I needed another corded mouse and this time around I thought of @PKL@mastodon.social and @pronk@mastodon.social instead of Logitech's shareholders. These guys make open source mice among other open source hardware under the brand Ploopy. You can order one from them, assembled or as a kit, or you could print and build it entirely by yourself.

The mouse itself is pretty great. Coming from a long line of Logitech (MX518/G5/G500/G502), it's a bit larger than what I'm used to but I think I'm getting accustomed to it.

Here's another shot of it:

A picture of a computer mouse by Ploopy.

A picture of a computer mouse by Ploopy.
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[–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

What I really want is this, but with a trackpad instead of a trackball.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)

    They do have a trackpad, but not in this shape.

    I was surprised when I started using the Steamdeck. The Steamdeck's trackpad felt almost identical to my trackball mouse, and it took effectively no time to get used to it.

    The advantage of a trackball over a trackpad is that you can spin the ball for high movement speed, then stop it after a set time for fairly accurate distance. A trackball (or trackpad) will never be as accurate as a regular moue, but it is surprisingly usable (after a few months or practice).

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  • I've used several trackballs, but they have all been seriously uncomfortable for me and my specific brand of RSI. My current "mouse" is a Steam Controller, but using it one-handed isn't great due to the uneven weight distribution. I also have much better accuracy using a trackpad vs a trackball.

    Ideally, I just want a Steam Controller cut in half with a more confortable grip that doesn't dig into my palm.

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