Intellimouse vs intellimouse explorer?

[Sea Walnut]

I'm about the make the leap from ball to optical and I wanted to know exactly what the differences were between the microsoft intellimouse explorer and the microsoft intellimouse.
Just to make sure, here's a pic of the intellimouse optical:
<IMG SRC="http://www.terraworld.net/jjoseph/intellimouse.jpg" border=0>

And here's a pic of the intellimouse EXPLORER:
<IMG SRC="http://members.aol.com/kr5526/explorer" border=0>

Thanks.
-Sea Walnut

[This message has been edited by Sea Walnut (edited 06-25-2001).]

[Sea Walnut]

Well, I'm right handed mousing, and so is everybody that uses my computer, so I don't realyl care about lefties (even though I write left handed).

Which one feels heavier?
And the regular intellimouse (not the explorer)- does it also have the side buttons? Fingers seems to think there is one on each side (can I program them to do different functions?) and wolfpack seems to think there are NO buttons... which is which?

And when you say 25 bucks, was it used or new?

Thanks a lot for the help I really appreciate it.

[Fingers]

The original IntelliMouse Optical looked and felt just like the regular IntelliMouse and had no side buttons.

Then came the IntelliMouse Explorer which had a new shape and added two side buttons for right hand users.

The NEW IntelliMouse Optical is ambidextrous and has one button on each side.

The basic MS Optical WheelMouse (with no side buttons) is still available too.

See the NEW IntelliMouse with left and right thumb buttons here (http://www.microsoft.com/products/hardware/mouse/optical.htm) ,
and all currently available Microsoft Mice (http://www.microsoft.com/products/hardware/mouse/select_mouse.htm) can be viewed here.

BTW, I don't care for the "programable buttons"... they require that a mouse TSR has to always be running in the backround.

[This message has been edited by Fingers (edited 06-22-2001).]

[Sea Walnut]

Oi Oi Oi!
I just want something nice for half-life, something which I can bind stuff to, something whcih is comfy, responsive, and won't get junked up. My microsoft trekker just died a couple weeks ago after a year of use. Bummer, but I need a new one. Programmable buttons are a definite plus, but I want them to be a feature, not a hassle. Thanks.

[HfdWolfPack]

Fingers has it right on.
(sorry if I caused confusion http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif )
$25 New- with no side buttons.
Like I mentioned...they seemed to get in the way and get clicked by accident, especially when I was playing games.
But maybe after ya get used to it, it goes away.

[Fingers]

Agreed, that's why I've disabled my side buttons... I was always unintentionally clicking the "rear button" and going BACK, when all I wanted to do was move the mouse. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif

[Sea Walnut]

jeez louise, now you're making me not want the side buttons! argh!

which mice do you guys personally own? I want side buttons because it would really help for half-life and I could also surf a little eaiser with the back and foward button capability, but I don't want it to be a pain in the neck. Hmm. Are they really that easy to click?

[This message has been edited by Sea Walnut (edited 06-22-2001).]

[rh71]

I've heard (need verification) that the Explorer has a lifetime limited warranty and none other in the MS line does... is this correct? If so, it was definitely worth the extra $20 for it.

[oksenior]

Sea Walnut

A local guru always caution " your mileage may vary" I have the explorer and I love it. All its features are now second nature and very convenient.
oksr.

[AuraEdge]

Ive used both the Explorer and Optical
Actually what you talk of is three different lines

The Intellimouse that had optical tracking with 2 buttons and a wheel is the Intellimouse with Intellieye.

The Intellimouse with optical tracing, and 2 buttons, wheel, and 2 buttons on each side is the Intellimouse Optical.

And finally the one with optical tracking, 2 2 buttons, wheel, and 2 buttons on the thumb side is the Intellimouse Explorer

I have not used the first, but I have used a standard Intellimouse, so aside from the optical tracking, I expect its the same.

The explorer I extremely dislike. Its the heaviest of the three, and also the largest. Also I misclicked the thumb many times, and is just awkward to me. I am coming from the Logitech Mouseman at this point, which is already a rather large mouse, and I couldn't for the life of me get used to the explorer. I got mouse hand fatigue much sooner than I did with any other mouse.

The Intellimouse with Intellieye is probably the lightest (I imagine its like a Intellimouse minus the weight of the ball). Its the easiest to handle., because its the smallest. The wheel (on the old Intellimouse) isnt as good as the one on the Intellimouse optical. This ones a good choice. The only thing I dont like is how the red eye doesnt shine thru the back of the mouse like on the other two. Its just a small eye and the rest of the bottom is incased in ivory colored plastic.

And finally...the Intellimouse Optical.
Its what's sitting on my desk right now.

