Wireless Mouse

Why, you may ask, might it be good to use the mouse more when you clearly told us it was better to use the keyboard? Good question.

Well, it's about productivity. We use computers for lots of things -- as glorified typewriters (we used to call our computers "word processors", to give you an idea of what they were originally intended for), but then, gradually, computers got more powerful and the interface became more graphically oriented for lots of fancier things.

There are some things that a keyboard makes sense for. If you're writing, you don't want to keep moving your hand away from the keyboard to move the mouse. In which case, keyboard shortcuts make a lot of sense. But try browsing the Internet using only the keyboard and you'll find you're stuck on the same page. Find yourself sorting through digital photos, or touching them up, or organizing songs in your MP3 collection, and you'll probably agree that a mouse makes more sense. So here are some tips about using your mouse better when you do need to use it.

First off, get a decent mouse. Unless you're an expert (and I've not met any yet), I would recommend using a mouse more than the trackpad (the little flat surface on your laptop) or TrackPoint (the little nubbin that is sometimes in the middle of your laptop keyboard). This is just because I think the mouse is better and faster at doing these things. But make sure it's a decent mouse and not the cheapest one in the shop (even if it does have Garfield's face on it and little whiskers sprouting out of the top).

Things to look for in a mouse: Size and shape; does it feel right in your hand? The scroll wheel (the little wheel in the middle of most mice), which is great for moving up and down documents without having to move the cursor to the edge of the screen to click on the up and down arrows.

If you can, buy a wireless mouse. These are ones that either use Bluetooth or other radio technology so there's no cables connecting the mouse and computer.

Why is this worth doing? Because the cable often gets tangled, or it restricts your movement. A mouse should be free to roam across the desktop, so it's worth paying that little bit extra.