Always Use An External Mouse Over A Touchpad On Your Laptop
It bothers me when I see people using the touch pad on their laptop while at a desk for long periods of time. I’ve never seen an official study done on it, but I’d guess that you are 25 to 30% faster using a regular external mouse instead of a touch pad. The touch pad is only there for when you are on the move and don’t have access to anything else!
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Scott Eggleston said,
Wrote on November 8, 2007 @ 7:40 am
I only use the touchpad when I’ve got a small surface space (like on a plane), or need to be quiet (stealth surfing). External mice are great, and I prefer the retractable cord variety. They need no batteries, and don’t have any tiny antenna to lose!
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Brian Armstrong said,
Wrote on November 8, 2007 @ 6:51 pm
Yep airplanes are a perfect example where space is more important that speed, so the touch pad makes sense.
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John said,
Wrote on November 9, 2007 @ 8:55 pm
I completely (although respectfully) disagree.
I tend to use keyboard shortcuts as much as possible, and having to move my hand away from home position is a time drag. I use the little eraser head that’s between the g and h keys, and it’s perfect.
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Candy said,
Wrote on December 6, 2007 @ 4:33 am
I’m laptop-challenged, I guess. I have to have an external mouse AND keyboard to be really effective. Otherwise, I move so slow, it’s hardly worth dealing with it. At the last conference I went to, my roommate gave me heck about it. I guess it comes from doing data entry, I like my keyboard to be nice and big with a 10 key on the side ;)
I use a lot of keyboard short-cuts as well. BUT I still need that mouse. ;)
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