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Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000
Testing
Software (Microsoft IntelliPoint 5.4) While the Wireless Mouse 6000 will function just fine with native Windows drivers, installing the included IntelliPoint software will enable the finer points of this device. As per usual, driver installation is a click-through breeze. Inside the software package you will find utilities to assign button commands to each of the 5 onboard clickers as well as choose different pointers, set scroll and tracking speeds, check on battery life and review the quality of your wireless signal. These features are common to most any mouse software. The one intriguing benefit of this otherwise standard feature set is the magnifier. You probably wouldn't even notice the setting, but under the Buttons tab of the IntelliPoint software the small thumb button is set to "Magnify". And what magnify does is bring up a small window which acts as an on-screen magnifying glass. Depress the button once and the rectangular magnifier follows your mouse movements around the screen while clearly and crisply magnifying images and text. Click the button again and it disappears. This feature is similar to the native Windows magnifier but much easier to read. This is a handy tool for those of you who might need your reading glasses to make out smaller text and, as I mentioned above, makes this mouse even more attractive to Grandparents.         Normal Usage As I expected, the 6000 is a fine desktop mouse. The customizable buttons can be set to useful browsing or word processing shortcuts, the tracking is smooth and skip-free, and the laser's 1000 DPI resolution easily picks up minute movements. With most new generation wireless mice lag has been virtually eliminated and the 6000 is no exception. I notice no lag at all when moving the mouse even after several minutes of no activity. One thing I was not pleased with was the exclusion of a rechargeable battery system. Providing two AA Energizers was a thoughtful gesture, but in this day and age rechargeable batteries are so abundant why wouldn't Microsoft incorporate them into this mouse? I despise built in rechargeable batteries to a lesser degree than disposables. However, a swappable battery pack seems the wisest design. Logitech's wireless G7 sets the standard in this regard. Not to mention the 2 disposable batteries add a bit more weight to this mouse making it rather hefty at 150 grams including the AAs. The primary buttons are easy to actuate and result in that satisfying click we all love so much. Similarly, the two thumb buttons are easy enough to click although I found the smaller button slightly more difficult to get to. It requires just a bit of repositioning in getting a thumb over it, but not to the point of annoyance. The middle mouse button is a bit tricky. First off the button takes a bit of muscle to depress, sometimes taking more than one press to reach the desired effect. And occasionally I found that clicking the middle button unnecessarily actuated the scroll wheel. Speaking of which, Microsoft has once again integrated a smooth scrolling wheel, meaning there are no "clicks" when you move the wheel up and down. At times I find this feature useful, like when typing out Word documents or browsing a large web page or lengthy document, but when finer movements are required, such as scrolling through a pull down menu, the wheel motion is clumsy and inaccurate. Even with the scroll speed at the lowest setting, I was constantly overshooting my intended target. The problem lies in the fact that it's difficult to get a feel for the movement of the wheel without a little feedback in the form of clicks. Clicking wheels require a bit more force to move, but the action is more predictable in my opinion. Fortunately the side scrolling feature is easy enough to use and is quite handy in all the previously mentioned applications, and especially in graphics apps like Photoshop.   Sadly this laser mouse seems to be lagging behind its contemporary opponents. Firstly the usable range of this mouse is relatively small. Outside of a 6 foot radius, the mouse is basically worthless. While this might not be a big deal if you are always at your desk, home theater PC users take notice. The USB wireless receiver is nearly the same design Microsoft has been using on all their previous wireless mice. A USB dongle-style receiver would have been a nice touch. Whereas both the Logitech G5 and G7, the Razer Copperhead and Creative Fatal1ty 2020 laser mice all feature on-the-fly resolution switching, the Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 offers none. Also on the short side is the measly 1000 DPI resolution. The 6000's nearest competitors offer a maximum of either 1600 or 2000 DPI, depending on the manufacturer. The gaming qualities of this mouse are looking to be lean at best, but we'll find out for sure. In-Game Usage As predicted in my previous remarks, this is not a gaming mouse. I won't go so far as to say that it doesn't work at all for gaming. The precise laser technology does work well for tracking enemy targets and the 5 programmable buttons also prove useful for in-game functions. But that smooth scrolling wheel just kills it for me. My test bed of choice for all laser mice reviews thus far has been Call of Duty 2. While I'm not the world's best CoD2 player, the lack of a clicking scroll wheel significantly reduced my performance. But I was persistent; I didn't want to give in so quickly. I thought I would get used to the imprecise weapon switches after a few rounds. But a couple hours later I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to switch back to my favorite laser mouse, the!.ahh, you thought I was going to give it all away, didn't you? You'll have to wait for the final laser mouse round-up to see what one keeps me fragging happily. I suppose if you aren't like me and don't prefer the middle mouse button as a weapon switch in your first person shooters, this mouse will work just fine. But I'm a creature of habit and the frustration was too great to bear. In the spirit of research I pressed on towards Counter-Strike: Source but again I was greeted with disappointment. This mouse is no friend of FPSers. Try your skills with a real time strategy game and you might not come away so unhappy. The smooth tracking motion makes for easy troop relocation and the click-less mouse button isn't nearly as annoying when you don't have to swap weapons quickly. When linked to a zoom feature, the smooth scroll is far more forgiving. Although without the resolution switching, the true strength of the laser is lost. Now that I've come to expect it I can't live without the on-the-fly DPI switching. It really does come in handy for gaming, no matter the genre.
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Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
allen888
on August 28, 2006 - 3:03 pm I bought the Microsoft wireless laser keyboard and mouse 6000 and after five months I can no longer get the mouse to move the pointer yet all other functins of the keyboard and the mouse work. And, no one has an answer for this problem. Yes, I plan to reurn the stuff ofr a refund. H. 2 - Posted by
Kurtis
on August 28, 2006 - 5:13 pm I'm assuming you have tried putting new batteries in and refreshing the device's connection, right?
3 - Posted by
sandtrooper
on October 5, 2007 - 8:59 am could i ask author .. Bradford Day .. what mouse you use ? i am looking for good wired laser mouse, if possible .. the one which can work on glass surface, thanks
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