Trendy Mice from Microsoft

Microsoft has recently unveiled new mice for notebook and

desktop users. Notebook owners who are sick of using their touchpads and are

looking for an alternative, will find these very appealing. Let's look at

three of these.

Notebook Laser 6000



This is a wireless, laser based mouse meant for notebook users. It works on a

single AA sized battery, placed at the center, which can be taken out by just

pressing a button at the bottom. It connects to the notebook with a wireless

radio receiver, which is a small dongle that fits into your USB port. When you

are done using it, just slide its USB snap-in underneath the mouse. This turns

the mouse off when not in use to preserve battery. The mouse has a comfortable

grip, fits nicely in the hand and works pretty smoothly. It has four buttons,

including a remarkable thumb button, which works as a magnifier tool. On

clicking this, a rectangular enclosure appears in place of the mouse cursor,

which enlarges the corresponding screen area as the mouse is moved over.

This rectangular area can be increased by moving the

mouse toward the right/bottom of the screen while keeping the thumb button

pressed. This button can be customized for other features such as cut,

paste, zoom-in, auto scroll, etc . Similarly, other buttons can also be

customized. The mouse supports tilt wheel technology, which provides 4-way

scrolling, ie, in addition to up and down, you can also scroll sideways by

tilting the scroll button on either side.

Notebook Optical 3000



A small four-button, kewl looking optical mouse from Microsoft. The mouse has
rubberized grips on either side, which makes it convenient for Notebook users.

This mouse has an extra thumb button which works as a magnifier and it also

supports tilt wheel functionality.

The mouse is very comfortable to use as well as for

scrolling and clicking. It connects to a notebook through a wired USB port, so

while traveling you don't have to worry about its batteries. It's pretty

lightweight too and can easily fit in your notebook bag.

Comfort Optical 3000



This wired optical mouse is for desktop users and connects to the system

through a USB port. Its shape and size fits nicely into the palm though some of

you might find its top a bit slippery.

As with others, it also has four buttons (all customizable)

and supports tilt wheel technology.

It looks alright, albeit a little bigger than normal

desktop mice and is quite lightweight as well. Just like all other products, it

ships with Microsoft IntelliPoint software CD which can be used for customizing

the mouse. This includes customization of the buttons, pointers, speed, etc.

Bottom Line: If you are a notebook user and looking

for a wireless solution then Wireless Notebook Laser 6000 is for you, else the

Optical Mouse 3000 will work just as fine.

Desktop users can pick Comfort Optical Mouse for its extra

features even though there are cheaper alternatives available.

Swapnil Arora