A mouse pad with a slightly textured teflon surface, not unlike 3M Precision Mousing Surface. The ultra-low friction Teflon would make gaming and other fast mouse movements smoother. The plastic laminate layer underneath would have a dot-pattern to aid optical mice.
-- Cedar Park, Jun 10 2003

RatPadz http://www.ratpadz.com/
A slicker than snot mouse pad. [Tiger Lily, Oct 04 2004]

Done http://www.onlineme...=4&showunits=inches
[Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004]

A few of my friends with optical mice think that no ball equates to no pad! I still use my Precision Mousing Surface, as the movement is still very smooth even though it's designed for ball mice. I think your idea is the next logical step mouse pad manufacturers will take (at least I hope so, I want one!), with ball mice becoming a rarity these days.
-- RoboBust, Jun 10 2003


And the next obvious stages in the evoloution of the mouse are Air cushion mice and maglev mice. And then after that we might be able to have mice that are powered by sensors in our eyes, we can blink to click and the cursor can follow our gaze accross the screen from wich we view the world from our bed/life support system. Is there no end to human laziness.
-- Gulherme, Jun 10 2003


I use the 3M material as well - it appears to be 1/32" (.8mm) thick. Thinnest Teflon Sheet Stock I'm aware of is 1/16" (1.6mm) thick. Available plain or etched on one side, 12" x 12" (30cm sq.) piece is @ US$11.00. Of course, the price drops as size goes up - you can cut to size and all that. Experiment with a small one and see if you're on to something. If need be, correct my metric figures - just going off top of head here.
-- thumbwax, Jun 10 2003


If you really want fast smooth and unconstricted mouse movements, I'd suggest getting a rollerball style mouse. Much more control (you're moving the mouse with your fingers, which are designed for fine control, not your elbow, which is designed for coarse control only). (Though I have adapted this style to regular mice, using my fingers only to move them and keeping my arm still.)
-- DrCurry, Jun 10 2003


[DrCurry] I think most people use their fingers to control their mice. The only people who use elbow/arm control tend to be new to computers, in my experience.
-- silverstormer, Jun 10 2003


I think you've just been called a newbie, Doc! <grin>
-- krelnik, Jun 10 2003


// A few of my friends with optical mice think that no ball equates to no pad! //

Um... they're right. You say that like they're fools.
-- waugsqueke, Jun 10 2003


[waugsqueke], just because you don't *need* a mousepad doesn't mean it's not better to use one (or Precision Mousing Surface, or whatever). My optical mouse moves a hell of a lot more quietly and smoothly on a mousepad than it does on the wood surface of my desk. And the gel wristrest built in to my mousepad means I experience a lot less wrist pain and strain than I would otherwise.
-- culturalvacuum, Jun 10 2003


I know... I use a pad with mine too, only because it started wearing away the finish on my desk. But it is certainly not necessary.
-- waugsqueke, Jun 10 2003


carrying the argument to absurdity, it is not really necessary to use a mouse pad with a "ball mouse" either
-- senatorjam, Jun 10 2003


How about putting swivelling casters on the bottom of your optical mouse? Like an office chair. Your mouse would glide across the desk. Except, of course, when one wheel locks up like a shopping cart and your mouse spins itself in circles... better make it wireless.
-- miles2, Jun 10 2003


Or, go back to the ball. Three or four little ball-bearing-type thingers in the bottom, lubed with Teflon.

Yes, this can go on and on.
-- galukalock, Jun 10 2003


Make this a really wide thin film and I'm interested. That way there aren't any creases and it would really make the optical mice work well. But you'll have to watch reflection or you could be hurting the performance maybe.
-- dolo, Jun 10 2003


I'd like just a thin patch I could stick to my desk to keep from wearing off the finish.
-- waugsqueke, Jun 10 2003


They are fools [waugsqueke]! Maybe for your everyday internet surfing using no pad is fine, but when we hold LANs and kill each other a good mousing surface can mean the difference between life and death!
-- RoboBust, Jun 11 2003


Ummm... am I the only one here who thinks this idea is complete rubbish? The point of a mouse pad is that it is a textured surface whihc allows the ball to grip, thus ensuring it rotates underneath the mouse rather than sliding over th pad, thus ensuring that all mouse movement results in a corresponding movement of the screen pointer. Put a mouse on a slippery surface (like my desk here at work( and the ball starts to skid across the surface rather than rotating, causing the pointer to "stick" on screen and become uncontrollable. It seems to me that this idea describes, in fact, not hte perfect mouse pad, but the WORST mouse pad that you could get, as it would cause the maximum amount of slippage and pointer "stick".
Teflon might make your mouse glide over the pad, but it will ensure that your point stays steadfastly in the same place.
-- goff, Jun 11 2003


Sorry, [Goff], _optical_ mouse pad [idea edited]. I haven't had a ball since Star Trek Voyager went off the air...
-- Cedar Park, Jun 13 2003


Actually, I think the avid mouser tends to use 35 % wrist movement and 65% finger movement. Unless of course, they neglect to adjust the mouse sensitivty and have to traverse the entire mousepad to get to the other side of the screen (I've seen people doing this) I have two monitors on one machine, and can traverse both monitors in about the smaller width of a standard mouse pad.
-- TimD, Jun 13 2003


Dunno, a lot of the good gamers that I've watched tend to anchor their wrists and use pretty much just finger movement.
-- RoboBust, Jun 13 2003


This mouser uses 75% claw movement and 25% paw control. Teflon mice mmmmm
-- The Kat, Jun 13 2003


i use my penis to control my mouse, pubic hairs get stuck between the mouse buttons though
-- 0_owaffleo_0, Jun 14 2003


The solution is simple.

Buy a non-stick frying pan and shove it under your mouse.

Alternatively, spray your desk with PAM.

On a somewhat related topic... if you take the fan out of your pentium class computer, you can cook a marshmallow on top of the processor. Well, for about a minute, until the processor itself melts.
-- WordUp, Mar 10 2004



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