Are you mouse-dependent?

[freefall]

Apparently, I notice that about 90% of the people I know are very dependent with mouse (and mouse pads on laptops). Take them away and they're helpless.

They are often amazed when seeing me making my way using keyboard shortcuts most of the time (I never use mouse on my laptop and only use my mouse for moving the cursor to a distant place or scrolling quickly between pages).

What about you?

[m1thousand]

I have my hand on the mouse as I read this. I use Windows shortcuts, but not in programs, that may have its own shortcuts

I dont use a mousepad. I use the mouse on the desk

I thought they might have invented a pen that would take over the mouse but that hasnt happened

[LeicsDom]

I thought they might have invented a pen that would take over the mouse but that hasnt happened

There are plenty of graphics pens that you could use instead of a mouse.
http://www.strategosmms.com/vt-penpa...blet-black-13/

They are not particularly practical for everyday use instead of a mouse, but are great for graphics work
Maybe using both a pen and a mouse depending on what task you are doing

Btw I am very old school and can't cope with a mousepad. If I had a laptop I would always have an external mouse

[unloadonme]

I'm posting this from a tablet, so no mouse. If I'm at home and using a computer in earnest, then I'll use my trusty PC which has a mouse. Wouldn't be without it. I can't stand the mouse pads on laptops and, like LeicsDom, would always plug in a "proper" mouse to keep the level of swearing to a minimum.

[star-warrior]

I use a laptop and the touch pad is all I need. Take that away, and I'll be fine with the PGUP/PGDN/HOME/END and arrow keys. I do have a mouse but don't use it with the laptop. The pad gets me where I need. I often use it to input CJKV characters and its much better than a mouse.

[Corny]

No, switching from mouse to keyboard and back costs time. Even from a touchpad to the keyboard can be annoying. Learn keyboard shortcuts to improve your efficiency many fold. I cringe everytime when I have to look at someone either needing 10 seconds to mark and correct a misspelled word .. or even worse, the "Backspace, Backspace, Backspace, Backspace, Backspace, Backspace, Backspace" routine.

[Kabluey]

Not fussy. Nipples, TouchPads, touch screens, wacom pens, keyboard shortcuts, mouses (mice?). Used them all, even for Photoshop.
I do keep on pressing screens nowadays, touch screens are a bad influence

[MoufOfKhaos]

Yes. Learning the mousepad on my laptop was annoying and doesn't allow me to do my design work, so I bought myself a mouse, and am happier for it.

[EJMichaels]

I can use just the keyboard if necessary, but since I use only a few basic keyboard commands regularly, I'd have to look up more commands before abandoning the mouse completely. It also depends on what sort of program I'm in.

[USEDCAR]

I have to use a mouse for my computer or laptop i barely use a tablet unless I'm doing really basic things on it. I have a surface tablet and i have an external mouse and that snap on keyboard thing hooked up to it. I said it a million times i don't understand how people use their cell phones as a computer they do everything on it.

[Kahaih]

Wireless mouse. At my desk I have three large monitors with a large tower on each end, and sometimes, one or two of my laptops on the side, and I run them all with one wireless mouse and keyboard.

Here, we've been enjoying single-handed navigation since well before the turn of the century.

[Adrock-JD]

I only use a desktop (I use an iPhone away from home) so I don't see the mouse as a negative. I see it as a positive which has yet to be properly replaced by anything touch. My arm would ache if I had to keep reaching up to touch a 25" screen from my desk chair.

[ronboy]

When I use my laptop, I like the touch pads.

Funny though, my very tech savvy students often prefer to use mice with the net book laptops in my classroom.

[Kahaih]

Leave my mouse alone.

That wasn't my fault.

If you're going to complain, you should take the hard candy out of your pocket before you offer it.

[MakeDigitalLove]

Not completely.

[freefall]

I'm not saying a mouse is a negative thing (unless it's nibbling on your food ), but I remember my computer teacher said that you could do some works faster with keyboard alone and I have to admit, she has a point. Typing and some other works which uses mouse minimally are faster when you learn all the shortcuts, meaning you almost do not have to move your hands away from the keyboard at all.

[levisboner]

When I switched from a desktop to a laptop I stopped using one. My thumb feels for the track pad on a keyboard when I'm using a desktop, like there's something missing. If I played games on my laptop then I would need a mouse. I can't imagine moving troops on something like War Craft using a track pad.

[T-Rexx]

I use the mouse a lot. It's a great invention. There is no better way to highlight blocks of text for cutting, editing, and pasting.

I cannot stand trackpads. They do not offer the precision of a mouse and frequently cause the cursor to jump around erratically on the screen. I keep a mouse plugged into my netbook.

And my fingers, for whatever reason, are not sensed by touchscreens - so tablets and smartphones drive me crazy. (My phone has a slide-out keyboard, or I would not be able to use it).

[Adrock-JD]

I'm not saying a mouse is a negative thing (unless it's nibbling on your food ), but I remember my computer teacher said that you could do some works faster with keyboard alone and I have to admit, she has a point. Typing and some other works which uses mouse minimally are faster when you learn all the shortcuts, meaning you almost do not have to move your hands away from the keyboard at all.

I see. I'm not doing enough actual work on a computer to care about saving a few steps like moving my right hand from the mouse to the keyboard to type. I can understand the need in heavy use situations to do that, though.

As T-Rexx said, I haven't found any keyboard or touch maneuvers that work as well as a mouse for highlighting/editing text. That doesn't mean they don't exist, obviously.

[Spiff]

The reports of the mouse's death have been greatly exaggerated.

[gsdx]

I cannot stand trackpads. They do not offer the precision of a mouse and frequently cause the cursor to jump around erratically on the screen.

This. Perhaps it's because the pad is in an awkward place (off-centre to the left, directly under the C, V, B, & N keys), but every time I put my hands on the keyboard. the heal of my left palm would touch the pad and the cursor would fly off to parts unknown and I'd have to go hunting for it.

I disabled the pad as soon as I figured out how to do it.

[darden]

I'm perfectly capable of not using a mouse, but I can't think of many tasks in Windows that aren't just as fast or faster with the mouse (outside of word processing stuff like copy/pasting and setting bold/italics).

unless I'm at work and using linux, in which case it's purely keyboard/command line stuff.

[Kulindahr]

For just writing, I'll use the pad, but for anything that requires detail (games, graphics) it's mouse all the way.

[cgymike]

If you take my clicker away I will have to kill you....

[SaskGuy]

Pretty much... I don't know very many keyboard shortcuts, and I almost never use the ones I do know.

[LeicsDom]

I'm posting this from a tablet, so no mouse. If I'm at home and using a computer in earnest, then I'll use my trusty PC which has a mouse. Wouldn't be without it. I can't stand the mouse pads on laptops and, like LeicsDom, would always plug in a "proper" mouse to keep the level of swearing to a minimum.

I think it is all to do with what you started using a computer with.
I have a 40 yr old friend who can't use a mouse at all. It confuses him completely.
But he has never used a desktop PC. He has always had laptops