evolution MOUSE-TRAK User Tips
Overview
This document is designed to help you understand the unique features and benefits of the USB evolution MOUSE-TRAK. It should provide you with the detailed information by which to most effectively use it. We hope you will enjoy the ease-of-use and comfort this product delivers.
With the evolution MOUSE-TRAK, installation is just a matter plugging the evolution MOUSE-TRAK directly into the USB interface of the Mac or PC (PC requires Windows98 or higher). There are no special drivers to install. The user may wish to adjust the system's software cursor speed and acceleration controls to suit personal preferences. User may also wish to set "scroll lines" to 1 for more precision when using the Scrolling evolution.The default scroll line setting is 3.
The evolution MOUSE-TRAK takes up very little of the user's valuable desktop "real estate." It's about half the size of a typical mouse pad.
What do all those buttons do?
Before
proceeding with the various things we want you to recognize in the evolution MOUSE-TRAK, we have found that it is useful to take you through a short demonstration.
Don’t worry about getting your hand comfortable on the unit just yet. Let’s see
what it does, then see how to best use it.
While using the evolution is easy, we will introduce several steps for using
the product in the most effective way. At the same time we draw your attention to
issues in input device design which may not have occurred to you before.
1- Install the unit on your computer as described above.
2- Position your evolution so that your thumb is resting on the second key from the left.
3- Using your pointing finger (Index finger, but we have a point to make about pointing devices!) move the cursor to any icon on your screen.
4- Tap the fourth button from the left (this is the "Left Click & Drag key").
5- Listen carefully! You should hear a very soft audible alarm coming from the unit. We have found that users want to know when they are in "drag mode". Some vendors provide custom drivers which signal this by altering the appearance of the cursor on the screen while in drag mode. We found that technical support people hate products requiring custom drivers as they need installing and frequent upgrading and configuration ... ALL creating support headaches and adding to the cost of ownership. By adding a small amount of hardware to the evolution we have given the user a feedback indicator without adding support problems. The user can turn off the audible alert if desired.
6- Now move the cursor, using your pointing or index finger to tell it where you want it to move. Cursor control is a fine motor visual integration activity. Your index finger is your best fine motor manipulator. Use it, not your thumb (we think thumb balls are brain-dead!) to do your pointing. The icon should drag along with the cursor as you are still in left key drag mode.
7- When you have the icon moved to where you want it, tap the Left Click & Drag key again to release the icon.
8- Now, leaving the cursor on the icon, use your thumb to tap the third key from the left (Left Double Click key). The evolution MOUSE-TRAK should send out a double click, opening the icon. Once again, extra features without the need to bother with the driver control panel!
9- Using your pointing finger, move the cursor to point to the close button on the window you just opened.
10- Using your thumb, tap the Left Click key (2nd button from the left). evolution will send the Left Click required to close the window.
11- Reposition the cursor to any icon on the screen and tap the Left Click key. The icon should now be highlighted, but not opened (unless you are running some of the new GUI’s which treat icons as buttons.)
12- Now reach down with your pinkie or ring finger and tap the rightmost button (Right Click key). The computer should respond as normal to a right mouse button click.
13- The fifth button from the left sends out an AUX or middle button click.
14- Now for what that first button, way back to the left does. It toggles the trackball in and out of ballistic acceleration mode when using a standard evolution, and toggles in and out of scroll mode when using a Scrolling evolution. This raises an interesting topic. Some editors insist on getting a DPI (Dots Per Inch) specification for a trackball. Please don’t embarrass yourself by asking that question! As the trackball is stationary, it moves 0 (zero inches). This results in the DPI for ALL trackballs being infinite since anything divided by zero is infinite. The next related embarrassing question to avoid is... "Well, OK so DPI isn’t important, then how about PPR (Pulses per revolution)? That will tell me how precise the trackball is!" Wrong again. What most editors really want to know is how precisely can the user position the cursor and how fast can he/she move the cursor across the screen (conflicting goals). For precise cursor control the user needs a low PPR and for quick trans-screen moves the user needs a high PPR. If you move the ball quickly with the evolution in ballistic mode (its default), you get more pulses per revolution. The faster you move it the higher the PPR goes. This gives the user lots of control. With the evolution out of ballistic mode, the PPR is constant at a relatively low number to provide the user with extremely precise cursor control. We recommend setting the cursor speed in your mouse control panel fairly low to get the most out of our instant speed control feature.
A Convenient Key For Every Typical Event
As we have seen, evolution comes with a single key for each of the most common mouse operations. The keys are placed to put those most frequently used nearest the ball to minimize the amount of reaching the user must do. evolution minimizes key strokes and reduces total cursor control effort.
