|
|
|
|
|
|
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 |
|
|
|
|
Written by [t0rc]
|
A little while back, Microsoft came out with a great product. Their
line of optical mice, the Intellimouse. Finally, the age of optical
mice is here, along with new looks to match your dream machine.
Perhaps one of the best Microsoft products, the Intellimouse
utilizes optical sensors instead of a mouse ball to avoid cleaning and
enhance precision (DPI). Now a standard, optical mice have become the
next generation of peripheral control. They allow accuracy that wasn't
attainable before, by the old-school ball mice. Plus, the mouse has
gotten a facelift, and now mice look just as sharp as the new modded
case you finished.
Once you open the package you notice that the mouse is a sleek chrome
color, although they do offer different colors, this is one of my
favorites. The gray and chrome color mix goes well with most new rigs.
You also notice immediately that the mouse is large. Measuring roughly
5" long and 2.75" wide, the mouse is well equipped for people with
large hands. It's "ergonomic" design as stated on the Microsoft
website, is very well crafted and lets your hand rest in an almost
neutral orientation.
When you plug the mouse in you get a really sweet red glow coming from
your mouse. It has a kind of UFO effect on the area around it. When you
grab the mouse, it also has two thumb buttons, as seen in the picture,
one small frontal button, and a larger, backend button. You can use at
least one thumb button for most games, and most applications support
two, with the accompanying software, Microsoft Intellipoint, you can
change the buttons usage in windows, and also use Program Specific
button assignments. Theres a lot of features in Intellipoint that help
you to navigate Windows easier, and theres even a little feature incase
you lost your cursor on the screen: when you press CTRL, a target-style
ring eminates from your cursor on the screen. 
I would go on further about the features in Intellimouse, but this
isn't about the accompanying apps, its about the mouse! The mouse has
one major flaw: The buttons don't come with enough driver support to
make them both compatible with games. Sometimes they register as the
ALT button. Which can mess up your configs thoroughly. There is a
second, smaller, basically insignificant flaw, that is more than likely
a rare occurance. I've had this mouse for about 3 years, and around the
1 year mark, the Microsoft caption on the mouse began to rub off. The
problem is that once it started to rub off, it dried with smeared marks
over the mouse. And the rest of the word hasn't rubbed off. So now I
have a mouse that says: Micro *smear**smear* on it.
Overall, the Intellimouse is one that I would reccomend to anyone who
likes a sensitive, accurate, mouse. And doesn't mind the fact that it's
not cordless. Although I do believe they make cordless models now. On
the rating scale, I would give it a 90.
Pros: Not overly costly; precision; large; nice looks; smooth feel.
| | Cons: Not adequate driver support for 2 thumb buttons to be efficient; adds extra app to take resources; Paint smeared. |
|
|
Reviews 
