I know, kind of a boring topic, but hey LOL. I ask because it just seemed my digital mouse wasn't moving as smoothly on my mouse pad for the past few months. I've never spilled anything on said mouse pad, but it did look kinda dingy looking I guess, not as bright blue and white as it was. Maybe minute dirt particles just gets into those teeny tiny groves in it, I dunno. Either way, I bought a new one today and Wow! What a huge difference! My mouse is moving so much smoother on the pad I hardly have to move my hand. Just didn't realize that mouse pads can really hinder your mousing if old, even if they don't appear all that dirty (I'm talking about the mouse pads for digital mouses, with the hard surface).

[ 05-06-2005, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: ladyzekke ]

I don't use mousepad. The hard surface of the table is okay for me.

I tried that but my mouse moves majorly smoother with one of those mouse pads designed for digital mouses (mice?). I have a 3M Precise mouse pad. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I've always heard it "mouses" oddly enough ;)

I change mine whenever I catch myself not wanting to touch it, lest I get an icky feeling. Or when I get a performance drop---whichever comes first.

Well my new mouse (Razer Diamondback ... the fastest mouse in the world) has a mouse mat designed for it. Yes, it costs £15, but it is big, sturdy, and made of some sort of metal, so will last for life.

Since i use an optical mouse i don't need a mousemat anymore. No more dirty balls and other annoying stuff. :D

I have optical mouse so I don't need a mouse pad... Only gets in a way.

How ever before that I had the same mouse pad for about 4 years... it was almost disintegrated into it's molecules... [img]smile.gif[/img]

<span style="color: lightblue">I don't use one... hell, I don't even use a mouse.

I like my mouse pad. Saves my wrist from the hard edge of my desk. Replace a mousepad? Never knew it could be necessary.

Well I think yall should at least try an optical mouse pad once, maybe test it in a software store or something.

This is what it says on the package of the mouse pad I like and use:

An optical mouse offers many benefits over a standard mouse, but its performance largely depends on the quality of the mousing surface it's being used with. The micro-groove technology in the 3M Precise Mousing Surface is specifically designed to enhance accuracy and overall performance when you choose the fast mouse speed option in your computer control panel. You'll experience:

- More accurate, synchronized movement between your mouse ad the cursor.

- Greater performance in a smaller mousing area.

- Micro-groove surface helps prevent slipping

I have to say I agree with the above. Telling you, it makes a huge difference, to me anyways, better than my wooden desktop by far. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 05-06-2005, 09:32 PM: Message edited by: ladyzekke ]

You can try to clean the mouse ball, if you have that kind of mouse. Just open the bottom and remove the ball, clean it with a soft cloth. Then carefully cleand the sensor inside the mouse with a Q-tip to get the lint off. Put it all back together.

I have a nice mousepad with a small silicon pillow that causes my wrist not to ache, unlike the old one. I open the mouse and scratch the gray stuff off the sensors or whatever they're called about once a week.

What can I say Johnny? [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Mouse Pad? What's that? Doesn't that mean you would need a small rat aka: mouse in the house?

Don't have one, don't use one, no need to change one.

[img]graemlins/weird_thread.gif[/img]

I don't think I've ever had to since I got my optical mouse. It took me a while to get one which actually worked - my former mouse pad was really shiny and the mouse just didn't work on it. I had to steal/borrow my work one which worked perfectly. :D

<font color=skyblue>For the purpose of preventing further harm to my wrist than has already occurred, I use a mousepad with my optical. The pillow puts my wrist in a comfortable position so it is not strained.

I bought a memory foam pad...it is better than the silicone ones.

As to the question of how often I change one out,,,well...I never thought of that. This one is new, so there will be no need to do so anytime soon,,,but the last one I had lasted five years. </font>

Ok, so your mouse mat got a little dirty and you threw it away?

Ok, here's what you should have done, get a damp cloth and clean your mouse mat off.

Done.


If it's got sometime realy stuck on just scrape the gunk off using a dull knife or simmilar.


Buying new mouse mats, pah.

An optical mouse relies on reflected light to tell it to move. Consequently, a mousing surface that is consistently colored will be much better than a surface with random colors. All a mousepad is giving you is your own consistently colored mousing surface.

I was at a customer in Virginia for the last three days, and my optical mouse worked fine on the desk they gave me to work at, but refused to do *anything* when I used it on a painted black metal surface that my laptop was on. Apparently that surface wasn't reflecting very well...

I also have an oak table that I have to use a mousepad on. It's lightly stained, and the grain lines in the oak are very distinct. Going from the very dark grain to the very light wood produces erratic results... not fun.

So when do you need to replace it? Whenever... [img]smile.gif[/img]

And I also scrape the gunk off the sliding pads every week or so. Usually when I'm on a boring conference call... :D

I replace mine everytime I go someplace and I either see one with a really cool picture or they're giving them away for free.

Right now, I still have the Dell free one that came with the computer.

Don't use a mousepad with my optical mouse. All of mine are funky colors, so it didn't work to well. ;)

How often I change mouse pad? Whenever someone buys me a new one. Right now I'm using an used envelope as a mouse pad.

I hate optical mice. Simple as. I don't understand how anyone prefers their performance over normal ones....

You don't have to clean them.

I use my Max Payne one from around 3 years ago, and haven't replaced it since.

[ 05-08-2005, 09:57 PM: Message edited by: Sir Degrader ]

well im using a mouse pad which is designed for a digital mouse. n about changing it......i have been using it since i bought it...ie...nearly the past 8-9 months....n i still dunn think i need to change it..... :D

Heh... its funny, all these people that stopped using a mouse pad with their optical mice... that's when I started.

Its cos I have a glass table top... which sends the pointer flying in random directions across screen when you move it.

I was making do with a piece of white paper... but it was starting to flake off with my sweat weakening it by the end of the week... So I stole my dads.

WHich I have to use upside down, as the top part of it is clear, and contains liquid and tadpoles that move away from the mouse as it moves around... (WHich my friends and I, being the mature people we are, find hilariously funny. [img]tongue.gif[/img] )

SO yeah... the chronicles of Callum's mouse pad... I should write a book [img]tongue.gif[/img]