In Search Of The Best Mouse - Optical Vs Laser Mouse

Jan 18
09:11

2012

Dimitar Kazakov

Dimitar Kazakov

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If you want to get a new mouse or you're just interested about how mice function then this will be a good read. I cover the way optical and laser technology functions and I compare the two in order to find out which one's better.

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The optical mice's recognition really took up for the better in the late 1990s when it began being shipped as an additional feature to a lot of pc systems. The optical technology got progressively more approved among users because it made working with the mouse much easier than with the classic ball mouse. Since those times obtaining a regular ball mouse has become somewhat of a challenge.So how does the optical technology really function?The optical mouse is supplied with a light emitting diode (LED) and photodiodes which the mouse employs in order to recognize motion relative to a plane i.e. a desk top or a mouse pad.At heart,In Search Of The Best Mouse - Optical Vs Laser Mouse Articles optical mice are equipped with an optoelectronic sensor (a small low-resolution video camera) which makes successive photos of the surface on which the mouse operates. The images of the surface that the sensor makes are done in continuous succession and compared with each other in order to find out how far the mouse has moved.present-day optical mice work on almost any surface. Some exceptions are glass, mirror and other specular surfaces.The color of the light emitting diode (LED) of the optical mouse is mostly red just because red diodes are cheaper but it is not irregular to find blue light emitting diodes either.Unlike ball mice optical mice don't have any moving parts which which is why they usually don't have mechanical malfunctions and optical mice are less breakable.The light emitting diode (LED) of battery-powered wireless optical mice only glows steadily when motion is tracked down. The rest of the time it flashes intermittently in order to save energy.But what's the difference between the optical mouse and the laser mouse?Instead of using a light emitting diode (LED) the laser mouse uses an infrared laser diode. The small infrared laser the mouse is supplied with significantly increases the resolution of the image made by the mouse. The laser makes possible around twenty times increased surface tracking ability than typical optical mouse technology.Glass laser mice (a.k.a. glaser mice) can also be operated on mirror or transparent and translucent surfaces.Because the laser diode, that the mouse employs, casts out infrared light it's most often invisible for the naked eye.But which one is better? The optical or the laser mouse?To answer this inquiry we should consider the dpi (dots per inch) each technology is able to detect.On the one hand ,the standard range for the optical mouse starts from 400 to around 800 dpi.On the other hand, the range of the laser mouse is frequently above 2000 dpi. The ability of laser technology to track such high dpi makes the laser mouse a lot more precise and accurate when in comparison to an optical mouse. That greater sensitivity is why most professional graphic designers and gamers prefer the laser mouse rather than the optical mouse.All in all, laser mouse technology is arguably the sophisticated one. I say arguably because some users find the additional sensitivity a little distracting while simply checking their email or browsing the Web.