![]() Logitech’s MX ERGO and M570, side by sideĪfter a few days of getting used to the way the trackball worked, I was hooked. The buttons and scroll wheel are where you’d expect them to be on a mouse, so the learning curve was basically limited to sorting out the feel of a trackball. I liked that it had the look and familiar shape of a mouse, but instead of moving your hand to control the pointer, you use your thumb on a ball that’s positioned on the left side. ![]() Then I found Logitech’s M570 wireless trackball. The Kensington was (and is) beloved among its devotees, but it seemed like too radical a departure from a mouse, and it also takes up a lot of space. That led me to explore the trackball as a replacement for the mouse. Although trackpads such as Apple’s Magic Trackpad were starting to improve and add features, I didn’t find them as easy to use when working on music scores in Sibelius or Finale.Īt that time, I was at a recording session, and I noticed the engineer flying on the Kensington Expert Trackball. If you think about all the reaching you do with your arm to re-position a mouse, it adds up to a lot of repetitive stress. It’s just not natural to move your hand side to side and up and down all day. Like so many of us, I had started to develop hand and wrist pain from heavy use. Until March 2014 I had always used a mouse. Devices like Apple’s Magic Mouse combine elements of both a mouse and a trackpad, but most devices fall squarely into one category, though there are many variations. Pointing devices basically come in three varieties: mouse, trackpad, and trackball. (A note that Logitech provided the unit reviewed in this article, but did not sponsor or direct this review in any way.) First, though, a bit of background about why and how I’ve come to use a trackball. I’ll review the ERGO’s features in a moment. The $99 price may seem steep, but if you’re among those that spend all day in front of your desktop, it’s a worthwhile investment that you’ll be glad you made. It’s a standout accessory and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for an ergonomic, customizable pointing device. I’ve been using Logitech’s newest device, the MX ERGO trackball, for a couple of weeks. While it is possible to develop a workflow in any of the major programs that is keyboard-centric, the pointing device remains essential to a fully-enabled setup. And if you use desktop music notation software (or just about any other type of software), you’re using that accessory a lot. Let’s face it: if you use a computer, you use a pointing device. ![]()
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