Silent Mouse - Is there such a device?
In this day and age of noise surrounding us you may be surprised to know that there is a Noisy Mouse phenomenon out there. I came across it, through searching the internet, when I was looking for a Quiet Mouse for myself.
A Common Problem
At the time I thought my story was mine and mine alone, but soon found out this is a common problem.
As I do a lot of Image Editing, Document Writing and so on, for many hours at a time sometimes, I was unaware for many years that my mouse clicking was an unbearable noise for my neighbours. I know my house walls are thin but not to the extent you can hear a mouse clicking, or so I thought.
Frustrated Neighbours
Over the years my different neighbours have either been working all day or not in their house that much. So it wasnt until recently, when a new set of neighbours moved in, that a couple of months in I heard them making rapid clicking sounds with their light switch (Yes! The walls are that thin).
At first I dismissed their light switch clicking thinking they had a broken light! until they did it a couple more times by which time the penny dropped. They were, quite rightly, frustrated. But being new neighbours, and the fact my clicking is not a Noisy Neighbour offense, they could not really do that much....apart from beat me up I suppose!
A Quiet Mouse Found
Anyway. To cut the story short. I went to PC World and with the noise of their shop started clicking on every mouse available on display until I found the quietest mouse amongst them, which overall was the Microsoft Optical Mouse 3000 (pictured above).
That mouse is a lot quieter but still too loud. So yesterday (about a week later) I went online .....and found a company, called Thanko, who manufacture and sell the Silent Mouse Ex mouse that claims to have no clicking sound when any of its buttons are pressed/released
Here are two website links that sell the Silent Mouse Ex.....for around $40 US Dollars.
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Quiet Mouse D.I.Y Project
Before I found those websites the only alternative was to make a D.I.Y silent mouse, which can be a tricky, stressing and expensive affair at the best of times if not done correctly. Basically. The part of the mouse that makes each button click is the inner metal/copper plating, within the click mechanism, and not the outer plastic of each button as you may of thought.
With the D.I.Y Project you have to take each button a part, do something with the copper plating and then put (sometimes glue) the whole thing back together. Very Messy and Very Fiddly. I tried a couple of D.I.Y projects and had to trash two mouse at a cost of £23. One mouse cost £17 (the Microsoft Optical Mouse 3000) and the other £5 (from a Local Shop). With glue and bus fares, more than £23!
Anyway. If you want to try the D.I.Y projects, that can make the $40 Silent Mouse Ex seem cheap, here are their links.
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End Of My Story
In the end I opted to keep world peace between me and my neighbours by moving my computer setup to another room whereby they cannot even hear me (hurray!).
Sadly, not everyone has the luxury of another room and/or have no wall at all that separates their computer setup from those sharing, and/or sleeping in, their house.
This article has only mentioned the mouse. Another phenomena is the Noisy Keyboard!!