Follow-up on mech keyboard, trackball mouse 7/16/21
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This  is  a  follow-up  on  a previous  post[1],  about  a  new  cheap
mechanical keyboard, and  a trackball mouse. I've been  using both for
about a month, so it's probably time to give my observations.

I like the keyboard more than I  expected I would. I figured the noise
would get annoying, to myself and others. For my part, I don't mind it
at all.  I've asked people in  the house if  they can hear it  when my
office door is  open, and they say  that they can't hear  it much (and
seem to be  confused that I would  ask such a question.)  I've used it
while on  phone calls, and during  Zoom meetings, and I've  also asked
people if it sounds loud in  those settings. No complaints, though one
person confirmed that  they could hear it. I'm still  eager to try the
browns out eventually.

The feel of the keyboard has only gotten better as I've gotten used to
it.  My only  complaint is  that  at times  the  keys feel  a bit  too
sensitive, especially keys that my palm might accidentally brush, such
as ctrl, shift, and  super at times. Just means I  have to avoid being
lazy.

On the  mouse: I read online  that you need  to use a trackball  for a
week to get used  to it. For me, it was probably two  weeks or more. I
had to write a little script to set the speed, which looks like this:

<code>
#!/bin/bash
# Set trackball speed (kensington eagle)
# necessary because the prop (id#) changes
devid=$(xinput --list-props "Primax Kensington Eagle Trackball" | grep -i "accel speed (" | sed 's/.*(\(.*\)).*/\1/')
xinput set-prop "Primax Kensington Eagle Trackball" $devid -0.9
echo "Trackball speed set for property $devid"
xinput --list-props "Primax Kensington Eagle Trackball" | grep -i $devid
</code>

I'm not sure  why the prop number  changes in xinput, but  it does for
me. This takes care of that, and sets the speed where I want it...

Getting back: it took at least two weeks to get used to the trackball,
to feel like it wasn't a burden to use it vs. a mouse. However, having
reached that point, here's what I'm finding:

- Far less strain on my hand. The position of the hand while 
  using this  is much better than  a mouse. Maybe a  larger, ergonomic
  mouse  would be  good  too, I'm  comparing this  to  a fairly  small
  logitech wireless mouse. Much less strain.
- Rapid to get from once place to another on screen. Swipe 
  the  ball, and  you're there.  You  get used  to the  swipe that  is
  needful.
- Works better than expected in gimp. I was really worried 
  that  the trackball  would be  an impediment  in gimp,  but I'm  not
  finding that to be the case. I'm  not a heavy graphics guy, but I do
  use  it  (and inkscape,  and  others)  regularly. The  trackball  is
  invisible  to me  at this  point, and  in some  use cases,  possibly
  better.
- Love the spinner scroll, but it's a little too sensitive. 
  I tend to bump  it more than I like when I'm only  trying to use the
  ball.
- I absolutely love that the trackball stays in one place. 
  Don't have to constantly adjust or make room.
- I miss having a third mouse button. Yes, I can do the 
  emulated press 1+2=3, but that's not the same by a long shot.
- The ergonomics on this cheaper trackball aren't that 
  great. Less strain on the hand, but the wrist rest needs some work.

And there you have it. All in  all, I still like both. I'm still using
both, full-time.  The logitech wireless keyboard/mouse  will remain in
storage  it seems.  I should  have also  mentioned, I  strongly prefer
wired for this desktop setup (what a pain to worry about reception and
batteries).

[1] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:70/0/~tfurrows/phlog/2021-06-14_mechanicalKeyboard.txt