Computer mouse
The mouse is a tool that makes the mouse pointer move. Most of us use it to navigate through our computer with. Without a mouse we have to use the keyboard but that is not a very fast way to navigate on a graphical user interface. The mouse is one of the tools we use the most when we use the computer so it's of big importance. Therefore we will describe different kind of mouses and what is good and what is bad so you can make a better choice next time you buy a new one.
Buttons
There is many different kind of mouses with different set of buttons and scroll wheels. An old classic mouse have only two buttons. Two buttons is all that is necessary. The left button is often the main button that you click to open a document or to drag something. The right button will often be used to show a list of options specific for the context. Of course the function can depend between applications and platforms especially the function in games the right button might be used for changing weapon.
Today there can exist many special buttons like a double click button that you can click on so you don't need to double click. The purpose with a button like this can only be that it will look good and people will think that it's a good feature but it's not! How many times have you thought how hard it is to double click? Maybe a beginner can think so but when you are used with a mouse you will not think what you are doing when you are double clicking. If want to use a double click button you will have to move the finger each time and have more buttons to control. It can only be worse! Don't buy a mouse only because it has a button like that and if you have a mouse with such button don't use it! You gain in the long time!
Another kind of buttons that is quite common is buttons on the side. They can be used to go back and forward in your browser history and of course for some feature in games.
Scroll wheels
Today the most mouses have a scroll wheel in between the right and left buttons. The wheel is used to scroll up and down in documents. The most wheels rotates in steps. There is some mouses with smooth wheel but the actual scroll in the document will still scroll in steps. Which one to prefer is mostly up to the person and what he is used to. If you have a wheel with steps you will feel that the rotation and the actual scroll in the document are synchronized. With a smooth wheel you can move scroll very little and the document will not scroll until you have rotate the wheel enough. You will not often have to chose because the wheel with steps is the most common today and there is other things that have bigger weight. There can also be two scroll wheels on one mouse so you can scroll horizontal. It can be useful if you are using applications that you you have to scroll much in horizontal direction but personally I have no use for such wheel.
Ball mouse
Even called mechanical mouse is a mouse that have a ball inside of the mouse but with a hole in the bottom so the ball can rotate against the mousepad. This is the old model but it is still common. The negative with a ball mouse is that it will catch a lot of dust and other junk so it get caught by the small wheels inside the mouse that feel the rotation of the ball so the mouse pointer moves properly. When all this junk get on these wheels there can often be some problem with moving the pointer. The ball have hard to rotate and so on. You have to clean this quite often and it's not very fun. It's narrow and hard to reach the dust and take it away. Otherwise a ball mouse work very well.
Optical mouse
a optical mouse is a mouse that feel the moving with light so there is no ball that needs to be cleaned. That's good. On the other hand you will need a proper surface. It will work bad on uneven surface. The color of the surface is also important. White and very bright surface can make the mouse pointer move very much with almost no move at all. Transparent will not make the mouse anything or at least not good. If you use a regular mousepad it will be no problem so I will recommend a optical mouse next time you buying a new one.
Wireless mouse
Of course there is wireless mouses. If you want a wireless mouse you should know that there can be some very small delay if we compare with a mouse with wire. This is nothing you will notice or have to think of if you not are a game nerd. Try to avoid wireless mouses that use batteries except if you like to use batteries. I don't like to buy expensive batteries so I don't like it. There is much better if you chose a mouse that you can charge through a charger that is connected through the usb or something.
Mousepads
It's not as important as the mouse itself but don't make your own mousepad of books and other things. You better use a real mousepad! A mousepad doesn't cost much and you will not regret it. When you are buying a mousepad think of that the mousepad is big enough. Otherwise you will have to lift the mouse all the time. It's also important that the mousepad don't move when you use it. It should stay where it is. There is some ergonomic mousepads that can be used. It is not necessary but if you have problem with your wrist you better use one.