Silent Mouse EX reduces mouse-related noise pollution by 22.5db, no one cares
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Jun 25th 2009 9:46AM
posted Jun 25th 2009 9:46AM
Oh, Thanko, fine purveyor of hidden cameras and ill-advised input devices, whenever it gives us a peripheral that looks like, well, a peripheral, it feels like a big step in the right direction. And what do we have here? The Silent Mouse EX is a bit of a misnomer. After all, it isn't totally silent -- rather, the manufacturer claims that it generates 35.5db of noise when in operation. Compared to 58db of sound the "average" mouse makes (or so we've heard), that is... well, it's less. Actually, we have a hard time believing anyone cares about this sort of thing, but if you'd like to prove us wrong, you can hit that read link and put ¥3,180 (approx. $33) where your mouth is. Or better still, just use a trackpad.
[Via Akihabara]
[Via Akihabara]
Wow...I can't even remember the last time I've used something beyond a trackpad, LMAO
I hate trackpads, and many others do too, hence the plethora of laptop mice sold.
What I really noticed is that this is a 'body' copy of Logitech's VX Revolution notebook mouse.
yes that is litigiously close to the VX revolution
I wouldn't be surprised if the factory that pumped out Logitech VX's by day mysteriously produced "noise free mice" by night...
Yep, looks just like my VX I have in my hand.
@Kamokazi
I know that...I wasn't putting it down, LOL
I was just saying...it's been so long since I've had a desktop computer...I've forgotten the feel of a mouse, lol.
I'm going to have to get me a desktop later down the road. I miss that experience.
Why are you using "LMAO" and "LOL" as though they are synonyms for a period or any other allowed punctuation mark which can end a sentence?
I agree with others. I'm not a big fan of the trackpad. I very much prefer the mouse. I kind of wish some laptops would still come with tackballs. Although they're "mechanical" and require cleaning, I liked the feel and accuracy. The isopoint trackbar, like on the Outbound, wsn't too bad either... although I haven't used one of those in a very long time.
The trackpad is okay for occasional use, but I'd hate to have to use it as my primary pointing device. The same goes for the eraser-pointers.
How are you wrists not suffering from carpal tunnel? My wrists feel strange after using my trackpad for too long. It's as though I'm incapable of normal movement that isn't similar to just scrolling and clicking.
More on-topic, I know a friend of mine would love if everyone around him had one of these mice. He's got the biggest pet peeve when it comes to loud mouse and keyboard clicking.
@Eric
If you'd look more closely at my post. Only one 'LOL' wasn't followed by a period. Thank you Mr. Wannabe-Grammar-Police. :wink:
@Vic
Truthfully...I don't know either, LOL. Especially the way I hang off my bed while typing on my laptop...I'm surprised I don't have some type of hand problem. But I do seriously miss my mouse. I just hate having extra stuff with my laptop.
I'll probably invest in a bluetooth mouse real soon. Or just hold off until I get me a desktop again. I miss my big screens. =[
It's because he learned how to read with computers instead of books.
Don't buy that mouse. It will whisper to you! http://www.quietnoise.com/facts.htm
Yeeeeess.... because my mouse is soooo noisy!!!
I like mouses noise... click.... click....
it's important for people recording audio in a normal room
The echo would be more annoying than the clicks. If you're trying to professionally record audio, it shouldn't be in someone's basement/room/empty warehouse.
Actually... its not bad at all... i mean, i have a logitech G5 and i love it, but the clicking sound sometimes gets on my nerves..! And this is something that i would improve on... and engadget... i think some peaople do care about this...
kudos!
VX revolution!!
Yep, I thought the same: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/mice/devices/165&cl=us,en
At first I thought it was a clone of the MX 620 which I'm using, but the VX Revolution is even closer.
Mice are noisy when clicking, and yes there are people who care about it (or who SHOULD - roomates?)
In all seriousness, I just had one of our engineers approach me two days ago asking for another mouse. What was wrong with his? Well, it was too noisy when you were scrolling with the scroll wheel of course.
Maybe I should send him this link. Ha!
Newer MS mice don't have a clicking feature on their wheels these days- a bit awkward for the first couple hours but I came to like it.
