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By fullofideazmo
#12900
I want someone to come up with a trackball with non-slippery surfaces, or a jacket or spray-on deal to make the surfaces non-slippery. i do graphics and layout with a trackball on the left and a graphics tablet on the left and have become fully ambidextrous from doing so. Every trackball i've ever used has been slippery (just like the daggone cell phones i've complained about elsewhere) and it would be great if that could be fixed so i don't lose time getting my hand or digits back where they belong after they've slipped off. Why does every manufacturer seem to think sleek-looking needs to be slippery to the touch? (grump! grump!) Somebody help me!

Reward: supplied with the goods for life. a beautiful, glittering but tasteful plaque or trophy congratulating me for inspiring somebody to solve this human engineering problem for the good of users everywhere.
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By Steve
#12940
Actually most mouse balls are made of rubber (I believe) so this should be doable. I only wonder if a non-slippery ball won't catch on the dirt/sweat from the fingers much more quickly.
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By fullofideazmo
#12984
Thanks for the comment, Steve. I guess I didn't explain my problem quite clearly enough. It is not the ball itself that is a problem, it is the housing that holds the ball, buttons and any other controls. I want that to stay where I put it, until I specifically move it for my specific need. With the exception of a huge monster Atari track ball from way back when, the housings on these thing are smooth and slippery. It is like trying to keep a bar of wet soap in one place and whatever rubber treads there are just aren't up to the task. I also want my hand to stay in a preferred position, but again, we've got the wet bar of soap factor so my hand tends to slip here and there.

My other beef with track balls is that the wrist end is too low, so in order to rest your hand while you use the ball and buttons, you have to bend your wrist to hold your hand in the air over it or elevate your hand and fingers to a good working height (which gets really aggravating if the daggone thing doesn't stay put). This adds tension and speeds onset of fatigue. The hand ought to be able to rest in a completely relaxed position with minimal motion to activate the various controls.

I also 'mis-spoke' in describing how I work. My track ball is on the left and my graphics tablet is one the right. The graphics tablet is both heavy and slippery! It has rubber feet but they are itsy-bitsy useless things.

If you wonder why I'm so daggone picky, you haven't personally spent enough continuous hours trackballing or using a graphics tablet to feel how uncomfortable it can get when your tools cannot be kept in a comfortable position. I keep thinking that the design engineers must not be aware of such ergonomic issues, or have disregarded them for whatever reasons.

I've thought of using playclay to jury rig some kind of fix, but we're talking about a classy workstation here. I'd like to avoid trashing up my workspace with such a cobbled-together solution. It might work quite well, but it would probably cost some respect from clients -- kind of the equivalent of putting in an outhouse on the lawn of a mansion. :D
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