Advice About Mice
Use a mouse with your laptop
A laptop computer is a sensible choice for realtors. Working from home, the office or a client's home using the same machine can save time and confusion.
One feature that many laptop users find difficult to use is the mouse substitute that is incorporated into the laptop controls. Wiggling a little nub or rolling a ball around can be quite frustrating compared to a normal mouse.
Save yourself the frustration by plugging a 'real' mouse into the back of your laptop.
You can even buy a specially designed 'mini' mouse made just for this purpose.
Another laptop tip: plug a full-sized keyboard into your laptop when doing tasks that require a lot of typing. A spare keyboard generally costs only $25 - $35.
Spring mouse cleaning
Do you find that your mouse sometimes gets unresponsive or 'sticky'.
This is generally due to a build up of dust or dirt on the roller ball and the rods that contact the roller ball.
Most mice allow you to remove the roller ball for cleaning. Use a piece of tissue and some rubbing alcohol to clean the ball.
But wait! That's only half of the job.
Look inside the mouse and you'll see a couple of rods that come into contact with the ball. Usually, you find some dirt build-up at the points where the ball makes contact.
Use a cotton swab and a small amount of rubbing alcohol to clean the rods.
Optical mice
The latest mouse design uses an optical sensor to track the mouse movement instead of the roller ball.
Besides the advantage of being more accurate than the ball-type mouse, the optical mouse has other advantages, too. Since there is no ball, there is no need for cleaning. Another plus is the fact that the optical mouse does not require a mouse pad.
Try one. You'll find it hard to go back to the ball mouse and mouse pad once you have.
Cordless mice
Another relatively new type of mouse is the cordless variety. This type of mouse uses infrared or radio technology to communicate with the computer - much like your TV's remote control. For those who can't stand the jumble of wires ("nerd
nests") that accompany computer use, this might be just the ticket.
Yes, cordless optical mice are available, too.
A drawback to the cordless mouse is that, like the TV remote, it requires batteries.
