Glass Or Trackball, Travel Mice Can Be Tricky

Last week, my regular Road Worrier column looked at ways to travel more effectively while still using a mouse. Readers pitched in with suggestions for additional options, but one that no-one suggested was an older technology: the trackball. It was only spotting someone on a train today with a trackball rested on her leg that made me reconsider this option. While I think I’d still prefer to know a decent set of keyboard shortcuts, the trackball does eliminate the problem of needing a mousing surface.
The other concept that’s emerged this week is the clickable glass trackpad on the new MacBooks. Even leaving aside the excessively high pricetag and my general lack of enthusiasm for all things Mac (and multi-touch), this seems like an impractical choice to me: the last thing you want in your travel machine is another component that can shatter. But even if Apple seems to believe that this is the only solution any Mac user will need, it’s good to have more choices out there — if there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that different users like different input options, so bring ‘em on.