I’ve griped about Microsoft Windows for so many years (I use a Mac) that people who know me just discount my rants. So, I’ve backed off. I even have two Windows machines. One is in the RV, required so that I can use the Motosat satellite internet system. The other is a Sony laptop (feels like it’s made of cast iron) that Mary Ann wanted so that she could run a stock market system and also some photo processing software that doesn’t run on a Mac.
I had heard that there was a big set of Windows patches released, so I decided to go patch the Windows. I fired up the RV and located the laptop. Both had been gathering dust for several weeks.
I’m still not comfortable with two-button mice. Oh, I can use it, but not well. Mice are pointing tools. Point and click. If I need to do something else, there are a whole set of complex buttons on the keyboard. It’s especially bad on the laptop. I can actually get by just using a two-button mouse as a one-button. You hand fits around the mouse. You don’t have to look. I’m right handed. Using a laptop, my right hand rests where my thumb can work the trackpad and click, but on the Sony, it’s positioned so the wrong button is under my thumb.
It’s not that I can’t adapt. I’ve been in computer since before mice were invented. I’ve used one-button, two-button, and three-button mice, all on different systems. They do each have their advantages. The problem is training. You have to be trained to use multi-button mice. It’s not instinctive to know what each button does. Of course, once you’ve been trained, you can get some leverage out of the training. But if you’re going to be using X11, Windows, and the Mac, which I do, the excess buttons are just not worth the trouble.
I’ll stick to point and click.