The summary does its job with this one.
I'm thinking about thin metal (or plastic) blades like those used to remove excess toner from OPC drums in laser printers. Might want to have them scrape only on one direction so the scrapings fall off into the body of the mouse. 'Course this mandates putting a door in the mouse to empty the scrapings.
Oh, and yes I know - mouse balls are so 20th century.-- phoenix, Mar 06 2002 Goop http://www.goophandcleaner.com/ [waugsqueke, Mar 07 2002] Gunk http://www.salon.co...1998/09/30wild.htmlA Mother's Guide. (See also: gak, glop) [waugsqueke, Mar 07 2002] Seems that the drag of the scrapers might make the rollers seize up from time to time, no?-- bristolz, Mar 06 2002 and then we need something to keep the scrapers clean? scraper scrapers? Keep your desk clean, no ball problems.-- rbl, Mar 06 2002 I'm really not trying to be pedantic, really I'm not. I'd just like to be clear in my own mind.
My wife also uses the word "gook" as it is used here. But I always thought it was either "goop," or, and Peter notes, "gunk." I thought "gook" was a pejorative term for Southeast Asians, in particular Vietnamese and/or Cambodians. So I've tried to help my wife to use another term. But now I fear I may be wrong.
phoenix, I wonder if a lifetime of scrapings would be enough to require a door.
Peter, I'm pretty sure a major component is fibrous, and I'd guess the fibers are primarily fibrils from the mouse pad and secondarily from ambient dust. But what gums it all together? I'd guess it's oils from the user's hand, but it's just a guess.-- beauxeault, Mar 06 2002 I know from experience that the gunk goop crap can block the IR devices that detect motion. The door is a comfort feature for those not willing to disassemble the mouse.
As to the composition, [beauxeault] is pretty much right on.
Idea term modified to avoid offence.-- phoenix, Mar 06 2002 beaux, as I understand it, all three are used depending on the consistency of the undesirable substance in question.
Goop- is thick but water soluble and wipes away easily Gook (or the more P.C. "Guuk")-- requires soap to break it up and make it go away Gunk - is more solid and requires scraping to remove the most of it and then detergent to remove the residue
Hope this helps ;-)-- runforrestrun, Mar 06 2002 Looking at my Logitech rollerball I find myself torn. Would I prefer an ultrasonic cleaner that makes my ball hum, or a lifelike tongue that protrudes a little now and then when I'm cursoring really vigorously?
Signs you may be retarded: You laugh at my annotation. You have hair on your knuckles. You look at your knuckles.-- reensure, Mar 06 2002 Notes disclaimer says "MAY BE"-- thumbwax, Mar 07 2002 << Keep your desk clean, no ball problems >>
If only that were the case! My mouse ball strips the varnish off my (admittedly cheap) PC desk. I tried a trendy USB ball-less mouse, but it doesn't work with lots of games. So I reckon a lot of us are stuck with gunky mice for a while yet.-- pottedstu, Mar 07 2002 You will be disgusted to learn that the grey tacky gunk you clean from inside your mouse is a mixture of dead skin cells and sweat
:)
This is particularly gross if you are cleaning a mouse which does not belong to you - say at work-- Lula, Jun 15 2003 random, halfbakery