Today, the most popular way in which we interact with our computer is by using either a computer mouse or a touchpad mouse. What are the pros and cons of each? Both the computer mouse and the touchpad have served us well for over 30 years. Each device has its strengths and weaknesses, and one device may serve you better than the other, depending on the use.
Clearly, both devices are here to stay, but the ultimate decision comes down to personal preference.
After briefly looking back at the the history of the computer mouse, we will take an exhaustive look at the pros and cons of both the computer mouse and the trackpad. By the end of this article, you will be able to determine which device is the best solution for your computer needs. In , The first workstation computer, known as the Xerox Alto, was created by Xerox.
The computer included a fully functional keyboard, display, and mouse. Even then, it could display windows, menus and icons as an interface to its operating system. In , Apple released the first successful mouse-based computer, but people still used DOS until Microsoft developed Windows 1. On the other spectrum, the touchpad is an input pointing device where the surface allows you to move the cursor on your screen by simply using your finger. It was invented by George E.
Gerpheide in , and Apple was the first to implement the touchpad in its Powerbook laptop in In short, switching from a touchpad to an external mouse delivers a number of benefits. Adding an external mouse to your laptop becomes a no-brainer, both in terms of efficiency and ergonomics.
Mouse vs. Touchpad - Does it Really Make a Difference? Pangea temporary hotfixes here. The benefits of an external mouse:. Mobility Meets Comfort In short, switching from a touchpad to an external mouse delivers a number of benefits.
Now you can buy the inch iMac's sleek mouse or keyboard without splurging on a whole new computer. But no, not in cool colors. Apple's redesign of the iMac comes with sleek Magic accessories in the box, including the Magic Keyboard -- with Touch ID, if you're willing to pay extra. But small, incremental upgrades can make a big difference. Not as many laptops support internal memory or storage upgrades as they used to -- replaceable batteries even less so -- but if you can, you should definitely take advantage of the option as you start to hit limits.
That's one of the advantages of hanging onto an older laptop -- it's more likely to be upgradable. That's as long as you feel comfortable opening it up to stick things in. Before you start down this path, make sure to find an upgrade or maintenance guide for your particular system to verify that it supports your plan.
You should also check that it doesn't require expensive nonstandard components, which will cost more than it's worth. When I bought this inexpensive Asus UL30 in , it was partly for its upgradability and removable battery. The display failed before I even got a chance to take advantage of that.
It was probably fixable, but wasn't worth it given the price. External upgrades can be easier and more practical, though in some cases they don't provide as big a boost. Or they may not make as big a difference as you thought they would. I secretly added a Netgear Wi-Fi 5 Speedtest showed that throughput doubled. Given how much time she spends online, that seemed to make it worth the money. If you're running short on storage, an external drive is an obvious enhancement.
Unless you only plan to use it to offload files you don't use often, you may want to avoid going too cheap. A slow external drive can be more annoying than uplifting. You can also potentially improve performance by booting from an external drive, though that depends on the connection and the drive speed. Another possible performance upgrade -- only if you've got a newer laptop with a Thunderbolt 3 connection, though -- is to add an external graphics processor, aka eGPU to boost speed in applications or games with heavy GPU usage.
This can be a pricey upgrade, though, and the enclosure and the graphics card are frequently sold separately, which can obscure the true cost. You may want to consider moving to a newer version of the operating system if you're not on it already. I don't consider it a no-brainer, though. If your laptop's crumbling to dust, a newer version of the OS may not unequivocally improve things.
And you also run the risk of losing the ability to run some applications. So if a program hasn't been migrated from 32 to 64 bit -- and there are good reasons why it may not have been -- the upgrade would actually be a step backward for you.
Sticking with an outdated version of an operating system is widely considered to be bad hygiene, though, because you don't get the constant barrage of virus, malware and security updates that up-to-date systems receive.
And finally, when you're at the end of your rope, you've got nothing to lose by replacing the operating system with something new altogether.
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