IntelliMouse Optical: Need Another

[Piyono]

It took six years but the left and right buttons in my MS IntelliMouse Optical are finally starting to fail. I considered replacing the microswitches but I can't find an exact match. The part seems to have been customized for MS. Someone is selling the catalog part on eBay, but there's no guarantee it'll work in this mouse.

So now I'm looking for a new IntelliMouse Optical. Three years ago I was able to buy these for about $18 apiece from practically any channel supplier, but none of my suppliers is carrying them anymore, and I cannot bring myself to buy one local retail for $30+.

I briefly considered switching mice but visits to the big-box retailers resulted only in frustration when I couldn't find a single mouse that had the feel, features and price I was after. Not that the IntelliMouse Optical is such a marvelous design, but I'd rather stick with the evil I know than have to get used to an evil I don't know.

Any Torontonians out there know where I can find these for under 20 bucks?

Piyono

 

[Piyono]

I went ahead and bought the switches on eBay. Figured for $6.50 it's worth a shot.

Piyono

 

[Mercutio]

Usually if you look, there are places that sell refurb Logitech/Microsoft input devices for substantial savings. Overstock.com and geeks.com are two places for USians to look.

I've found my Logitech Trackball Marble rodents for $15 every time I've wanted to buy more.

 

[Piyono]

A lot of these refurb places are in the U.S. The shipping will kill me nearly every time. $15 to ship a $10 refurbished mouse doesn't add up. I'd have to find a Canadian online store or a local shop.

Piyono

 

[MaxBurn]

Call microsoft and tell them to send a new one? What was the warranty on those things anyway, I know I got two free.

 

[Piyono]

Call microsoft and tell them to send a new one? What was the warranty on those things anyway, I know I got two free.

Two free? Microsoft? New one? Call?
Do tell!
Two of *what* for free? Switches? Mice?
What number did you dial?
To whom did you speak?

I have no idea what the warranty period is. I bought these mice OEM for like $18. Who looks up the warranty on an OEM mouse (don't answer that)?

Piyono

 

[MaxBurn]

This was in the days of the explorer 3.0, the cords on them sucked and I went through a couple. No need to return even, so I had extras. Before I asked for a replacement I would even shorten the cord and resolder it to the board, but then the cord got too short and demanded replacement.

I got the contact info off their site, but mine were bought retail that likely came with a year or two warranty. Don't know what OEM comes with.

 

[Adcadet]

My Intellimouse Explorer 1.0A is also in the last stages of it's life. I had a rodent chew through the cord once, but I just soldered it back - it's much shorter now, but since I just plug it into the keyboard it's actually an improvement.

My wife got a logitech something or other for around $30 a month back and I could go that route. But I like my old MS mouse.

 

[ddrueding]

My Logitech MX1000's rechargeable batteries are going bad. I'm thinking of adding a wired mouse for desktop work and just using it for the HTPC stuff. I recently added a Logitech G15 keyboard and am really happy with it so far.

I suspect I'll get one of these.

 

[Adcadet]

The MX400 is what my wife got. She likes it well enough, as do I. I'm starting to think that wired is the way to go for mice for most set ups.

 

[Adcadet]

I think my Intellimouse explorer that I'm using now is at least 9 years old. I think I bought it when I built my first computer, back in the fall of my second year of college, 1998. I simply haven't seen a reason to get another. Around 1999 I bought my wife a wireless mouse (the basic MS Intellimouse Wireless, or something like that) which she used until a few months ago, when she got her MX400 and I briefly used it on my second desktop. But it's just a bit too flaky for me to tolerate. When I ordered my new HDs a few days ago I thought about getting a replacement mouse, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Maybe this week I'll go to the local Best Buy and see what I like. It needs two main buttons (duh), a scroll wheel, and a forward and back button on the side. Anything else is not so important. Maybe I'll just get an Intellimouse Explorer 3. Seems very similar to my 1.0A, other than just having USB and no PS3, and the side buttons are smaller.

 

[ddrueding]

Right now I'm using an MX500 and it is nice. There is an almost imperceptible amount of lag on the MX1000 (bluetooth) that I can now appreciate.

 

[Adcadet]

can somebody explain to me why we have bluetooth mice and keyboards. Wasn't regular old RF stuff good enough? What exactly does bluetooth add?

 

[ddrueding]

I can link it to my phone for faster text messaging

Seriously, I've replaced the stock Bluetooth receiver with an aftermarket one from Linksys that has an antenna. Much better range for use with my projector/HTPC setup. It also links to my laptop without having to plug in a dongle of any kind. None of the proprietary wireless stuff can do that.

