Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer - mouse

I'm currently using this mouse on my Ubuntu PC, and have also tried it on Solaris and Windows. It has an excellent response time, never lags or freezes, and wastes very little battery. I'm currently powering the mouse with two AA UNiROSS 2700mAh NiMH batteries, which I charged less than a year ago.

The mouse came in two parts: one is the USB receiver that has a metre of cord, and the second is the wireless mouse. The receiver is quite big, not the sort you would use with a portable computer (i.e. netbook or notebook). That being said, the signal quality is always close to 100%, and hasn’t ever dropped below 80%.

The mouse doesn’t come with many buttons, or many extra features, but the range of customisable features is good enough and avoids confusion, which would have been due to too many buttons. The mouse has a standard wheel between the main two buttons, but this wheel has on extra feature, which is that it moves side to side. I find this feature very useful for moving between tabs while browsing and a number of other uses, depending on the active program. The two browser function buttons are useful if you like using more buttons, but I only used those a few times, and turned them off in Ubuntu, because I prefer to use the keyboard for most of the browser functions, e.g. to go back Alt + Left Arrow, forward with Alt + Right Arrow, etc.

I think the mouse is just the right size for everyday use on a PC, especially if the PC runs Linux. I used this mouse a few years ago with Windows and Solaris, and although it performs well, the performance is much better on Ubuntu 10.04. I haven’t yet tried it on Ubuntu 12.04, which I have a live DVD edition and am considering writing a review about after a few more days of use.

I think the reason behind this mouse performing better on Ubuntu, is that the operating system can be customised very much to the user’s standards. Although the mouse is manufactured by Microsoft, and their own driver software maybe designed more specifically for the device, my own experience shows that this mouse works better with Ubuntu. I’ve got the mouse receiver plugged in via a USB to PS/2 connector to the standard green PS/2 mouse port on the computer. I’ve never had problems connecting USB mice via PS/2, but there may well be USB mice out there, which won’t work through a PS/2 connection. I’ve only had problems with USB keyboards connected through PS/2, most of which the computer doesn’t detect at all.

When setting up the mouse, and after replacing the batteries, I found that to be the time I need to press the small connect button on the mouse, while pressing the larger connect button on the receiver. The batteries are easy to replace, but they require some extra effort to remove, for which I use a small flat screwdriver it get one battery out. Once that’s out, the other one comes out easily. Placing batteries into the mouse is an effortless process, so no tools are required at all. You simply insert the batteries one at a time, sliding them into the holding positions.

I’ve used several lighter mice by Logitech and Microsoft, and found this one to be far better for control and better usability and durability. Out of all wireless optical mice I’ve used, I’d say this one is probably the best in performance, energy efficiency and ease of use.

The mouse works using optical technology, so it probably wouldn’t work well on a reflective surface. I’ve never used it on a reflective surface, so I’ve never face such problems. I would recommend this mouse for any PC user, but wouldn’t recommend it for anyone carrying around a netbook or notebook. Notebook and netbook users would probably prefer mice with smaller receivers, which would save more space in a carry case, and would require less space to operate.