Comments on: Kensington Slimblade Trackball USB 2.0 for PC and Mac, K72327US

By: Anthony Hologounis

Anthony Hologounis — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:45:01 +0000

I don't have this mouse yet but plan on it.
I have the expert and the orbit and they both work as expected under linux

The new slimblade however seems to have some issues with the top 2 buttons, at least under linux. That is to say, they don't work at all.

Well, there seems to be a light at the end of that tunnel.
[..]

I am thinking maybe for 2.6.29 or 2.6.30

I will wait for that to happen first but once it is verified I will get this mouse.

I wish kensington would show a little more linux love here.: ) ( one star for the lack of linux love )

I would have bought it sooner.... Rating: 1 / 5

By: Carlos Von Strummagoodin

Carlos Von Strummagoodin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:53:05 +0000

I’ve been using the Slimblade for several weeks now, and I like it a lot. It fits my hand very well. The ball rolls quite easily. The ability to re-size screens easily is very nice. I had used the Expert Mouse before and was pleased with it, but this is better. One reason is that you don’t have to click in an area to use the scroll feature, it just works, and twirling the ball is just a little easier than twirling the scroll ring. It would be nice to be able to adjust the acceleration of the cursor movement, as you could with the Expert Mouse.
Rating: 4 / 5

By: Stephen Kalkwarf

Stephen Kalkwarf — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:25:06 +0000

This is the first trackball I've owned in over a decade. Overall, I really like it. The feel of the ball is terrific, and the low profile makes it much more comfortable than the prehistoric trackball I used previously.

Unfortunately, the driver software (for the Mac) absolutely sucks. It causes crashes on a machine that hasn't crashed in literally years.

The good news is the scroll wheel function and left/right buttons work without the driver software, so it isn't necessary to install the drivers to use the trackball.

The bad news is the 2 additional buttons don't function without drivers, and none of the aftermarket drivers recognized them. Rating: 4 / 5

By: Wayne Young

Wayne Young — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:13:51 +0000

Please properly review the product. All of you people are slamming the software, and it is difficult to discover if the trackball is a good device. I don’t care about the lack of software configurability, I just want a good, comfortable, reliable trackball. If you think it is a five star device, then mark it such and comment on the lack of good software. Thanks.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Chemist

Chemist — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:17:42 +0000

I have always loved the ease of use of a trackball, this one is no exception. While the top two buttons are not reprogrammable, this is not really a drawback for me. It fits easily in the hand. To scroll I lay the side of my index finger on top of the ball and spin the ball with my middle finger. Easy to use!
Rating: 5 / 5