I've come to the conclusion that I don't like the Logitech Gaming Mouse. I tried, I really did. I mean, it's a GAMING mouse... How bad can it be?

Actually I hate all mice.

My evil mouse saga and tale of woe began when I finally started using a nice mouse. A Microsoft Intelimouse Explorer. It was nice. Very nice. So big, so sensitive. Only a few minor problems with this bad boy. Really sudden motion would throw the tracking out. It's also a little bit light for my tastes. I like mice that stick to your desk. We also had a pile of these mice fail, due I'm convinced to the lack of support where the mouse cord goes into the front of the device. Overall though, I loved it.... But did I keep it? Noooooooo. Of course not!

In the eternal quest for gaming perfection I allowed the lure of the Boomslang to ensnare me. That's right, I went out and spent $150 on a flippin' mouse. Ouch. That hurts. Since I wanted one so badly, and spent so much money on it, one would assume that the Boomslang would rest close to my heart until the day I died... (Oh I also blew $45 on an Everglide mousing surface to go with it.) WRONG! One would be incorrect in that assumption... Very wrong indeed.

A few months of struggling with the shape of the Boomslang, and it's strangley placed buttons had me looking to the shelves to see what else I could purchase to replace it. The 'slang is nice... But it's just very odd to use. The one VERY nice thing about it is the fact that you can change your sensitivity on the fly, which is quite handy when flying a scout in Tribes or sniping. On the other hand, it was very unwieldy for things like Photoshop and art work. So off it went. $75.00 I got for it.....

And so I purchased a Microsoft Intelimouse Optical, on the advice of Nolman. (Hereafter referred to as "Big Chief) Big Chief was owning large in Tribes with his IO mouse, so I figured what the hell and hooked one up. Very nice. Light, so it's easy to move. Sensitive, cause I like my pointing device to be nice and twitchy. And the coolest thing of all.. It's ass lights up! Woot!

Regrettably, the mouse though it slides like it's riding on glass on my Everglide, unlike the Explorer doesn't work well on the white EG mousing surface... Too reflective I guess. Argh. So back to the store and pick up a 3M mousing surface, which are very nice as well. I've used the IO for a bit now, and I really noticed that my skillz improved once I started getting used to it. Only a few problems with it. The side buttons are again a major pain in the ass to use. So I never use them. I also find that one my hands start sweating the mouse, being "Ambidextrous" (Which I have come to the conclusion is Latin for "Big pain in the ass for everyone, but cheaper for us to make") gets very slippery and hard to hold onto. And so, in the heat of battle I have to fight with my stupid mouse. This frequently results in me getting my ass kicked when I really should have had the guy. Nothing more annoying than getting owned by some no-skill idiot when it's not even your fault. ARGH!

And so we come to my latest mouse. We've had a Logitech Gaming Mouse sitting on the shelf for a few months now, looking at me with it's beady little eyes every time I walked by. So I decided to try it out. Here's where the fun starts.

First off, my computer would not recognize the mouse when I plugged it in. I had to first load the drivers. No problem I thought (Never thinking about the effect that Logitech drivers generally have on Windows 2000.. Duh.) Rebooted the machine.... Nothing.. Locked constantly on boot. Tried a few things, finally ended up going into safe mode and totally deleting all mouse drivers. Rebooted. Now my damned Microsoft mouse was no longer recognized. Had to reload the drivers for that. Rebooted. Logged onto the Logitech web site. Big note on their drivers page warning about the dire consequences of loading the old drivers on Windows 2000. Downloads the Windows 2000 updated drivers. Loaded them. Rebooted. Computer hung. Again. Went back into safe mode. Removed MS mouse software. Removed Logitech mouse software. Rebooted. Installed updated Logitech drivers. Rebooted. Plugged in mouse and it worked....... BUT! The software update is just the generic crappy Logitech driver, not the nice retail one. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.. No retail drivers for us heathen Windows 2000 users I guess.

No problem. I can live with it. At least the damned thing is working. Sat down and got the crap kicked out of me for hours. Perfectly normal with a new mouse... But this was worse than usual. I couldn't snipe. Couldn't chaingun.. Couldn't do ANYTHING. ARGH!

There's just something about that mouse that makes it, for me, unusable. I have large hands, and it's tiny. It's too light for my tastes, so I can't control it properly. The thumb groove is out of position for me. The third button is hard for me to get at easily. Basically I just don't like the thing. **

Anyhows, running on here, time to end it....

I'm back to my MS Intelimouse........ Does anyone have any suggestions as to what kind of mouse I should get? I'm desperate here. Dopper has spent the last few years suggesting that I buy a mouseman +... I just might give into the darkside with him......

** As a side note, the Logitech Gaming mouse went home with Skeezix and he just loves it. It's not evil, it's just me. :))