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Mice.
Unless you’re the Pied Piper or an avid computer gamer, they
likely only come to mind when you hear that odd pitter patter of tiny
feet in the walls at night or it’s time to pick a new one up
at the local electronics store. Even then, when it comes time to make
a choice, it’s likely made in about the same fashion that you
choose your fountain drinks from the local QuikTrip; i.e. “Eeny
meeny miney moe!” I can’t speak for the rest of you, but
as far back as I can remember, I’ve always had a Microsoft branded
mouse at the helm for all my cursor moving needs, at least until Logitech
launched their MX
series, and even then I still switch between the two. To this day,
I still think the original IntelliMouse Explorer line was one of the
best mice ever produced. Sure, it might not have the same level of
optical preciseness like today’s newer models, but it always
seemed above par when compared to the rest of the competition. The
IntelliMouse Explorer’s ergonomic design just “fit”
my hand better; from the button positioning, primarily the side mounted
ones, to the fact that my palm didn’t drag across the mouse
pad because of how far back I had to position my hand for comfort.
And let’s not forget that Microsoft was the first to introduce
the first scroll wheel way back in 1996.
Wireless, once a despised and often cursed technology in mice due
to its flakiness, has greatly improved over the last few years and
is becoming more and more popular as folks look for ways to achieve
a “cleaner” desk area. When I first took the plunge
into wireless with the purchase of a Logitech MX700, I came away
very happy. While the tracking wasn’t quite up to par for
fast-paced FPS games such as Unreal Tournament 2003/2004 like its
wired brethren, it’s larger size and overall layout was a
definite plus in the comfort department. As much as I liked the
wireless MX700, I ended up delegating it to desktop use only. When
it came time for a few rounds of Unreal Tournament or Call of Duty,
I found myself reaching back for my wired IntelliMouse Explorer
3.0.
Today
we’re going to take a look at one of Microsoft’s more
recent offerings, the Wireless
IntelliMouse Explorer 2.0, my first foray into the MS line of
wireless mice. It brings with it Microsoft’s Tilt
Wheel Technology, boasts up to six months of battery life, and
is offered in eight different color choices, including black leather.
So does this new wireless model do justice to the IntelliMouse name
or should it just be re-titled as “Junk 1.0”? Read on
as we investigate and see if this mouse is worth some of your hard
earned cheese (pun intended).
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