 

[ddrueding]

I think the question should always be "why not follow an industry standard" as opposed to "why have an industry standard".

Just a thought.

 

[Piyono]

So I got on the blower, and after being bounced around a bit I finally got the number for Microsoft's consumer order desk (800-360-7561). My mouse is OEM so they won't deal with me but they were kind enough to give me the number for the OEM parts desk (866-230-0560). Unfortunately this department was closed when I called so I'll have to try in the morning.

Piyono

 

[Bozo]

My Logitech MX1000's rechargeable batteries are going bad. I'm thinking of adding a wired mouse for desktop work and just using it for the HTPC stuff. I recently added a Logitech G15 keyboard and am really happy with it so far.

I suspect I'll get one of these.

At least with the MS mice, you can replace the batteries. My MX1000 will be the first and last wireless mouse that the batteries are permanent.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Mercutio]

A while back, while I was cleaning out my trackball, one of the little gray balls that supports the big red trackball popped out and disappeared on my carpet. I couldn't find the damned thing, so I e-mailed Logitech. They sent me a little bag filled with the little gray balls I needed.

Just thought I'd say something nice about Logitech.

Anyway, I've yet to find a Bluetooth peripheral worth owning. I have a couple bluetooth receivers but after trying a couple expensive keyboards, I went back to my non-bluetooth RF keyboard and I was happier for it. Bluetooth is a solution looking for a problem IMO.

 

[Fushigi]

I use the MX1000 on my PC but use the Logitech VX Revolution on my notebook. I like it a lot. It is a little smaller than a normal mouse (there's an MX Revolution that's full-sized) but is larger than the mini-notebook mice you see, is 2.4GHz wireless, and goes for a few months on a single AA battery. You can use rechargeables if you want but I just use batteries that are no longer strong enough for flashlights and the like; they still last for many weeks in the mouse.

It has 2 buttons, wheel w/tilt, search, forward/back, and zoom/unzoom buttons. You can also release the 'click' tensioner on the wheel for scrolling through long docs.

 

[Piyono]

The new switches arrived today and I just finished installing them. My iron is still hot and I haven't even emptied the solder pump yet. Everything seems to be working as advertised. The new switches look identical to the ones they replace but have a different feel and sound. I suppose that could simply be a result of their being, you know... new.

So far so good!

Will keep this thread posted if anything new develops.

Piyono

 

[MaxBurn]

I love Bluetooth keyboards and mice for laptops that have integrated Bluetooth, no dongles or wires at all. Bluetooth broadband through a cell phone is pretty cool too, unfortunately RIM is really behind in figuring this out for the Blackberry though. I think in general in my small experience anyway, Bluetooth range is better than the other devices I have seen.

For a mouse I used that explorer 3.0 for a long time, now I use a Logitech G5. I miss the second side button and the center button is really stiff on this. Unfortunately I have a KVM switch so I can't load software to enable the side scrolling that new mice have and I can't use that either. The feel and accuracy of the G5 is really good though.

 

[time]

In my experience, it's the feet that are the achilles' heel with optical mice. Feet falling off is why I gave up on Logitech, although they've probably improved by now, and I don't include the ridiculously expensive versions.

Just tonight, I noticed that one of our beloved A4 'Big Thumb' mice has lost a foot. Of course, optical mice get a harder life because no-one uses mouse pads any more.

Piyono, I'm both impressed and appalled with your dedication to a cheap electronic device. While being sufficiently obsessive, I don't think I could have brought myself to do the sensible thing like you did.

 

[ddrueding]

When I order a mouse I typically buy some aftermarket feet for it at the same time. As you say, without mousepads they get beat up much more. I prefer the harder feet when I'm using non-traditional surfaces.

 

[Fushigi]

I still use mouse pads. Considering I buy $40+ mice a couple of bucks for a mouse pad isn't unreasonable. I don't always have one around, like when I travel with the notebook, but my main home & office areas have pads.

The VX Revolution's feet are fairly large. There are five feet and they look to total over a square inch.

 

[Piyono]

In my experience, it's the feet that are the achilles' heel with optical mice. Feet falling off is why I gave up on Logitech, although they've probably improved by now, and I don't include the ridiculously expensive versions.

Just tonight, I noticed that one of our beloved A4 'Big Thumb' mice has lost a foot. Of course, optical mice get a harder life because no-one uses mouse pads any more.

