On Oct 23, 2010, at 11:07 AM, [email protected] wrote: > On Oct 12, 8:12 pm, James Fraser <wheresthatistanbul- > [email protected]> wrote: >> Hello, >> May I ask what particular version of the Kensington Trackball you have that >> has lasted so long? Basically, I'm trying to work out what kind of useful >> life I might expect from a particular model. >> >> I have both Version 3.0 (two button) and Version 5.0 (four button) >> Kensington trackballs on hand. > > Sorry for the delay in responding. I am still using a Kensington Turbo > Mouse Trackball for Macintosh Model #64210 Version 5. This is just an > estimate, but this was heavily used from ~1998 to ~2003 used on
I have had similar results with the older Kensington trackballs, both the ADB and Serial versions. When I got rid of my last Mac that had an ADB, I gave away the ten-or-more year old trackball. When I got rid of my PC, I found it wasn't possible to make the serial (RS-232) trackball work with my USB macs, so got rid of it too. Now have their 4-button USB "Expert Mouse" trackball. Sadly, unlike the older models with their steel wheels for support it has nylon "nubbins" to hold the ball in place. I think the lifetime warranty is now only 5 years (anyone? I'm honestly too lazy to go look it up lol) and the build quality on this new one is very much below that of those I had previously. Only time will tell if it will stand up for ten years or more, though I doubt it. The use of nylon pibs to keep the ball is place makes it MUCH quieter compared to the "Classic" models, and it has a scroll wheel, those are it's better points. It also has *some* of the same feel as the older models, but it's not nearly as heavily built. My favorite PC-type keyboard is the HEAVY, solid *click* keyboard that IBM used to build back when Kensington was still selling the heavy trackball nearly 20 years ago, still have a couple those in use. Nice positive feedback, like typing on a Selectric typewriter. (remember typewriters?? wish I still had one!) Only ones similar I can find offered these days are industrial key- boards costing several hundred dollars. Tom -- ----- You received this message because you are a member of the Vintage Macs group. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To leave this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vintage-macs Support for older Macs: http://lowendmac.com/services/