Its a bit bigger than the Intellimouse w/ Intellieye, but has a slight texture to it that makes it easy to grip. I never get any mouse hand fatigue with it, and it tracks near perfect on my ratpadz. Sometimes some dust particle will get in the eye or something, but a quick blow fixes it. I find the side buttons very useful. I make the thumb one into doubleclick, so itll save me a click when I go and click on stuff. The other side I either have as refresh or, more recently, maximize. It's basically less aiming when I open up a new web page. Also the side buttons on the optical, i never misclick. Maybe thier just positioned better than the Explorers.

Also its alot cheaper than the explorer.
Its $29 from direct.mwave.com, but since its an OEM part, they make you buy another piece of hardware with it.

Explorer I wouldnt recommend to anyone. The Optical is my optimal recommendation, since I really like that mouse, and its at a good price point. If your confident your never going to use the side buttons, the Intellimoue w/ Intellieye may suit you better, since its a few bucks less...I dont have any problems with that mouse.

I sell computers to people some times, and I include that $29 MS Intellimouse Optical with everyones, highend or low. No ones complained yet...but that not saying much since most are still awestruck by the lil red light shining out. I only got a chance to try the explorer out when it first came out and I built a comp for someone and he wanted it.

And the Mouse TSR (I dont know what TSR is but Im assuming thats the program that lets the side buttons work, point32.exe) only takes up half a MB of RAM when running. Not much for the extra convience.

And Ive been playing halflife and its mods since it came out (actually I just completed the Blue Shift Expansion today...good stuff!). AND guess what in halflife you get an extra bonus. Say you want one of the extra buttons to reload. Well what you have to do is go to the mouse config menu, and bind it to a button like F5, which is normally refresh. When your out in IE, you can use it to refresh a page, but in halflife, you can then bind Reload to F5, and there ya go, you can reload with the mouse.
I dont like reloading with the mouse, becase ive been playing halflife long before I had any extra buttons on my mouse at all, and I'm used to keyboard reloading, but its an option.

Or say you want to display scores without using the keyboard. You can do the same...hook up display scores to F5 and use the button on the mouse.

The buttons are only a hassle on the Explorer in my opinion. On the Optical, at least for me, thier a definite boon.

I dont think Back/Forward side buttons are really practical anyways, as I dont use these commands much. Additionally, you cant bind things like that to halflife commands. In halflife, you can only bind keys to buttons on the keyboard.

I think for a halflifer, you should definitly get a MS Intellimouse Optical. It takes about a week to get used to the lighter than normal ball mouse, but once you do, you'll have pinpoint accuracy.

[kinda on topic rant]
I broke my first intellimouse optical because I had the wire wrapped around my desklamp, and my roommate in college kept playing counterstrike and basically pulled the wire out of the mouse. Me, trying to be the smart guy that I think I am, tries to wedge the mouse open and take a look inside and see if I can reattach the loose wires. It just wouldnt wedge open no matter what I did. Of course theres wedge marks all over now, so I dont think MS would take it for warrenty now anyways. I gave it to my dad about a month later, because he knows how to solder, and was claiming he could fix it, but I said I cant even open it. Then he removed two of the teflon pads and showed me...the two screws that I never knew existed, so cleverly hidden from view. Anyways, he got it open, but it was beyond repair...we couldnt find any loose wires or connections.[/kinda on topic rant]

Anyways the point of that was that I bought another Identical Intellimouse Optical after the first one broke. I think that says something.

[Spanky]

I've been using the explorer since it came out, The wire has worn out right at the exit from the mouse and I just cut a couple inches off the end and soldered it to the connections. Works great again.

That wire didn't wear out until after at least a year and a half of solid use by 3 people around the clock. And I'm rough on it, I must drop it off the arm of the chair 3 times a day.

I love the side buttons and just leave them for forward/back and have used them for cut/paste once during some document editing.

The TSR only needs to be there for the extra buttons to work which is cool, and I don't find it bogs even my P2 333mhz even when playing games.

I've used this mouse in Unreal on the PS2 too just incase any PS2 owners are wondering.

I love the extra buttons anyway and wouldn't go without them now. I would buy another explorer if this one died tommorow.

THe shape is wacky though and took a while to get used to.

I would say just buy one at a local store with a good return policy and try it out, then trade it in and get a different one till you find the one you like best.

[Sea Walnut]

okay aura, you've convinced me. you want to sell one to me? I'll buy it direct from you if you can get me a decent price. email me.

[This message has been edited by Sea Walnut (edited 06-22-2001).]

[Sea Walnut]

Well I've used an explorer a long time ago when they first came out, but I completely forget the feel of it...

I want something fairly light and quick that works well and lets me kick ash in counter strike http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif I used a trekker for the longest time and now I'm using a microsoft wheel mouse and that's it. I want the extra buttons (btw I have reload bound to mouse3) one for walk (toggle with the use of an alias I have) and one for "use".

Well I don't really care how it looks, and comfort actually isn't a problem with me. My palm NEVER rests on the mouse, I just hold on with my fingers to the front and sides of the mouse and that's it. Just something nice and responsive.

[spidey_joe80@hotmail.com]

well the explorer's got more buttons and its more expensive. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif I think its microsofts top of the line.

[Sea Walnut]

hmm. Well it looks to me (From the pic) that they both have the side buttons, but other than the buttons, I really CAN'T figure out the difference in performance... I just don't know. Anybody? :p:

[Fingers]

The Explorer has two programable side buttons on the left side; the new IntelliMouse Optical has one on each side for use with left or right hand.

My Explorer is slightly longer than the regular optical mouse and it's shaped for right hand only. I actually prefer the standard MS optical mouse over the Explorer.

[HfdWolfPack]

I have the Intellimouse Optical (no exporer)...it was like $25
The difference with mine is that it doesnt have the side buttons.
from top view-looks just like a reg 2button/wheel MS intellimouse except its optical of course.

I tried the explorer and the side buttons were too easy to click by accident. ( well , for me at least)

[HfdWolfPack]

My palm NEVER rests on the mouse, I just hold on with my fingers to the front and sides of the mouse and that's it

I play the same way......
I am not you, but I have a feeling the explorer will be nothing but aggravation for you then.

I think the best thing to do is go to a store and try it out..

But if your lookng for opinions, heres mine-
Dont get the side buttons

[Sea Walnut]

I see what you mean about the side buttons... I hold on there and I don't want to be inscessantly clicking them...

however I do want the FEATURE of the side buttons... those extra two would make a big difference for me...

Are the buttons on the intellimouse optical TOO easy to click? I hold on to the mouse there, but it's not like I'm squeezing it to death either...

I am certainly not the user who slouches back in his chair and just lets his hand lay flat on the mouse.... my hand is always elevated, holding on toe the sides with my ring finger and pinky on the right side, and my thumb on the left. As usual my pointer and middle are onthe standard two front buttons and my pointer doubles for the wheel. I actually don't even use the back of the mouse at all...


But I'm thinking I may want to stay away from those buttons on the side afterall..

As I said before, I want a feature, not a hassle. Are they too easy to click?

Thanks a LOT for the help people, I really do appreciate it. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Warthog]

I see what you mean about the side buttons... I hold on there and I don't want to be inscessantly clicking them...

That's why there is a space for your thumb below the buttons. Unless you automatically suspend your thumb 1/2" above the mouse pad, you shouldn't have a prob with the buttons (I never, ever have...).

I think it is an excellent mouse for right handed people.

Warthog

[Sea Walnut]

Ah, I see... then in that case it looks like it would be fine because I hold on nead the bottom wiht my thumb...

HOWEVER! How is it on the RIGHT side of the mouse?

[Warthog]

Here is what you should do: go to your local Staples/Best Buy or any other store that has computer MICE on display.

Try them out for yourself.
http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
Warthog

[Sea Walnut]

that's a wonderful idea! When I do decide to buy one, can you suggest a place which has good service and good prices?

[Warthog]

I got mine from Staples (or so I've been told --&gt; )....as a gift for Christmas of '99 http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

It shouldn't really matter where you get it from, as long as you get it. Go to Best Buy, Staples, Buy.com, anything.

Good luck,
Warthog

[Sea Walnut]

and wht are the warranties of all the meese ( http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif) that microsoft makes? I don't really want a crappy trekker that's going to break down after 10 months...

[CoNeSsIuS]

Warranty is 3 years from manafacturer. I love my standard ms mouse. However it dose not have the two side buttons but it's light and with my mouse skatez from http://www.everglide.com and mouse pad it's the ultimate gamming and work expirence! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Sea Walnut]

those mouse skates look pretty cool. Are they just adhesive slippery things which take the place of the teflon sliders that come stock? It says enough to do two meese ( http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif), and I wanted to know if you had the extra lying around I may be able to take it off your hands if you want. If I were to buy from a place like buy.com or something, I would still get the 3 year manufacturer's warranty, right? Thanks.

[Spanky]

SW that actually is one of the problems with the explorer, I find its sloped too much on the right side, it took a while for me to get used to it, for a while there I was actually going to cut a bit of the side off with the dremel tool and glue in a piece of plastic so it had more of a ridge to grab, I'm used to it now though so its all cool.

Definatly try them in a local store even if your going to order it over the net.

[Fingers]

The warranty comes from Microsoft, and like rh71 stated earlier, the retail Explorer has a Limited Lifetime Hardware warranty... the Intellimouse Optical is 5 years... MS Optical Wheel Mouse 3 years.

[bhess]

Compusa has a 14 day reyurn policy. Buy one try it out return if not happy. Keep the receipt of course.
My two cent is I like Logitech better. I have the I feel mouseman optical. I did turn off the feel part though. It got kinda annoying after a while.

