quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
^^^

Yep.

Why I mentioned using a blank sheet of white paper, to see if it "makes a difference".

Less likely to create scattered return "light" to the mouse's sensor.

In the "olde" days of roller ball mouse, the mouse pad was designed to give the ball "purchase" and best friction for the movement of the ball. The later infrared/"neutered" mouses, found mouse pads created a lot of scattered returns and erratic mouse (cursor) function.

A lot of desk/table tops have wood grain or "very tiny" patterns that can make the mouse think it's on acid...

I was having problems on my highly polished wood keyboard tray with the laser on my mouse. I had some old school green grid engineering paper leftover and saw a significant improvement. Therefore, I decided to go really old school (i.e. buy a mouse pad designed for the laser tracker ) and I couldn't be happier with mouse performance the past 2 years.

My notebook computer has a setting to disable the built-in trackpad IF an external mouse is detected. I find that setting helps, in terms of minimizing erratic mouse responses.

I thought that my old mouse was dying, but wiping the optical lens with a cloth that had been sprayed with monitor cleaning fluid restored it to brand new functionality.

As far as brands go, my best luck has always been with either Apple meeses or Logitech. For LogiTech, I get the cheapest ones that Amazon offers and they work just fine.

Try a SteelSeries mouse. They have wired and wireless:

https://steelseries.com/

I've had terrible luck with my last two logitech mice (G703). They seem to start screen jumping after about a year of use. This is a known hardware issue. I had them warranty replaced because of it. I used to love their mice. I'm a DBA/developer, so I spend a lot of time on a PC. I've been using a wired SteelSeries SenseiTen for at least a year now. I bought it because I injured my right shoulder and needed to switch to left arm for work, to heal. They're not cheap, but nicely shaped, track very well, and work with my KVM setup. Sensi gaming software doesn't work over KVM, but neither did logitech's. I don't really game either.

My son in law suggested a Logitech M705 I tried a few others but my hand seemed to cramp. I purchased it early in the pandemic (2020) and have used it every workday since. I'd buy it again! And I still haven't replaced batteries.

I am using a Logitech MX anywhere 3 and a Microsoft Arc mouse.

The Arc mouse takes some getting used to as it has no scroll wheel just a surface to move your finger on.

Both work well.

quote:

The Arc mouse takes some getting used to as it has no scroll wheel just a surface to move your finger on.

Much like the Apple mouse.

I bought a wireless Logitech from Costco that was on sale for $20 about 3 months ago that works flawlessly and seems pretty hardy. Pretty light load on batteries too as they seem to last very well. M720. It will also (potentially) operate with 3 separate devices at the push of a button. I have it setup with it's tiny dongle on my old desktop and through bluetooth on a laptop.

I say potentially because if they all require the dongle, you'd have to swap it between machines.

I have been running a Logitech for over 17 years. I take the AA batteries out of clocks that have slowed or stopped and can get another month or two out of them in the mouse.

Thank you all for your help, it is much appreciated. I've learned from y'all and have a much better understanding of said subject.

I am looking right now to order a new Logitech mouse as described above, and a mouse pad.

I'll post a follow up in a week or so.
.

I'm using the Logitech MX Master that I've had for about 6 or 7 years.