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MICROSOFT COMFORT OPTICAL MOUSE 3000 - Product Evaluation
This is a reprint from the January 2007 issue of TOE (The Outer Edge)
By Jim Thornton
Computer users have always been looking for a better mouse ever since the first mouse, which was invented over 40 years ago, in 1964, and ran on two small metal wheels. Over the years, the wheels were replaced with a single small metal, rubber, and plastic balls with mechanical sensors to detect movement and required the use of a mouse pad to ensure smooth and constant operation. Next, the mechanical sensors were replaced with optical sensors, but the mouse still had to use a ball and mouse pad. The next major improvement was the elimination of the mouse ball and pad with a miniature camera that snaps pictures of the work surface at a rate of 1,500 images or frames per second (FPS) and then translates changes between the frames to the cursor's position on the screen. Now we can use the mouse on nearly any surface including a wood desktop, a piece of paper, even a shirtsleeve, but not on glass or a mirrored surface, which have no distinctive pattern. Our navigation speed is higher and with greater accuracy with reliability. Gone is the hassle of clogged mouse parts.
My current mouse is a Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 3000 and its features are:
OPTICAL - Microsoft's current optical system is called High Definition Technology, which replaces their earlier IntelliEye. This new system delivers more precise, responsive, and smoother tracking on more various surfaces than before. The old standard was 1,500 FPS and the Comfort Optical Mouse does 6,000 FPS, calculates the mouse's exact location, its speed and direction at 85 million operations per second (MOPS), and updates its position at a resolution level of 1,000 dots per inch (DPI). In addition, new electronic components added to the mouse to increase its smoother tracking ability over a wider variety of surfaces.
COMFORTABLE IN EITHER HAND - The mouse is designed for left or right hand people and is comfortable when using either hand. Its ergonomic design promotes natural wrist and arm alignment so you can work without any discomfort.
FOUR-WAY SCROLLING - The scroll wheel is multifunctional as it can tilt from side to side and be used as the fourth button. One of its greatest uses is its ability to move the cursor from side-to-side when viewing large spreadsheets, webpages, photographs, etc., all without the need of clicking on the document's sideways scroll arrows.
MAGNIFIER - The magnifying feature is like holding a magnifying glass up to your screen. With a single click of the magnifier button, a square area appears on your screen containing the enlargement. The size of the magnified box may be easily increase as well as the level of magnification. The Magnifier feature works with all of the common programs and is most useful when touching up photographs or whenever you need to look at something in great detail.
CUSTOMIZABLE BUTTONS - The four individual buttons, including the scroll wheel, are easily programmable for quick access your media, programs, and files you most often use.
The system requirements are: Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center, Tablet Media Edition, or 2000; a 233 MHz processor; 128 MB of RAM; 100 MB hard drive, CD drive, and a PS/2 or USB port. The retail price ranges from $17.99 to $30.99. The mouse comes with Microsoft IntelliPoint software 5.3 and a PS/2-to-USB plug adapter.
I love the speed and accuracy of my Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 3000 with its four buttons (large left and right click buttons, a smaller red magnifier button on the left-hand side near where your thumb would be, and a scroll wheel whenever depressed serves as the fourth button). My previous mouse was a Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer with five buttons (left and right click, back and forward, and the scroll wheel again), a scroll wheel, and USB connection. On my new mouse, what I miss is not having the back and forward buttons, which I used whenever surfing the Internet. True, I could program the unused (scroll wheel) button as a back button, which I tried and I just didn't like. So now I either use the cursor click on the back or forward buttons on the screen or use the back and forward buttons on my Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro. Again, the mouse's greatest benefits are its speed and accuracy, and its magnifying feature.
