Need a new mouse

[tpr]

I'm using this one, now for about 2-3 yrs. There's nothing exceptional about it but it is very silent. I have tried others but after this I can't stand the mouse click sound. 

https://www.asus.com/Keyboards-Mice/WT425/

[FrancisChung]

On 3/16/2018 at 2:30 PM, Robin S said:

How long have you been using this mouse for? Do you really prefer using those mouse buttons over keyboard buttons?

3-4+ years I think.    It took me a while and it was a bit of a stop/start journey, but I now have converted and can't go back.
 

On 3/16/2018 at 2:30 PM, Robin S said:

I find I get mouse fatigue much faster than keyboard fatigue (the scroll-wheel in particular is a killer). Those 12 thumb buttons are interesting, but I would have thought that going from using all ten fingers/thumbs on a well-spaced keyboard to doing more work using a single thumb in a tiny space would be less comfortable and more prone to RSI.

Ah fatigue & RSI. Luckily I've rarely suffered from it so far from coding touch wood. Only incidents I can think of late are after some epic FPS sessions involving Doom, Shadow Warrior & Killing Floor 2.
 

On 3/16/2018 at 2:30 PM, Robin S said:

And for coding, isn't using the keyboard unavoidable? If the keyboard is unavoidable, wouldn't it be most efficient to do as much as possible with the keyboard and as little as possible with the mouse?

Yes it is unavoidable and one shouldn't avoid it. Trouble for me was, I was switching back and forth between IDEs every few months and I would forget all the shortcut keys after a while, and some of them involve complex key strokes like multiple ctrl + key combos.

If you take the time to setup a layout that reflects your workflow and usage pattern that is IDE agnostic or independent, then you can free yourself from remembering all the short cuts. Even if you do, it's much easier to look up what the button is then some obscure keyboard short cut hidden away in the layered menu structure.

Great thing is it is programmable so you can program it to do anything.
 

 

On 3/16/2018 at 2:30 PM, Robin S said:

Genuinely curious because I've never used a mouse like this before.

Funny enough you're the first person that showed any interest in it. I remember when I first saw the mouse, I got a sudden brainstorm and thought for using it to aid with my IDE situation. Certainly my MMO playing friends thought I was mad for getting a MMO mouse for that. I also recall people calling me mad for deciding to use Processwire for my first Website

 

[FrancisChung]

@Robin S,

Just realised it might be better if I uploaded some sample configurations and screenshots to better illustrate my points. I can do it once my laptop returns from repairs.

[FrancisChung]

 @Robin S , I haven't forgotten .... just been flat out recently. 

As you can see, I've programmed the side mouse buttons accordingly to my own usage patterns.
The commands you see are for PHP Storm. Most/All of them are commands i use for debugging.

I also have other profiles for different programs / IDEs as you can see on the top menu (Visual Studio, Diablo3  etc)

Another interesting thing is there is a right mouse button you can click (G-Shift) which you can press to get an alternative set of comma.

I've grouped out IDE editor commands here seperately.

Also, it lets you have 3 different modes according to Colour which you can customise.

You can see above that I'm currently in the default mode of Purple. There's a button at the top of the mouse that lets you cycle through other modes.

Following picture shows the commands for the Red mode. I've put in some Web Browser commands in the Red mode for example.

 

So it's a bit of work to program the commands you use and lay it out the way that's useful to you. 

I am happy to provide the profiles if anyone needs it, save you hours!
The huge advantage of going through this process is you can just learn 1/2 set of layouts and you can use it on multiple IDEs , enviroments.

My Visual Studio layout is almost identical to PHPStorm layout (bar some unique commands) so I know exactly where the StepOver or StepThrough commands are exactly. Perhaps overkill if you just use 1 IDE or program in 1 environment but if you're jumping around, then I don't know of a better solution than this.

The only issue you might have if you're intrigued is sourcing the mouse. I think I've seen some go on sale on eBay still ...