Apple mouse just make me feel spastic...

[Canopus]

My personal experience is that any mouse with buttons near my thumb is a potential problem. Why? Because there will be so many unintended clicks/actions I will then have to undo. Maybe I’ve got a restless thumb, I don’t know, but my first criteria when buying a mouse is that there should be no left-side buttons. 

[Starship Krupa]

On 8/14/2022 at 12:58 AM, Canopus said:

any mouse with buttons near my thumb is a potential problem. Why? Because there will be so many unintended clicks/actions I will then have to undo. Maybe I’ve got a restless thumb, I don’t know, but my first criteria when buying a mouse is that there should be no left-side buttons.

Fortunately that leaves you with many good options at good prices.

The extra buttons took a lot of getting used to. Even with just the differences between the Marathon and the Anywhere, I'm still getting used to it. The switch for unlocking the freewheel on the Marathon is in the same place as the "middle button" on the Anywhere, and to unlock the wheel on the Anywhere, you press the wheel itself. The wheel IS the middle button on the Marathon. I'm still getting used to this function swap.

Also, the side buttons are kinda stiff, they take more pressure to activate, and holding both down for Ctrl-Alt is a little trickier. They are in a good location to avoid accidental activation, and yes, @Kevin Perry, they are set back just above where my thumb naturally sits. Really, there's not much substitute for going down to Office Max and trying the display mice. They all have subtle differences. I took a chance with the Anywhere 2 because I trust Logitech. Fortunately, it worked.

If you can get a programmable mouse with the extra buttons in the right place for you, it is really good for Cakewalk with all its key modifiers. Heck, I'd like to have another button I could program to Shift.

Also, can't say enough good about programming the middle button to double-click. It helps so much when browsing presets on plug-ins that require a double-click for that.

Edited September 8, 2022 by Starship Krupa

[daveiv]

I dislike gaming mouses with many buttons due to accidental clicking, but they're usually very comfortable.