Part-time Thumber trying to switch. ProtoArc EM03 seems massive, where next.
I had trackballs way back, in fact I think I had a Logitech portable trackball way back before I even had a mouse, I had one of the red ball MS ones that I think was PS2. Somehow I enede up full time mouse for the 20 years in there though. When I left consoles to go back to PC gaming, the couch was still a requirement, so I picked up a M570 to navigate menus, intending to play with controller. Thing is, once I got used to it I actually liked some games on the trackball.
The problem though, it kills my thumb. I already tend to hold it "funny" I think in that I use my middle/ring fingers on the buttons and the index just sort of rests such that my thumb isn't stretching a ton. So, I want to try to switch to finger, and even had a pipe dream that if I got past the thumb maybe I replace mouse on my work type stuff after that. Would be a huge plus for 3D CAD where they expect you to middle button so much.
I bought a ProtoArc EM03 and first impressions. It's MASSIVE. I measured my finger like ProtoArc said and got 7 inches, but it feels like it's 3 sizes too large. I tried to game a bit and I've learned I can totally get used to the finger part, the thumb click won't be much to get used to. I don't think I can get over the size though. If I hold it the way it feels like it wants you do, then I have no up-down dexterity because my finger is already stretched out just to rest on the ball. If I choke way up on it it's still so tall and I can sort of use 2-3 fingers, but then I'm having to physically move my hand to get buttons under a finger. I was really struggling in cases where I needed to hold right-click, aim, and click left-click all at once. I don't think it's going to be something I need to learn, because it's just so uncomfortable.
So where do I go next? My thought was if I loved it I'd get a Elecom Huge for the work case and have all the cool buttons. I don't need or care for a bunch of extras on the first go, and I'm using on Linux anyway. I can't imagine using a Huge though. It might eat one of my fingers. Deft says smaller ball but looks the same in the pics, but if I wanted one later with extra gizmos they made the Deft Pro larger. Should I just stick with a thumb? Finger ones seem to be geared towards massiveness. Only rules are wireless and a somewhat ergo shape.