Do we really need mousemats anymore?

Question

I have a laser mouse, and my mousemat just keeps getting all ruffled up and sliding off my desk. Should I just put it in the bin? Are mousemats just relics of a bygone age of computing?

Answer 1

It depends on how house trained your mouse is. Optical mice tend to be very clean animals and you don't need a mouse mat to clean up after them :) Although a wrist rest gives you a good angle to throttle them if they get feisty

Answer 2

Mousemats still have their place.
I have a wonderfully nice polished wood desk.
A little too wonderfully polished. It plays havoc with my laser mouse. I need a mouse pad so the light doesn't incorrectly reflect off the polish and cause my mouse to jitter.

If you have a desktop PC and your desk works great for a mousepad, then I see no reason why you would need to use the one you have.

If you have a laptop, then you might want to hang on to it in case you need it if you travel.

Answer 3

rolling a mouse around on a hard desk will wear away the rubber risers on the bottom of the mouse very quickly, and then start to wear on the plastic - and it'll scratch it too.

mousemats are more than just traction for older ball-bottomed mice, they're also soft yet firm platforms to protect it from wear and tear which still applies to optic devices.

really it's down to how often you want to pay to replace your hardware, desk debris getting into the optics doesn't help.

of course, anyone who uses a computer desk with a glass top has no choice but to use a mousepad if they own an optical mouse - they don't work on glass or highly reflective surfaces because they function by taking constant snapshots of what is underneath it, comparing each image to see if the mouse has been moved and in what direction. shiny surfaces reflect the light back too much, confusing the image processor.

Answer 4

Good question! It really depends on what you use your computer for primarily.
If youre a gamer, you may want the slickest surface possible for your high resolution mouse, and would use a super slick mousepad.
If youre into CAD or something like that, you might use a super high resolution mouse for precision. In that case, you'd want a more precise (less slick) mousepad.

Most companies that make high end laser mice will reccommend you use a darker color mousepad for greater precision across all movements.
For the average user, it's a lot cleaner looking and more practical to get rid of the mousepad.

Answer 5

If you have an optical mouse and a smooth clean surface to put it on, then yes you can dump the mousemat.

Answer 6

It is for the surface underneath in fact:

if glass table - definitely, optical and laser don't work there
if some sort of table transparent film - same as glass table
if laquered and painted clean wood - still, I found my notebook optical failed on my kitchen table like that
if some blemished table - the heavier/numerous the blemishing marks are the better for optical/laser.

Answer 7

Mousepads are as much for your hand as anything, and they smooth out the constant rubbing. We haven't used one for quite awhile. I run my mouse across the wide and generous right arm of my Morris chair (my cup o' coffee sits on the left, and a cat at my feet).

Answer 8

I guess so.
But sometimes they can be objects of beauty,
they may be visually enhancing to your worktop.
Perhaps you just need to find the right mousemat to suit you.

Answer 9

My mouse doesn't work without a mousepad, and it is a laser mouse. Maybe it's cheap, I don't know, but it's all up to if it helps or hinders you.

Answer 10

iv never had a mousemat