I Heard the 90s Are Trendy... So I Bought a Mouse Pad
I use my laptop virtually every day, but I rarely use a separate mouse. But, sometimes, it’s handy to have an external mouse, and so I have one… in a drawer. I use a mouse so infrequently that I hadn’t actually tried using my old mouse with my new laptop (which I got in June of last year) and it turns out, the old mouse and new laptop are NOT compatible! Fun thing to find out when you need a mouse ASAP!
I did so much troubleshooting. I use a book as a mouse pad (more on that in a bit) and I thought maybe there was something wrong with the book, so I wrapped it in parchment paper to see if that helped. I also tried a piece of printer paper, and a magazine. Oh, and I wiped down the book and magazine with an alcohol wipe (again, one of the greatest, most versatile tools a home can have) because maybe there was some invisible detritus getting in the way. I replaced the battery in my mouse. I poked around the bottom to see if the little laser thingy was messed up. I could NOT figure out what was wrong. It’s important to mention that my old laptop was a Macbook Air that had ALL the ports. It had an SD card reader! This new Macbook Air has two Thunderbolt 3 ports. THAT’S IT. So whereas I used to put the USB receiver for my mouse in the USB port on the right side of my laptop, I now needed to plug an adapter into the left side, then plug the USB receiver into that. And that distance, from one side of my laptop to the other, was out of range for my cheap little mouse and THAT is why it didn’t work.
By the time I realized this I had ordered a new wireless mouse, a smaller Thunderbolt to USB adapter (I had been using this dongle that I have for SD Cards), and a mouse pad. I realized that even though I had purchased a wireless mouse with a large range, I no longer trusted the USB system. I had been BURNED and I was MAD. Plus, I ordered all this tech because it was one day delivery, and they LIED and it was TWO DAYS. Again, I needed a mouse NOW. I was now mad at everything. So I ordered a Magic Mouse 2 from the Apple Store and was able to pick it up in 30 minutes. Did it cost like, 4 times as much as the mouse I had before, and the one I had just ordered? Does it have a charging port in the bottom which makes it unusable while charging, a design so deranged it can only be proof the devil is real and works in tech? Does it work seamlessly? YES, YES, AND YES.
The other stuff got delivered and I can return it and it’s all fine. But that mouse pad I ordered in a furious, rage-fueled bout of impulse purchasing? It’s GREAT. I mean, anything would be an upgrade from my previous system of using a book or a magazine. This mouse pad comes in multiple sizes and colors (I got medium silver) and is two sided. One side is brushed metal, the other is “leather.” I prefer the leather side - the noise of the mouse on the metal is obnoxious - but the mouse pad comes with stickers for both the mousepad and your mouse to cut down on noise and slipperiness. It’s also rigid, which is handy for me, a person who almost exclusively uses their laptop on the couch or in bed.
The mousepad is also very thin - certainly thinner than a book - which makes it easy to take with me when I eventually go places again. You could easily slip it in a laptop sleeve or a bag and take your mouse show on the road. If you aren’t a mouse user, but prefer to do all laptop tasks from your Soft Office, this mousepad would also be a great “side table,” in case you need a hard surface to take notes on or hold a drink or tap your fingers on while you impatiently wait for your Zoom to end. Did I think in the year 2021 I would own a mousepad, let alone have strong feelings about it? Absolutely not. But this $15 impulse purchase has quickly become one of my favorite things.