I agree that some, especially cheaper, mice have outrageous loud click-wheels which can be irritating in a sea of cubicles.
The logitech mx revolution (I think is the name) is one mouse with a free-wheeling scroll for him ;)
OMG this is what i have been waiting for all these years, mouse noise makes me crazy! It's really hard to concentrate with all that clicking going on! Now my mouse problems are finally over!
What noise are they reducing? the sound of the scroll wheel? The clicking? Either way 30 bucks isnt that bad for a mouse if its that noticeable it might be an alright investment. I on the other hand, will be investing in a silent keyboard so the bossman cant tell that im not woking and just posting things on engadget.
But normal mice and keyboards are designed so they they make a click on purpose - it's part of the feedback loop so that the user knows they've done something. When using devices that don't feed back there is a feeling of disconnection between man and machine (cite: early touch screen phones that didn't vibrate or make a noise when touched). Taking this away is not a good thing and goes against years of HCI research.
Holy crap, I never realized just how obnoxiously loud my MS Bluetooth Laser Mouse 8000 is until I read this post.
It's the crazy @$$ clicking that bugs me. I want tactillity but without the clicks and taps on my devices. Know what I mean? :)
yep my solution:
take your mouse apart, bend the lil wire that creates that click, not too far as this will stop it working. replace
maybe I should submit it to HaD
There are some pretty damn loud mice but I think most of them are very tolerable.
I just turn the volume down on mine.
Mine'll mute itself if you hit the "LLRLCCRRLRC" combo while holding the "Alt" ("Option" on Mac) key.
Hey now, don't make fun. There are a lot of offices where it's so quiet that the clicky clicky of the scroll wheel and the mouse clicking can drive people crazy - especially if it's somebody that does all that constantly. You know, somebody that's playing a twitch computer game, or constantly scrolling through documents. Or there are no cube or office walls anymore, and you all have to play nice together in a big pit.
I can see the need. Not for me, but there are others that could use that.
Isn't it like, never refuse a mint when offered one? Hey Jimmy, check out this new quiet mouse.
i was unaware mice made alot of noise....SO i got my logitech v470 put it up against my ear and notice it hums when its on. Screw this, now its gonna piss me off cause i know its there lol
I believe a seashell will also hum when put up against one's ear.
mouse cursors should follow pupil in the eye!
What if your coworker doesn't want to have an ugly black arrow on the front of her blouse all the time?
So, it's a stealth mouse then...
not too fond of this blogger's writing style
That's nothing but, well, your opinion.
An excellent example of a solution in desperate search of a problem.
I never really notice mice noise, but maybe I'm just so used to it that I don't care.
I wouldn't mind a mouse that didn't make noise. I don't know if I would go out and buy it if it wasn't a logitech though.
Just like the bus - I wish my cubicle neighbour would use it (or, you know, take a three month holiday). Click click click is all I hear all day. But dang if I'm going to change over. What is this, Communism?
At least is click click and not fap fap.
so my mouse is louder than a super speed case/CPU fan? Strange, never noticed.
Yes it is.
You can easily hear a mouse click over even the most extreme (non-watercooled) cases with huge fans at maximum voltage.
You'd notice it a lot more if your mouse clicked at times you weren't thinking/doing "click". Or if it wasn't your mouse; if someone else at a desk altogether too close to yours clicked incessantly in weird rhythms when you are trying to think.
I'm thinking I should buy one of these as a gift, and put glue on the plug, so even if he decides he doesn't like it, he has to use it. >:-)
Over/Under on the number of people who put their mice up to their ears?
24.5
I see libraries buying these in bulk.
Actually, I have been waiting for a silent click mouse for awhile now. I am a late-night gamer and when I'm in bed playing on my laptop, my fiance goes crazy over the constant clicking.
It has come to the point where I keep my mouse under the covers and the eye doesn't work well on bed sheets.
This should help her sleep better!
Thank goodness for technology...Changing bad habits for the well being of loved ones is so 90's!!
You know, I never really noticed the clicking, but now thanks to this article its bother me. Thanks.
people seem to be sticking up for this mouse...
troll post is a failure
congradulation slient mouse...A winrar is you!
