Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000

To say that this mouse is revolutionary would be somewhat of a lie, but it is hard not to notice that there are so few mice of this shape out there. After years of using a computer with a regular mouse I couldn't take it anymore and went shopping. Yes, like a typical American I stopped working and went shopping and found this mouse at Fry's or somewhere that sold mice like Fry's. It is certainly by far the best shape for a mouse if you want to prevent fatigue in your wrist and I liked the fact that it had super precise optical stuff that worked on just about anything. You are welcome to insert another word for stuff if you are an expert in mice optical magic, but for me stuff is good enough. Let's be honest, stuff is good for most of us. There are a lot of buttons on this mouse including several which I am afraid to touch because I'm not sure what they do. I've accidentally hit one and it backed me out of a web page that I had just filled out a PDF form on and when I returned it was all gone and I needed to fill it out again. Not so good, but so long as I am not swinging my hands around the desk too much I'll be fine and not accidentally touch the mystery button that sends me backwards. The wireless is somewhat of a joke really. If you get more than 30" away from the transmitter stuff on the mouse stops working and I have to remember to get it back in close. Seems kind of annoying to be limited to 30" but alas no one else makes anything better that I've ever seen. This is my second one of these as my first one died after two and a half years. I tried a $5 wired Dell mouse and nearly put myself out of my misery by hanging myself in the closet with the cord from that evil device of Satan. So onto Amazon I went and found this bad boy again because it is the best that I have found.

MOUSE ERGONOMICSI'm on the computer 12 hours a day and my wrist has been bothering me. When using most mice, your wrist is on the table, and hand is cranked up at an angle over the mouse. This completely changes your mouse posture. It is a massively tall mouse that completely angles your hand when using it.Here's what the mouse instructions recommends:The pinky edge of your hand is on the table, and your hand wraps the side of the 2.5" tall mouse, so your hand is almost sideways the whole time. Takes some getting use to, but at least all presure is off your wrist.Here's what I prefer:I use a mouse pad with a thickly padded wrist rest. The part of my forearm right before the wrist is on the wrist rest, and the hand is on the tall, (right-hand) slanted mouse, so my wrist is hanging in mid-air. This feels pretty natural for me and no more wrist pains.MOUSE PERFORMANCEIt performs very well, as well as any other MS laser mouse. Laser works on most surfaces, but not on glass or glossy surfaces. It's been 2 months and I haven't had to change the batteries yet.Pros:All of the above.Cons:Sometimes I do get inconsistent velocity when I move the mouse at constant speed but the cursor does'nt. Smoother table surfaces seem to help. This is not for gaming.

My first mouse was the original Microsoft mouse with green buttons, way back in 1985. Since then I've used several dozen from a bunch of manufacturers.When ergonomic mice began to come along about ten years ago, I immediately switched to them. I was developing a bit of wrist strain in the right hand from many, many years of mousing, and all the ergonomic mice helped allevaiate that for me by rotating the right hand to the outside, putting less stress on the tendons going through the wrist.This mouse has the very best shape of any mouse I've ever used. I've never had a trace of repetitive strain with it. It feels extremely natural in the hand - much better than the 6000 V2.0 mouse that has come along to replace it.In addition, it tracks well and works wirelessly just fine. The receiver is corded, and isn't one of the small USB dongle-like receivers, but I prefer that because I can position the receiver close to the mouse.Battery life is quite good. I use this thing a lot, and I only change batteries about once a year.It has one drawback. The area for the thumb is quite comfortable because it has a gel layer which the thumb sits on. However, every one of these I've used (three so far) have eventually begun leaking gel around the thumb. That typically happens after about two years of use.It's possible that this problem is more likely for me because of the way I hold the mouse, and the fact that I do some gaming with it. Gaming is rough on a mouse because of the tight hold and violent movements one tends to do. However, it's been the main factor that has forced me to buy a new one every so often.I just ordered two of these to put on the shelf because I'm not sure how much longer they'll be available after the release of the V2.0. As you can see from the reviews on the V2.0, users rate it lower than this one, and I certainly agree. I hope Microsoft relents and keeps this one, or makes some future version a lot more like this than the V2.0.