Optical Mice: Microsoft and Logitech

Innovation Where You Least Expect It

We all thought the scroll button was a definitive item, but the Microsoft engineers have thought of a way to evolve it. Vertical scrolling is fine, they said to themselves, but scrolling in all directions is even better. So the new Microsoft range of mice can now scroll vertically and horizontally. To do this, it leans on both sides, but some concessions were needed for it to work. The button no longer has the notches to define its position. Now it has two axes instead of one; vertical scrolling is still done by the same rolling movement and horizontal scrolling by left and right pressing like on an ordinary button.

This system is designed mainly for desktop applications, especially Excel, and web surfing. It's not easy to get used to, but once you're into it, handling it comes quite naturally. You don't miss the notches any more and find the gradual acceleration very enjoyable. The horizontal scrolling is very convenient, for Excel files more than anything because, in current resolutions, there are fewer and fewer web pages that don't fit into the screen.