Wireless mice for control room workstations – what’s SEN’s opinion? Are wireless mice reliable enough for serious security applications?
A: Our experience says not. It doesn’t matter whether it’s RF interference or battery failure, too often a wireless mouse will stop functioning, experience delayed response when in power save mode, or will freeze, demanding a restart that might include pulling the battery out, or removing the dongle. This is annoying during office work, but for security operations in real time that involve life safety, it’s simply not acceptable.
The benefits of wireless mice are that the desk is tidier and they certainly travel better. The cons are mysterious and random delayed responses, greater expense, battery weight and battery management. The benefits of wired mice are that they are impervious to external interference, are lower cost (or offer more functions for the same money), and their consistent power input means consistent functionality. The cons are that there’s a wire – this may be annoying if there’s too much wire on a desk.
Other considerations when it comes to mice include integrated functionality and hand feel, the latter of which is a matter of personal taste. You can get used to driving those little Microsoft folding mice but when you shift from a folder to something like a Pro IntelliMouse, you really feel the difference – that’s important when you’re steering a mouse all day.
Mice that are highly rated for gaming are likely to work well in security control rooms. They will be comfortable, durable and there will also be a focus on sensor quality that will make them more accurate. Some gaming mice feature unecessary sensor specifications – around 1200 DPI is the sweet spot for price, performance and relevance to standard monitor resolutions.
Another performance number to consider is IPS – inches per second – that tells you how accurately a mouse sensor can track movement – the higher the number, the more accurate the sensor is at high speeds – Logitech’s G402 Hyperion Fury delivers 500ips.
Security operators are likely to find anything from around 100ips is perfectly adequate. Simplifying the decision, a quality wired mouse from a quality brand will have capable enough sensor technology for security needs.
A point we missed originally is handedness of mice. If you’re left handed, you’ll need a left handed mouse and vice versa. According to Brett Harris (thanks, mate), many gaming mice are designed for right handed users, so you’ll need to be very sure you’re getting what you need if you’re part of the 10 per cent of the population who steers with the left.
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