Do optical mice need mousepads?

[thespeakerbox]

My work wont buy me one, even though my desk is worn smooth..... and no i will not spend 2 dolllars.

 

[Cobolman]

I've never needed one with an optical mouse...or even a ball mouse, for that matter.

The general idea is to provide a grippier surface so your mouse ball rolls rather than sliding. I've never had a mousing surface that slippery.

Long story short, no, you don't need one.

 

[bruceb]

If they won't buy one & you won't then you could make do with about
3 or 4 pieces of nice smooth bond paper ... just tape it down to the desk

 

[eastvillager]

Modern optical mice do not need pads. What they do need is a surface that doesn't confuse the optics.

Somebody should've told Dell that before they started shipping those generic black pads with the silver dell logo in the middle, lol. You'd think they would've noticed how it makes their basic optical mouse go crazy on a regular basis.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: eastvillager
Modern optical mice do not need pads. What they do need is a surface that doesn't confuse the optics.

QFT :thumbsup:

 

[Tu13erhead]

I taped a piece of plain white paper to my desk at work. Works fine, and if it gets dirty I can just get a new one.

 

[Cobolman]

Originally posted by: Tu13erhead
I taped a piece of plain white paper to my desk at work. Works fine, and if it gets dirty I can just get a new one.

Belive it or not, an optical mouse will actually track better if you scribble all over the paper.

 

[Zepper]

An optical mouse needs some kind of texture on the surface to function. So if you have a black glass surface or other featureless surface, you may need something for it to track on. Some mouse pads have a nice, even texture or printed surface for the optics to grab onto. Or you can improvise as noted above.

.bh.

 

[orangat]

You must be one stingy broke ass employee if you can't even afford buying your own $5 mousepad.
And no, you don't need one.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: orangat
You must be one stingy broke ass employee if you can't even afford buying your own $5 mousepad.
And no, you don't need one.

:thumbsup: Suggest to your employer that mousepads with their logo or advertising are a good give away.

 

[imported_Imp]

Optical mice shouldn't need one and actually get's screwy with one. I'm using one at home wih no pad on a wooden desk, not too glossy. At school, whenever I use the mouse, it gets jumpy if it's on a pad, but perfect on the table.

 

[pkme2]

Use a large desktop calender. They have the super large versions, check Walmart.

 

[bdww00]

um mousefeet do enjoy a longer life on a smooth surface such as a mousepad!!! personally for gaming i love a large surface pad

 

[CaptnKirk]

At work I use a large piece of granite - the drop from a counter where the sink went in.

in never slides, or curls up - tracks perfect.

First I used a tile that was about 9" X 9" but now the granite piece is really good.

 

[Howard]

Many optical mice don't track well on shiny surfaces. My desk is some sort of glossy laminate and my Intellimouse Optical can't track on it.