:0
I used to work in a loud room with a bunch of servers, then moved to an extremely quiet little office - for the first couple days I couldn't figure out what that "clicking" noise was that I kept hearing :-)
will someone please start demanding that mouse manufacturers make models for left-handed people? or ones that don't favor one hand over the other? it's ridiculous how many mouse products I can't use since I'm left-handed. it's been proven that many creative types are lefties, and yet the most advanced mouse products are usually for right handed people only.
Engadget doesn't seem too impressed with the noise reduction in this mouse, however, they forget the physics of sound:
A -10dB change in sound can be interpreted by the ear as "half as loud" due to the logarithmic decibel scale.
Therefore, 58dB - 35.5dB = 22.5 dB. If we round that down to 20 dB, that is two decades of 10dB = 2(1/2) of the original noise, so the mouse will be a little quieter than 1/4 as loud as the "average" mouse that they are quoting. That's decent noise reduction, if you think about how loud the average mouse actually is. Not silent, but an improvement.
there must be something wrong in this article, I dont think a mouse can be 58 db loud, no way.
I actually want this
sweet.. my laser mouse is SO LOUD! it drives me nuts... ??? :-P
I care. My mouse is annoying. It actually squeaks (scroll wheel).
Well, fix it.
a lot of us use trackpads as little as possible, far preferring mice, and when you're working in a library or archive or other quiet places, the mouse clicks can be a real problem, so yes, there's a place for a quieter mouse
I hope someone comes out with a trackball version.
Sounds like there are a lot of office out there in desperate need of sound masking systems. If your office is so quiet that mouse noise is driving you crazy, then your office is TOO quiet. If people's mice are too loud, then I feel sorry for them also having to listen to keyboard tapping, finger drumming, and conversations from across the office. Usually soundmasking can come from the mechanical systems but when the engineer designs the system to be too quiet, or the system kicks off, you have this very problem. There's no reason for an open office to be quieter than 40-45 dB(A).
At my home office, the clicking can be annoying and I always have the television on as well as other noises around the house. I'm not sure you realize how loud mouse clicks can be. Plus, it's not just about office applications. There are several settings where older/cheaper keyboards and mice are annoyingly loud. Remember those keyboards that were common ~10+ years ago? Compare those to what you use today. Even laptops have gone a long way in improving noise output with softer inputs. I really like the mice I have now for their scroll wheels that are quiet.
*holds ear to mouse* Nope, it's not squeaking.
Isn't it the clicks that make the noise with mice, and don't tracpads have buttons too, so that's no solution then.
Although, the scrollwheel is also a noise source, but you can stuff some foam in the casing to fix that maybe, depending if the chips get warm or not in the mouse casing.
when you use an ibm model m (aka clicky keyboards), nothing could make a mouse seem "loud"
Laugh all you want, Engadget, but I hate the infernal clicking of mice and keyboards. I want to feel it click, not hear it. It can get really annoying in a shared work space to have everyone clicking away. Every time I go to Best Buy or similar stores, I always click all the mice available to see if there are any quiet ones, and there never are.
To me, the clicking of mice is in the same category as the fake shutter sounds on digital point and shoots: annoying nods to outmoded conventions.
I like the clicks for the feedback; I like knowing the click happened. However, my PC is in my room and if the GF is reading, she hates it. I would love a completely silent mouse (buttons as those 'contact' buttons, no movement) and a smooth scrolling scrollwheel then pipe an audible click through the speakers of the PC. I wear headphones when I don't want to bother the housemates with my music, so "I" would still hear the click, nobody else would. This would rock for a keyboard too.
I'm a trial technology consultant. In the courtroom, where it is really quiet, the mouse clicking is very noticable. I need the precision of the traditional mouse, but I move over to the trackpad to "click."
I presume this is for offices where you can hear a "click" each time the boss approaches? ("click" = close NSFW site, Facebook, private email, whatever.)
I, for one, genuinely hate the click sound mouse produces. I mean what's the point?
Finally, I can hear the "start navigation" sound in Internet Explorer without cranking up the speakers!
Wow. What a great invention!!! However, I never heard any sound from my mouse. Am I normal?
This reminds me of the lady with the eye patch from Twin Peaks who devoted her life to making super silent rollers for window blinds.