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| Everglide Giganta Mousepad | // review |
| It's odd, really. Most people don't think about mouse pads, and I don't know how many times whilst working in tech support I had to clean mice using a little cotton bud and some methylated spirits because people had been using ball-mice on their desks and then complaining that the mouse didn't work very well. When you think about it a little deeper, you may think that a mouse pad is just a comfortable soft pad with a smooth top, perhaps with a witty picture printed on it (or in my case the BarrysWorld logo), or your company's logo, or a cat, or a dog, or something twee like that. After all, it's a mouse pad, right? With the advent of the Microsoft Intellimouse, the need for mouse pads dwindled, and most people used mouse pads so that the ball in the mouse would roll well rather than juddering around. The 3M Precise Mouseing Surface was good for this, as it afforded a good, grippable surface for the mouse ball to roll on, removing most of the sliding and slipping associated with mouse balls. But an optical mouse? No moving parts, so there's no need for such a specialised surface. Or so I thought. I've gone through many mouse pads in my life, from simple wetsuit material ones to joke ones, to a specially made BarrysWorld one (the only one in existence at present), and I thought each was pretty good, if a little grippy. When I bought an optical mouse, I tried getting rid of the mouse pad altogether, but my desk wasn't the best surface to work on, so I pulled the mat out again and kept using it. I'd heard of the Everglide pad before, and had used them on occasion when playing games at The Playing Fields (since they use them a lot) and was considering going and buying one for my own use. The next thing I know I've been handed one to play with. And yes, it does make a huge difference to using the mouse, even an optical mouse. The biggest problem with mice has always been the fact that they're sliding across a flat surface. Why someone hasn't put small wheels on the bottom of a mouse I don't know, unless it has something to do with the clogging associated with the larger balls in traditional mice. Using the Everglide though - straight away you notice the difference, and if you put your old pad next to an Everglide and try the difference, you'll be able to feel it. It's almost like having both a new mouse and a new mouse mat all at the same time, but unlike your old mat, the Everglide can be chucked in the dishwasher if it gets dirty, so cleaning it is a piece of cake. The surface reacts well to the Teflon pads on the bottom of mice, reducing the friction apparent. (I did wonder why you couldn't buy new mouse feet, but then it occurred to me that that would reduce the demand for new mice :) ) Really, if you spend any amount of time using your mouse, especially if you use it a lot (such as for design work) or in frenetic session (such as gaming) then the Everglide is almost certainly the choice for you. And no Mike, you can't have it back. | |
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