Just wondering if anyone can recommend any good experiences with ambidextrous trackballs (Kensington) or a mouse thats good for Mac. Had to return the Logitech MX Master 3 for Mac because of the known wheel issue. Side scrolling and bluetooth switching seemed handy though but also it was no good for lefties! The Apple trackpad I got with my old 2012 Mac Mini kind of leaves me with a bit of a sore wrist from time to time. Be keen to see what Dorico legends are using!. The Magic Mouse 2 seems to have mixed reviews. Everything i seem to buy lately I have to return! Cheers Simon
I use the Logitech MX Anywhere 3, which is shaped neutrally so that it’s possible for left-handers (like me) to use. I also have an old (the aluminium one, circa 2009) Magic Trackpad on the right of my keyboard, though I tend not to use it very much, except for panning (scrolling freely in any direction).
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I was going to recommend the Logitech MX Master 3 - guess I’d better hope my scroll wheel continues working correctly!
Some time ago I gave as a present a white Apple mouse to my left-handed friend. Completely symmetric I would say. The review was quite good…
But now I see wonderful programmable left-handed mouses on the web…
I’ve used a Kensington “expert mouse optical trackball” for nearly 15 years. I think I’m on my 3rd one.
it has 4 buttons, programmable, a very easy to use scroll-wheel, a large ball, and a comfortable position for the hand (at least, for me).
I have very little space for a mouse (none actually) so a trackball is obligatory for me.
I haven’t found another model that is as comfortable, nor easy to use.
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I’ve tried a number of mice over the years and always come back to the Magic Mouse. I know some don’t like it, but it works great for me.
I use the Logitech M185. Wireless, works both LH and RH (I’m ambidextrous) and only costs £10!
When mine stopped working correctly, I went to the Apple Store and bought a Magic Trackpad 2. Holy cow! I had no idea that an input device could be so good. Afterwards, I figured out how to adjust the MTv1 so it worked again and sold it on eBay.
The only time I use a mouse anymore is when I am on someone else’s system.
Get a Kensington Trackball. They are uniform in shape so you can use them with either hand. Fellow lefty here so I get the struggle, although I’m fairly ambidextrous and mostly use a right-handed mouse like all the boring folks.
That was probably the original Magic Trackpad, which has been revised since then. Personally, having used a trackpad, I never want to use a mouse again!
I use this Kensington expert trackball as my main mouse and I love it:
I also keep one of the large new-ish glass apple trackpads on my desk too, as it is so fluid to adjust zoom levels and pan around.
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Here’s a pic of my current setup, and this thread is fun to peruse and see what other people have done:
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This is great. Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve ordered a Magic Mouse 2. If that doesn’t suit I’ll try the Kensington I think. The other thing I need to get is a 61 key midi controller with weighted keys. The Nektar line looks pretty good but there’s not any music shops around where I can test them. I do like the trackpad and if I had spare cash I probably would get one but we’ll see how the Apple mouse works out. The lightning charge thing doesn’t really bother me and it looks nice and light and has quite a few trackpad like gestures. I’ll be getting it tomorrow and might report back!
I watched a video on the Kensington and did a little bit of research. It seems a bit old and the buttons seemed a bit clunky. Do they have anything current?
I have a Logitech pebble on my PC but the Mac doesn’t like it too much and Bluetooth is a must instead of the dongle wireless option. As I’m on a MacBook Pro with a VEPRO slave my ports on the MBP are precious. Even with a hub! Cheers again everyone. Simon
I gave up on the Magic Mouse a long time ago because the ergonomics are infamously poor. It made my hand hurt. Hopefully you’ll fare better than I did.
For a somewhat different angle on this, see here:
The Unimouse is especially good, and for people with hand/wrist problems.
The RollerMouse is also very good, and they have Balance keyboard to go as a pair.
My colleague uses these to great satisfaction.
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Personally I use the Logitech wireless Pro. It’s fearfully expensive. Left or Right handed. Configurable buttons with G Hub app. It’s designed as a gaming mouse and has switchable DPI resolution up to insane values. It’s incredibly light and my subjective impression is that my brain is directly controlling the cursor, there is so little physical impedance in the way. But not many are prepared to spend this much for a mouse.
It’s Mac compatible.
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This is a great discussion. Thank you for the many recommendations. I’ve been using the Magic Mouse 2 for several years. I’m primarily left-handed, but just switch it to the right hand when I start having pain. I tried using a trackball a number of years ago, but found I was really clumsy with it. I’ve also used a trackpad on my 2017 MacBook Pro, but found I had pain issues with it as well. Is there something different about the new trackpad? I’m also intrigued by the Unimouse that Andro describes. Does it glide smoothly on the desktop?
I’m still on the hunt for a good left handed ambidextrous mouse. I didn’t end up keeping the Magic Mouse 2. Got a sore wrist. Can’t afford to break the bank and Bluetooth for the MacBook Pro saves one of my adapters USB ports.
Any more suggestions out there?. I like the Kensington but the noisy buttons and not being sure of using a ball for $130 AUD puts me offa bit. I have a pebble on my PC but it didn’t work properly on my MacBook.
The ergonomic ones are a bit pricey as well. I just spent way too much on a system upgrade so got to reign it in big time!
Thanks in advance for any more suggestions. All the best, Cheers Simon.
I was hesitant about the trackball too but I’m glad I got it in the end. Now that you mention it, the buttons are a bit annoying. Thanks for that!
Have you tried the Contour unimouse, Andro? Both that and the Logitech look good, but the Logitech costs about 4 times as much. I’m a leftie too.
I messed up my thumb and wrist this summer doing too much composing/arranging. I have a StreamDeck but it’s time to look for something that lets me keep my thumb off of the MacBook Pro’s trackpad.
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I have a trackpad, trackball (main daily driver and preference), rh vertical and lh vertical and I use them all depending on how my arms are feeling. At one point I kept three mice on my desk at all times, although now it’s typically just the trackball and trackpad (which I only use for zooming and panning).
You might want to try one of these; they are true ambidextrous vertical mice. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjly6iVouf5AhXQP60GHUvgCn4YABAKGgJwdg&sig=AOD64_2b8oQpQ9Z-L1RoUg0Q8V8Ocyv5Kw&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwj_j52Vouf5AhUJBDQIHSGjCD4Qwg8oAHoECAEQEg&adurl=
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