Computer Mice

A computer mouse is the cheapest and most widely used peripheral on a PC. A good mouse will offer excellent mobility, accuracy and will fit ergonomically into your hand . A bad mouse will offer jerky movement, inaccurate clicks and will not be ergonomically snug.

Normally, a mouse has two buttons. The left one, the most widely used, is used to select an object or place the cursor at a point on screen. The right button's abilities vary depending on the program or task currently running. If you are running a word processing program, for example, clicking the right mouse button will bring up a short cut list of commands such as cut, paste, print etc. Other mice might have more than two buttons but these are normally superfluous to normal every day use.

Wireless mice are one of the latest developments. Here you can control the mouse with much more comfort and flexibility without the need for wires. They work by using a small radio transmitter to communicate with the PC. Wireless mice normally use batteries inside them. A slowing down of movement is a sign that the batteries need to be replaced.

Optical mice replace the mechanical ball and sensor unit found on a standard mouse with an optical beam of light. The lights movement is translated into movement on screen. Optical mouse movements tend to be more efficient that mechanical mouse movements.