[Sea Walnut]

I'd rather have the intellimouse optical to tell you the truth, even though it doesn't have the lifetime. I remember using a friend's explorer and the thing was really heavy... I'd rather use a mouse like which will break than use a rock for my entire life, dig? Even though I haven't used the optical, I think it is best suited to my needs. How is the button on the RIGHT side of the mouse? I like to have a little something to hang on to as fingers said, because I use my fingers, not my hand, to control the mouse. I like it light, smooth, and responsive. Thank ye much.

[Sea Walnut]

tell me about this logitech touchy feely mouse... http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

I have never been too keen on logitech, though. I rememebr back in the oldskool day with my 486 I had a logitech and the stuff was just ****. Really cheap, really wierd. I didn't like it. But I'll keep my mind open...

[bhess]

I've always liked the mouseman. It fits my hand well and I love the thumb and wheel button.
here are some past threads http://www.sysopt.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/009059.html http://www.sysopt.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/008513.html

[Sea Walnut]

I think the "force feedback" seems more like a potential problem than a feature... I also remember using an N64 controller (remember that system?!) with a rumble pak, and it was wicked heavy and was more annoying than anything. Even if did buy one, I'd probably just get sick of the iFeel feature, the other people that use my computer would also, and when I turned it off, the mechanisms which worked the iFeel woukld still be in the mouse, and it would add weight. Bummer.

[bhess]

I agree. That's why I mentioned about disabling the ifeel part. I thought that they made a optical mouse with the same design without the ifeel part, but I just checked the website and they don't.
I liked the shape of the mouseman I had before it. I like the optical part now.
Weight deosn't seem to matter much to me. I kinda gives it stability.
I would still go the compusa route that I mentioned above. buy-n-try

[Sea Walnut]

With compusa, will they pay shipping on the way back if you don't like it? That would be rad..

I think I'll end up going with the intellimouse optical. But I kinda want to spend the extra dough and get the explorer... a liftime limited on hardware sounds pretty good to me...

[bhess]

Go to the store and buy it.

[Sea Walnut]

LOL... okay I'll shutup now...

one more question though. Do they make a touchpad for desktops? Like one that would plug into the PS/2 or USB and would be like the size of a mousepad, only you'd use your fingers rather than a mouse? How freakin cool is that?!

[msbrown2]

I was wondering if optical mouse was better than a ball mouse in performance. when i was in best buy the other day it seemed like the ms optical explorer had trouble keeping up with really fast and jerky movements. has anyone noticed a diminished sensitivity with optical mouse. oh i also do a lot of graphics and 3d drafting work so precision is important.

[Sea Walnut]

You know what? That's a really good question! Optical meese (teeheehee) work off of...optics! (duh!) So if you move really quickly, is it possible that it can't see the differences fast enough? I find that hard to believe... it refreshes 1500 times a second...

A good question nevertheless. I was thinking it would be a good idea to have an optical mouse work on a "grid". Like a surface which has a very tight "screen/grid" pattern printed on it, so when you moved accross it, it would see the differences between the spaces (white) and the grid (black). Just an idea.

[Prgrmr@wrk]

I got one of the intellimice with intellieye back when it was the only one out. ****, it still kicks ***. Never had to clean it yet (except to scrub the MS logo off). I now have a worn spot on my desk from where I've been using it w/o mousepad for about 10 months on this desk now. Just thought I'd post this for some ppl who thought it was a lesser version of the otrher two "evil eye" mice.

Oh, and for ppl who play halflife and such, and were talking about setting keys for games on the extra buttons, I reccomend backspace, since that can be used in any game, and in windows, it also functions as a back up key for IE and explorer. Very spiffy

[msbrown2]

Oh and one more thing. I like the old style of the MS Intellimouse but was wrried that the optics on the Intellimouse with IntelliEye were not has good as the Intellimouse Optical sense it doesn't have the fancy LA Gear light. Any ideas?

[Prgrmr@wrk]

Oh, forgot to say, the "evil eye" type of mice are much more precise then uncastrated mice (EG: with balls), but if you move jerkily a large distance (1/2 foot or so), you can get a mouse twitch thing. It's not because the mouse can't see fast enough, it's more like watching a car on TV and the tires go backwards. The mouse "only" sees about 1500 frames per second (probably wrong, can't remember exact number), so sometimes it will get confused when you pull that spastic manuver in Unreal Tounament that requires instantly turning around ro whatever.

[Sea Walnut]

LA gear! ****! I had a pair of those shoes back in the DAY!

Thanks for the backspace advice- I was actually going to do that! (backspace and enter, foward and back) which I could also bind keys to! yay!

I want to castrate my mouse, Dr. Devill...