We have found from years of experience (ITAC supplies over 40% of the trackballs used on UNIX workstations), different users have different needs. One size simply does not fit all. To accommodate differing tastes, we designed the keys on the evolution to provide a light touch for smaller hands and a heavier touch for larger hands. As the distance from the tip of the index finger to the tip of the thumb is usually smaller on smaller hands, users with small hands will tend to rest their thumb more closely to the back of the unit where firing forces for the key are around 100 grams. As the point at which the key is pressed moves toward the users wrist, the firing force increases, giving a firmer feel. Simple, but effective.
What's That Noise?
When the user moves the ball on the evolution MOUSE-TRAK, bearing noise will be audible. This is normal. It is due to the nature of the bearings used in the manufacture of the unit. These are the same type of bearings used in hard drives. Since the bearings are turning at a much lower speed in the evolution, as compared to the hard drive, they produce a bit of noise. They also provide an extremely low rolling force and are incredibly durable. The plastic friction bearings used in most trackball mice are not noisy, but they don’t move as easily and they simply don’t hold up under heavy use.
Not to belabor the point, but because our focus groups with IT management have told us it is very important, the evolution MOUSE-TRAK has been designed to be compatible with the standard mouse drivers provided with popular operating systems, not special drivers. Not only does this mean that installation is simplified, but it also means there are no special drivers to keep up-to-date. Software maintenance for the unit is just a matter of keeping the system software upgraded. In institutions where a multiplicity of workstations, input and output devices, network connections, and other communications standards keep maintenance staff overloaded, this will be a very welcome feature. Some IT management has actually moved to no longer allowing installation of third party mice because of the driver support costs that they have experienced! End users in our focus groups were less concerned with this issue.
Designed for use in ergonomic office settings, the evolution will not always be comfortable for use on traditional desk setups. We strongly recommend
that users pay attention to the ergonomics of keyboard and mouse positioning whether using
a MOUSE-TRAK or any other input device. If you do have a desk arrangement that allows your
keyboard and mouse to be at
the height of your elbow when your arm is hanging relaxed against your side, then you are
ready for evolution. For you, the evolution MOUSE-TRAK doesn't
just look like it's ergonomically designed. It proves it in several key features. By
rotating the thumb to a slightly higher position than ordinary devices do, the evolution MOUSE-TRAK
positions the hand in a comfortable, low-stress configuration. The specially
designed curved buttons fit readily to natural, relaxed hand and finger
positions. It's comfortable to use.
The user doesn't "grasp" the palm pad of the evolution MOUSE-TRAK, but a few moments of experimenting will help the user find the most
comfortable position for him or her to rest the hand on the pad. This will differ among
users depending upon the size of the hands, length of fingers, etc. The materials used in the manufacture of the evolution MOUSE-TRAK were
chosen not only for their sturdy characteristics, but also for their cushioning effects on the wrist and hand.
Thinking Like The User - to make using the computer simpler
When users are trained to perform tasks, they think in terms of events. Point here, click there, enter data, etc. Typical mouse technology, however, complicates this process slightly by requiring the user to perform one action for some events, and two for others. Click, double click... Is that double click one event, or two? With the evolution MOUSE-TRAK, there are two buttons closely associated with one another that provide these separate functions. One button performs the single click function. The other button performs the double-click function. It cuts down on repetitive motions, associates one event with one action, and simplifies the user interface. Once the user makes the quick adaptation to the new, more usable interface, it becomes entirely intuitive and speeds up user actions with the point-and-click device.
Right Hand/Left Hand OperationWith A couple of key strokes
The user can switch from the pre-configured right-hand operation mode to left-hand mode in a few seconds, without changing the control panel setup. A simple key-chord lets you enter programming mode and then send the simple sequence command to change the settings. To let you know you were successful, the unit even acknowledges your programming with a sequence of audible tones.
Not only is right/left-handed operation programmable, but if the user has special needs or preferences, all six of the buttons on the evolution MOUSE-TRAK are programmable without the use of special software drivers. Furthermore, it's just as easy to return to default settings. In truth, ITAC’s president recommends enlisting the 12 year old who sets the clocks on your PC's in your neighborhood if you want to reprogram the keys other than setting them to left/right hand factory defaults. But, if for some reason the 12 year old is not around, you can always refer to our Button Programming Instructions.
All kidding aside, some of our users like to heavily customize the key layout. The most common change we have heard of is to swap the position of "primary click" and "primary double-click".
The evolution MOUSE-TRAK was designed to be used in places that would gum up a typical mouse or trackball in no time, but it may get dirty from normal use. Because it provides such an extremely smooth action, users quickly notice the effects of buildup on the shafts. With cheaper trackballs the ball movement is so stiff and irregular that users don’t realize that something is going wrong! Anyone who has ever worked with a mouse knows that they attract dirt, fuzz, lint, and other debris, which can cause ball movement to feel rough and may inhibit normal cursor movement. When this happens with the evolution MOUSE-TRAK, the user doesn't ordinarily have to disassemble the device to clean it. Simply spin the ball as hard and fast as possible in each diagonal direction, which will cause the dirt to fly off into the case, and then press down on the ball and move it in a circular motion to further clean the shaft surface.