vwestlife
Veteran Member
While I like old keyboards I do prefer newer optical mice to the old ball type (nothing like a simple Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical). Since I collect PS/2 MCA machines I also have a bunch of IBM PS/2 mice of all types and Microsoft mice for old PCs.
I have a Mouse Systems optical mouse which dates from the late 1980s! It works just as smoothly as the new ones do, however it requires a special mouse pad with a reflective grid pattern on it. Without the special mouse pad, it's useless. That's why optical mice never really caught on until they developed ones which don't need the special pad and can be used on almost any surface -- although a smooth tabletop often doesn't work so well, so I end up having to use a (regular) mouse pad anyway.