Piyono, I'm both impressed and appalled with your dedication to a cheap electronic device. While being sufficiently obsessive, I don't think I could have brought myself to do the sensible thing like you did.

I've been using mice for 25 years and never once has a foot fallen off, although once when I was walking in Jerusalem on a particularly scorching-hot day, the adhesive on my Reebok runners started to melt, causing my outsoles to separate from the midsoles. Awkward. Maybe the dry heat in Australia is wreaking similar havoc with the adhesive on your mice.

On mouse pads: My mouse never leaves my Everglide Ricochet.

On perceived dedication: Thinking of the expendable "nature" of practically everything these days makes my stomach turn. While I have no particular affinity for this manufactured item, the idea of disposing of something that can be fixed, simply because it is cheap to manufacture, saddens me. Everything is plastic wrap; use once and throw out. What's more, articles like this one frighten me. The combination of sad and scared is enough of a motivator to make an effort to maximize the useful life of all of my possessions.

Piyono

 

[Piyono]

In my experience, it's the feet that are the achilles' heel with optical mice. Feet falling off is why I gave up on Logitech, although they've probably improved by now, and I don't include the ridiculously expensive versions.

Just tonight, I noticed that one of our beloved A4 'Big Thumb' mice has lost a foot. Of course, optical mice get a harder life because no-one uses mouse pads any more.

Piyono, I'm both impressed and appalled with your dedication to a cheap electronic device. While being sufficiently obsessive, I don't think I could have brought myself to do the sensible thing like you did.

I've been using mice for 25 years and never once has a foot fallen off, although once when I was walking in Jerusalem on a particularly scorching-hot day, the adhesive on my Reebok runners started to melt, causing my outsoles to separate from the midsoles. Awkward. Maybe the dry heat in Australia is wreaking similar havoc with the adhesive on your mice.

On mouse pads: My mouse never leaves my Everglide Ricochet.

On perceived dedication: Thinking of the expendable "nature" of practically everything these days makes my stomach turn. While I have no particular affinity for this manufactured item, the idea of disposing of something that can be fixed, simply because it is cheap to manufacture, saddens me. Everything is plastic wrap; use once and throw out. What's more, articles like this one frighten me. The combination of sad and scared is enough of a motivator to make an effort to maximize the useful life of all of my possessions.

Piyono

 

[Piyono]

In my experience, it's the feet that are the achilles' heel with optical mice. Feet falling off is why I gave up on Logitech, although they've probably improved by now, and I don't include the ridiculously expensive versions.

Just tonight, I noticed that one of our beloved A4 'Big Thumb' mice has lost a foot. Of course, optical mice get a harder life because no-one uses mouse pads any more.

Piyono, I'm both impressed and appalled with your dedication to a cheap electronic device. While being sufficiently obsessive, I don't think I could have brought myself to do the sensible thing like you did.

I've been using mice for 25 years and never once has a foot fallen off, although once when I was walking in Jerusalem on a particularly scorching-hot day, the adhesive on my Reebok runners started to melt, causing my outsoles to separate from the midsoles. Awkward. Maybe the dry heat in Australia is wreaking similar havoc with the adhesive on your mice.

On mouse pads: My mouse never leaves my Everglide Ricochet.

On perceived dedication: Thinking of the expendable "nature" of practically everything these days makes my stomach turn. While I have no particular affinity for this manufactured item, the idea of disposing of something that can be fixed, simply because it is cheap to manufacture, saddens me. Everything today is plastic wrap; use once and throw out. No thanks. What's more, articles like this one frighten me. The combination of sad and scared is enough of a motivator to make an effort to maximize the useful life of all of my possessions.

Piyono

 

[Handruin]

ddrueding, I have the first generation logitech G5 mouse and although I like it, I'm considering replacing it. I've had it for a bit over a year or more and the scroll wheel is worn out. It's not the actual wheel, but the mechanism which records the scroll. Also, I find I need to clean off the feet at least once per day. I don't know if it's the mouse pad or the feet that are causing a buildup of crap. Otherwise the mouse tracks perfectly and the buttons are great (the thumb button is very nice to have).

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks Handruin. I'm currently using the MX1000 at the coffee table and a leftover MX500 at my desk. I really like the way the MX Revolution looks and feels, but I don't want to give up the immediacy available in a wired mouse. This is my first wired mouse in many years (since Logitech's first "cordless desktop" was released), and I didn't realize what I was missing.

