Mousing Surface Theory

ThaNerd, as much as I love the Jerker, calling it “wood” is more than a little generous. Laminate surface, perhaps… :slight_smile:

I was so depressed when Ikea discontinued the Jerker. It is such a great computer desk; as far as I can tell it might have been the perfect one:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000551.html

There are some great suggestions for mousepads in the post and the comments; surely one of those works for you?

Brazil is a brilliant movie. Mousepads are useless.

Your point is not lost on me. At some level, mousepads are as useful as ducts in thousands of designer colors. That’s the intention of the Brazil reference, if it wasn’t entirely clear.

Still, it is quite possible to be stuck with uneven and irregular mousing surfaces, which is where a mouse pad comes in handy.

Or, just take a look at my poor Jerker, with the unsightly wear mark in the desk laminate where my mouse goes. :frowning:

Brazil is a brilliant movie. Mousepads are useless.

  1. Is your mousing surface uneven?

    No. It’s a desk. Why would a desk be uneven?

  2. Does your mousing surface have an inconsistent texture?

    No. It’s a desk. Why would a desk have an “inconsistent texture”? What are you talking about?

  3. Does your mousing surface interfere with the optical LED or laser sensors in modern mice?

    No. Never met one that did. I suppose there are such surfaces, but I’ve never encountered one.

  4. Are you concerned that your present mousing surface will be damaged or marred from extended mousing?

    Extended mousing? Damaged or marred? Excuse me? It’s a desk! It’s pretty durable. You’d need sandpaper or metal to scratch it. What’s a mouse or a hand going to do?

  5. Do you struggle to find enough room to move your mouse?

    Sometimes. I’ve got a lot of papers on my desk. I push them away with my hand. A mouse pad isn’t going to change that.

My “mousing” leaves a residue on the underside of the mouse, and on the top. Hardly anything on the table. This type of dirt can be cleaned up in a few seconds with a damp tissue. I think a laminated desktop is about as easy as it gets to clean. It’s not a carpet.

Sorry, but this post sounds like really cheap product placement. Why would I waste $40 on a useless piece of junk? Am I working in a sandbox?

Personally, I believe that mousepads are nothing more than a brilliant marketing scam. If they had not been invented, no-one in their right mind would miss them. They’re about as necessary as a hood for the keyboard (so it won’t get dirty when you’re not using it!), or as vital as vibration-damping padding for LCD monitors (so the Hard Disk rotation won’t ruin the pixel alignment!).

It’s the type of useless junk whose necessity is suggested solely by the fact of its existance, rather than by a pre-existing need. There’s always someone brilliant enough to market crap well enough, that a bunch of suckers will be willing to pay for it.

Just my 2 cents.

Jonathan Levy

Get a wood-based desk. Give it some wood polish about every other month. No mouse pad required.

I have to agree with Nikki and Stu Smith. I used to have a mousepad to protect the lamination on the desk and prevent the ball from slipping randomly, but all my mousepads got worn down to a glossy surface very fast. Wrapping the pad in a piece of white paper solved the problem nicely, and I can use the discarded covers for scribbling; I have since switched to an optical mouse, and it works flawlessly.

Avery Dennison Flex View Two pocket folder is perfect for high-def optical mice. The back is black and dark gray pinstripes. The front is good for low-res optical mice because you can drop whatever letter-sized image you want in the front. I cut it in half with scissors and round the corners. It is portable, light, rugged, and slick enough to present no resistance. One folder = two mouse pads.

I bought AirPad Pro III in Japan, they are the most expensive one I can find in Japan computer store.

They also offers mouse feet replacement and sell both mousepad + feet as a package. When combining both, you will feel mousing like pushing a melting ice block over smooth suface with perfect accuracy. I got 3 of them right now.

I had my desk custom-built with a fly-out keyboard/mouse tray, which has essentially the same surface as one of those expensive mouse pads, and also a 180 semi-circular gel pack. WAY better than those horizontal gel packs at the front of the mouse pad, which only seem to hurt your wrists more if you’re at any kind of an angle.

The trays are actually not that expensive. I think the widest one costs a few hundred - money well-spent if you spend hours at your PC.

I had some very bad experiences using teflon tape on mouse feet. I don’t recommend that. The stuff quickly wore off and turned into sticky gunk…

Replacement teflon mouse feet are completely legitimate, and I’ve replaced more than a few on my old, beloved G9X. Check eBay for replacement feet for most popular mice models.