mojomonkee Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Backstory: I bought this mouse because I saw a link at SlickDeals to get it for $17.99USD with free shipping. I saw it on previous days for $35.00+ at local retailers so I thought this to be quite the steal. The Mouse: Once I got the mouse out of the box and put the batteries in (a simple operation) I noticed that it feels a lot lighter than my previous wireless Intellimouse which is a welcome change. Even without mouse skates, the device slid quite easily on my mouse pad. After installing the new Intellipoint software that came with the mouse, I was set to configure the buttons. Really, I was only interested to see what I could map the tilt left/right functions to. Ideally, I would map them to CTRL+TAB and CTRL+SHIFT+TAB so switching channels in mIRC and FireFox would be a breeze... but it seemed that the software didn't want me to do that. There were no options in the software to re-map the tiltwheel functions so I downloaded the latest version of Intellipoint from Microsoft's website and still no option existed to re-map the function. My primary reason for purchasing this mouse has been shot down. The idea of a tiltwheel is only useful for people who need to sidescroll documents and webpages... something that I (or anyone with a decent resolution) never do. To be fair, I tried using the sidescrolling function of the tiltwheel but it only seemed to work in FireFox after I had middle clicked the page and then un-focused the little four-arrow circle. Maybe it works differently in Internet Explorer, but I am of the opinion that I shouldn't have to "activate" a feature in order to use it. It should just work. The middle button is a blessing and a curse. The scrolling action is so smooth and silky as it doesn't click when you scroll it. I love that scroll action so much. On the other hand, clicking the button is insanely difficult. Not only does the button have a very high tension, but for some reason even when you do click it down it doesn't register that it was clicked. I'm guessing this has something to do with the tiltwheel. Curses. The two side mounted buttons work the same as in previous Intellimouse versions. I use them for back/forward in FireFox and Explorer and they work like a charm. Summary: If you can get the mouse for under $20.00USD, you can't really go wrong. It's wireless and optical with a comfortable feel in your hands that doesn't make you feel like you're lugging a brick around. Be wary, though, the tiltwheel isn't as useful as one might think and until Microsoft allows users to re-map the tiltwheel left/right functions, it's pretty much useless. The Good: -Lightweight for a cordless -Feels great in your hand -Middle scroll wheel is heavenly smooth -Inexpensive The Bad: -Middle click is hellish -Tiltwheel is useless -It doesn't use a laser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plarkster Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Nice review. Agree 100% about the wheel - it scrolls nice once you get used to it but why is it so hard to click?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougkinzinger Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Good review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mzkhadir Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 sweet mouse + Good review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkee Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 i seem to have somehow fixed the sidescroll issue.... but i still can't remap the buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdflkjsdrhthfhrhr Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Haha, with 1920x1200 sidescroll is practically useless hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdave Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 but not for me with 800x600 ;) nice review mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxicfume Veteran Posted September 10, 2004 Veteran Share Posted September 10, 2004 One more con for me: Scrolls through listboxes, weapons in games, etc TOO Fast! You got to really put an effort and move it very slightly and slowly to get it to work right, something which I have no time for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hifive Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Nice review! But I think the price you got it for is too much. I saw it on eBay for Buy It Now $15 + $7 Shipping for the 4.0 Intellimouse. But still, that's a nice mouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG1 Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Intellimouse 4.0 is corded, this is a wireless mouse, Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 2.0, note the Explorer adition to the word means it a diffrent mouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hifive Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Oooh. Never knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigMack Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Anyone know if MS is coming out with a Laser mouse soon??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandMaster Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 thats a 4.0 - not a 2.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islanq Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Haha, with 1920x1200 sidescroll is practically useless hehe :happy: You can crank up the side scroll lines just like you can crank up the up and down scroll lines,. You can be to the other side of the screen in 2 seconds flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattesca Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 really great mouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Man Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 One more con for me: Scrolls through listboxes, weapons in games, etc TOO Fast! You got to really put an effort and move it very slightly and slowly to get it to work right, something which I have no time for. Ye i get that with my Wireless Optical Mouse 2.0 it really bugs me when i scroll in a game and select grenades instead of say my rifle and i end up dying because of it :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Paul Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qarth Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 I wanted to use the tilt for leaning in games and it doesn't work... :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxx Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 looks cool good find ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmark327 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 I hate the new mouse wheel since it's now useless for changing weapons or selecting things from combo boxes (I wouldn't have minded if I could map tilt scrolling to weapon select) and I hate how hard it is to click the middle mouse. My 3.0 died and they replaced it with this, but I'm going to find and buy a new 3.0 somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3ta Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Nice review - by the way, what was the point of the Tilt Wheel Technology anyway? Never really understood why I'd want to scroll sideways?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanekiwi Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 nice review. i know a girl who has this mouse, i used it for awhile but didnt like it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Floyd Veteran Posted October 8, 2004 Veteran Share Posted October 8, 2004 good review :yes: I'm wondering too if MS will release a lazer mouse like logitech did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahfunaki Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I'm sure they will... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarKHawK Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I Need to assgin the middle button to backspace, anyone got any idea. Any luck with assgining the tilt wheel..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts