I have 2 wireless mouses or um mice?? that I really like one is a GE and one is a Gear Head MP2000WU both are the smaller size notebook mouse which I much prefer they just fit and feel better in my hand than the big ones. The Gear Head has the suede feel rubber on the click part of the top and on the sides where you grip it. They both have the small usb receiver that is about the size of a thumb drive or smaller. The GE has a place that opens on the top that the receiver stores in which is nice. One takes AAA one takes AA batteries. I have tried wireless keyboards and no matter the brand I just did not like them, they go through batteries like crazy even the rechargables. GEAR HEAD MP2000WU Mine is all black but it is this one. the dongle for this one is a bit wide and in some cases can partly block the usb port beside it but it does come with a cord to use as an extension if you need it. GE 98792 that is what the GE one looks like, I use it daily it is my main mouse and I love it, nice and small easy to hold batteries last quite well and you can put the dongle inside under the black center part. I have had it and use it daily for a couple years I think, it has never had any problems. oh I just found my mouse in pink, for an excellent price too , it is usually listed around $30 ... I may need this pink one LOL Pink but I see it also comes in blue, mine is silver and black. I had bought a set with a logitech wireless keyboard and mouse but brought it back after a few days, it ate batteries and the keyboard had keys doing kkkkkksssssssss ooooooo etc all the time, Hated it. This one is also a great mouse my husband has it, it comes in handy since he does a lot of conferences and can use the built in laser pointer. It last forever on batteries. Has extra long range. GE 98505 Wireless Mini Presenter Mouse

I had a few minutes before my helper got here for day two of the Paul Bunyan adventure so I went to Amazon and looked at their offerings. I agree, I don't think I would purchase a mouse without seeing/testing it physically for feel and comfort, but it was a one-stop look-see. Hopefully this is the last question as I feel lazy in not researching this myself. I just don't have the time right now and the old mouse is "circling in the bowl". I would hate to transfer a ten year old two-button mouse from the garage system onto this system. Their seems to be an extensive price range, $12.00 to $99.00. My thoughts are to stay around $30.00 or less. Am I on the right track? I have plenty of rechargeable batteries around so that will not be a concern. Cat, You missed out. In May the chainsaw and I were down your way doing our thing at my son's. If I had known I would have stopped by. I will be down again in three weeks as we have some more work to do inside. We are finally going to put up the shelves and install the doors on the walk-in closet I built in their master bedroom when he had his back surgery. Plus, a few other things. DA

If you are running a regular mouse connected to the computer by a cord (mouse tail), the default drivers in Windows XP will work. However, if your mouse has other than standard features such as extra buttons or a wireless link, then you need to install the software that came with the mouse. If you are using a wireless keyboard (and) mouse combination, I'd expect to install new drivers for these. Also, make sure that the batteries are good in the wireless device(s). Sometimes the batteries supplied with equipment are poor, have low capacity, and are barely have enough charge to get the system going. These may soon expire. On the average, batteries need to be replaced about every 6 months in wireless mice and keyboards.

I find that battery life depends on my usage of the mouse. Some of the online games require extended periods of holding down the button which will use up the batteries more quickly. Doing a lot of scrolling during searches could also use the battery life more quickly. I started turning my mouse off when I'm not using it. I can't tell if that has helped or not, but I'm pretending it has.