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Open source computer mouse by Ploopy (lemmy.ca)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/opensource@lemmy.ml
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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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[–] 6 points 1 year ago (7 children)

How do you use a trackball mouse? Does moving the mouse and moving the trackball both move the pointer? Or one moves the pointer and the other does something else?

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    The mouse stays in one location with grippy feet and the trackball moves the cursor. There is no sensor for mouse movement. It does take a while to get used to.

    The reason I chose it was that I didn't have enough desk space to move a mouse. I barely even had enough space to put the mouse. Now that I've moved house, I just like the novelty. It's not as accurate as a regular mouse.

    I would love a mouse that could do both regular movement and trackball movement so I could have 4 axis inputs. Sadly, I haven't found any like that.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    It's not as accurate as a regular mouse.

    This is not true of all trackballs. Some can be more accurate than a mouse with the push of a button.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    That may be technically true, but what's stopping someone from using the same button on a regular mouse?

    A regular mouse can have a large amount of movement with your elbow and very fine control with your wrist. Your thumb on a trackball may have more range or precision than either, but not both combined.

    My personal experience is that a trackball mouse is a little less accurate when trying to move a large distance precisely. Perhaps I just need more practice.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    Do you have a button in your regular mouse that enables precision mode?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    I don't personally have a regular mouse, but most "gamer" mice have a DPI button.

    I have seen several pro gamers use the DPI button on their mouse to rapidly change their precision while playing. I suspect it would take more practice than I'm willing to put in, but they seem to use it to great effect.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    I helped a user who exclusively uses a trackball and started getting used to it within seconds. My thumb was definitely not used to the trackball but I very quickly adapted and could navigate the computer normally

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