I need a click-able scroll wheel and both buttons on the side for browser navigation; everything else is optional.

In my experience, the amount of crap gathered by the bottom of the mouse is a function of the crap on the mousing surface. Not to imply your desk is unclean or anything I also peel all the stickers off the bottom, I suspect that the glue from them slowly wears off on the surface, gathering more gunk.

 

[Handruin]

The click-able scroll wheel is what frustrates me the most about my G5 right now. I use it to open URL's in new tabs in firefox. Because the scroll wheel is worn out, when I try to click the scroll wheel, the page jumps up and down because the sensor in the mouse is worn out. The side buttons are also a thing I love for browser navigation. I miss them when I'm using a mouse at work without them.

As for the crap on the bottom of the feet, it must be my mouse pad not the desk. I bought a gaming mouse pad with a slick surface and it usually works well, but I get a lot of material buildup on the button of the silicon feet.

I started looking into the Razor DeathAdder mouse, but I hear the scroll wheel is a bit "thick". I need to find a place that sells it locally so I can try it out first. I'm all about a "cabled" mouse. I won't play any game or do graphics work with a wireless mouse. The lag is usually noticeable, though I haven't tried any recent wireless gaming mouse. Hell, I'm tempted to get the Razer keyboard because it claims to have a 1ms delay in keystroke vs the normal 8ms. They also claim to have no ghost keys and can press 6 at a time. It's a bit pricey...

 

[ddrueding]

As far as keyboards go, I also just went wired for the first time. I have the Logitech G15 and am in love; the back lit keys are great, and the LCD has auto-enabled for most of my games.

 

[mubs]

What's more, articles like this one frighten me.

Yeah, that was scary reading all right. In the same vein, I read an article a few days ago about radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. I'll find and post the link if anybody's interested.

This is slow, painful, suicide.

 

[Fushigi]

With the VX I haven't noticed any real lag. The MX700 had horrible lag and the MX1000 has some, but the VX Rev seems pretty good about it. Maybe it's because it is a 2.4GHz device instead of IR or RF.

I'll have to check out the keyboard; I've been wanting something with backlit keys. Glancing at the Logitech site I think the G11 would be more suitable for me than the G15, though, as I'm not a gamer.

 

[Fushigi]

With the VX I haven't noticed any real lag. The MX700 had horrible lag and the MX1000 has some, but the VX Rev seems pretty good about it. Maybe it's because it is a 2.4GHz device instead of IR or RF.

I'll have to check out the keyboard; I've been wanting something with backlit keys. Glancing at the Logitech site I think the G11 would be more suitable for me than the G15, though, as I'm not a gamer.

 

[MaxBurn]

The click-able scroll wheel is what frustrates me the most about my G5 right now. I use it to open URL's in new tabs in firefox. Because the scroll wheel is worn out, when I try to click the scroll wheel, the page jumps up and down because the sensor in the mouse is worn out. The side buttons are also a thing I love for browser navigation. I miss them when I'm using a mouse at work without them.

Mine is starting to get like that too. I think I am going to investigate an RMA. the sensor actually picks up the scroll just fine but the indent for the position clicks is completely worn out on the down direction.

 

[Handruin]

Yep, that's what mine is doing. It has also become very sensitive for scrolling where if I even keep my finger on it slightly, the scroll will wiggle up and down.

Center clicking is such a pain with it right now. I assumed the warranty was 90 days or a year...most things never seem to have long warranties, but maybe I should also investigate. It wasn't a cheap mouse to begin with...

 

[Handruin]

I guess I was a little bit off when I bought the mouse. I looked up my order history on newegg and it claims I bought it on "10/24/2005 10:08:40 PM" for $50 USD.

So I headed over to logitech's website for warranty info and it seems our mouse has a 3 year warranty. Just do a page search for "G5" and you'll see what I mean. I'll have to contact them now and see what happens.

Mine's the "M-UAC113" model...it says on the bottom of the mouse. Is yours the same?

 

[Handruin]

One more thing. Their support forum lead me to this page regarding an RMA.

 

[MaxBurn]

Let us know if they replace it for a worn out clicker on the scroll wheel.

I just remembered I replaced this mouse once already for an optical sensor that died soon after I got it. I think I will look for an alternative.

 

[Piyono]

Yeah, that was scary reading all right. In the same vein, I read an article a few days ago about radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. I'll find and post the link if anybody's interested.

This is slow, painful, suicide.

We humans have a funny way of setting ourselves up for disaster, don't we. I await your link.

Piyono