PC Mouse II - Optical Mouse from MSC Technologies
                       Copyright 1988 David W. Batterson


     Mice are great for certain programs.  You certainly need them for graphics
and desktop publishing programs.  Ever try to draw using your keyboard?--it's
slow and difficult.
     But you can also use mice with spreadsheets, word processors,
communications programs and the like.  It's a matter of preference in these
cases.  I prefer to stick with the keyboard myself.
     Whatever your choice, mice have come a long way since the days at Xerox's
PARC facility in Palo Alto where the inspiration for the Mac was born, and
later "borrowed" by Steve Jobs.
     Mice come in three types:  mechanical, opto-mechanical and optical.
     The PC Mouse II is an optical, high resolution mouse, available in either
the serial or bus versions.  I received the serial one for review.
     There is no little ball inside, like with mechanical mice.  Instead you'll see an infrared light.  As you
move the mouse on the special mirrored pad--it looks a lot like those cheap
mirror tiles you see in mobile homes--with its grid of tiny dots, the light is
reflected onto a sensor.  Don't ask me any more about the technology, though,
because I don't understand how it works.
     Underneath the mouse are two strips upon which it rests while you slide
the mouse over the surface of the pad.  If you are used to a rolling-ball
mouse, it takes some getting used to the feel of it.
     The advantage is that you only have to move the mouse a short distance,
since it features very high resolution--selectable up to 2000 counts per
inch--as opposed to 200 cpi with standard mice.
     You can select the desired acceleration level upon loading the mouse
driver, or at any time from the keyboard.
     The mouse driver is available in the usual two versions: either a COM
program (RAM-resident), or one you name in your CONFIG.SYS file.  There are
also "Designer Pop-up Menus," for use with Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, WordPerfect, and
many other programs which normally don't allow mouse usage.
     There's even a pop-up menu for DOS use which was pleasant to use.
     The PC Mouse II also comes with PC Paint Plus, Version 2.0, a program
similar to PC Paintbrush Plus from Z-Soft.  In the supplement to the manual,
there are new instructions plus information on several bugs.  Wouldn't it be a
better idea to fix the bugs and re-edit the manual?
     Unlike Z-Soft's, the manual is NOT in a three-ring binder--the BEST way to
present documentation.  If it were, you could just pop in new pages as changes
are made in the docs.
     The main difficulty I found with the PC Mouse II is that the buttons are
too stiff.  I'm used to a delicate touch on my Logitech C7 mouse; this one
requires a harder push of the fingers.
     It seems to me that the strips on the bottom should be made of Teflon or
something a bit smoother.  It just moves a bit too clunky for my taste.  I
suggest you try out the PC MOUSE II at a dealer's before purchasing to see if
you like the way it handles.
     For more information, contact MSC Technologies, Inc., 47505 Seabridge Dr.,
Fremont, CA  94538; (415) 656-1117.
                                       #
David Batterson is a computer writer and consultant in Palm Springs, CA.  Your
comments are welcome via MCI MAIL: DBATTERSON.