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IBM introduced it's ScrollPoint Pro (SPP) Mouse into the market
in February of this year but it has received little coverage in the computer media.
Of course there has been absolutely no review of this product as it relates to
OS/2. I just found out about this product in September and rushed to place my
order. The SPP mouse is available from several online retailers, including ShopIBM,
and has a retail price of $39 US. I bought mine at OnVia.com
which was the only reputable company I found that could beat IBM on price and shipping
(free). Some nut at IBM even made a flash presentation for it...which doesn't even
show the product one time, but this is not unknown it the IBM marketing world. (1)
The rest of this review will concentrate on the differences
between this (SPP) mouse and it's predecessor, the ScrollPoint Mouse, since the
SPP mouse is really a refinement of the original product. (2)
The packaging is very similar to that of it's predecessor and includes the standard
IBM multilingual manual and a driver CD (Windows only). Out of the box, the SPP
mouse has several differences from it's predecessor. The first new thing that I
noticed is the ergonomic shape and the sleek styling. The SPP's shape closely resembles
that of the Logitech MouseMan, strictly for "Rightys". The ScrollPoint
pointing device has been changed in shape from it's familiar "eraser"
to a "U" shape which saddles your finger. There is also an added 3rd
button in the shape of a long bar above the thumb rest. The mouse comes in two new
and fashionable colors, "Slate Blue" and "Antique Sage" with
an accent of black, to match any "Big Blue" décor. The SPP mouse
also makes a change with it's connector which is natively USB, although it includes
an adapter to connect to PS/2 ports.
Since I already had the PS/2 ScrollPoint Mouse driver
installed, installation was just a matter of shutting down my system, attaching
the PS/2 adapter to the mouse, plugging it in and turning the system back on. The
PS/2 adapter has a slim design and should not interfere with the connection of other
devices, even on cramped backboard designs like ATX. A nice thing to note is that
the drivers are updated fairly often for the ScrollPoint and other wheel based mice.
The most recent version on the DDPAK is from August 11th.(3)
There is an even newer version of the driver on the Software Choice (SWC) site dated
September 15th, although it seems to be a reserved feature. This is also the case
with the USB version of the ScrollPoint mouse driver. So if you want to use your
mouse as a USB device, you'll have to get a SWC subscription or eCS. In my
opinion, not a very friendly move on the part of IBM. In addition, the current (publicly
available) driver still does not provide good support for the 3rd
button. You can not map it to any specific event or action because there is no support
in the configuration notebook. IBM's explanation for this in their INF is that there
is no standard for a 3rd
mouse button. This seems strange because the driver does provide a way for applications
to query the 3rd button (StarOffice utilizes the 3rd button
for scrolling). Luckily 3rd
party utilities like Xworkplace make up for this, allowing you to assign several functions
to the 3rd button..
The SPP mouse is very comfortable and should fit well
for people with medium to large hands. The black side of the mouse, where the thumb
and heel of the hand rest, is covered in the "soft grip" material popular
on many pens recently. This definitely helps increase control by improving grip
and preventing slippage. The saddle-topped ScrollPoint is a little difficult to
get used to at first, even for those who regularly use a TrackPoint or old style
ScrollPoint. IBM has reduced the amount of pressure needed to move the stick and
getting used to placing your "pointer" finger in a slightly different
position takes some time. Adjusting the scroll speed of the pointer in the ScrollPoint
mouse properties helps some, but expect to see your page go scrolling out of control
a couple times for the first week or so. After a period of time though, you will
begin to notice that a much more precise amount of control is possible with the
new saddle design and it is easier to scroll left and right. As an added bonus,
you will not have to think about ever replacing the dirty, worn out, "eraser"
ever again. The different 3rd button is similar in placement to that
of some late Logitech mice, above the right thumb rest. IBM seems to have taken
notes on the problems people had with Logitech mice, because the problem of false
clicks and reaching to click don't exist.
As a hardware device, the SPP is a culmination of
years of refinement (starting in 1979!) for mechanical mice. It is unfortunate that
left handed users will not have the choice of enjoying this mouse as well, although
they can still use the "hand neutral" original ScrollPoint Mouse. IBM
has not paid as much attention to the software support of the SPP (at least outside
of Windows). All the OS/2 drivers still lack functionality for the 3rd
button and the most up-to-date of those (including USB support) is reserved for
SWC subscribers. There is one compatibility issue with the SPP, it will not work
with an IBM Rapid Access Keyboard in Windows NT 4.0. I just happen to have both
these products, but I don't think I'm ready to reinstall Windows just to test it.
In all, the ScrollPoint Pro Mouse is a good upgrade
for anyone who wants the latest and greatest or just needs a replacement for their
old tired pad runner.