If you think that's bad, just wait for the revival of D:Ream :| :| :|

To be fair, it can only get better.

 (pyfitg)

Yeah, mine lasted me years without problems which a mouse has never managed. Also popping the ball out and giving it a clean is strangely satisfying (YJ).

 :-((

I'd love a bigger desk - both at home and work (the latter being where I'm considering this for) - but neither is a possibility.

It's not just about space (though that will be an issue); I've been wanting to give one a try for a while.

Much better than Xen's picture. :]

Yep, there's even more fancy versions with buttons and screens and stuff:

I am curious to try one, but pretty sure they're overpriced for "enterprise" 3D places, and wouldn't have enough benefit for regular use to justify it.

I've seen plenty of people complain about the latest Logitech offering - after a bit motion becomes jittery - and lamenting that the previous discontinued version isn't available.

Since I'm already ordering from Scan I can save on delivery if I get a similar looking one by Speedlink (the only trackball Scan have):

Is a new product though and can't find any reviews. Other speedlink products get reasonable reviews though, so I'm thinking I'll probably go for it...

Yeah they get silly expensive pretty quickly. Would be interesting to try but the cost puts me off as I have serious doubts about my ability to use one properly, but at the same time I find my self swearing continously while navigating 3d software.

I also want one of those articulated sculpting pen things I saw on tomorrow's world 20 years ago and was promised would be mainstream 15 years ago.

These things : http://www.cgchannel.com/2014/10/3d-systems-launches-geomagic-sculpt-and-touch/

So basically the 3D version of a graphics tablet. Not sure how well I'd get on with it, but can definitely see it being a useful interface.

> ...was promised would be mainstream 15 years ago.

And that's why patents are evil and need to die...

They kinda did go mainstream but they didn't last long because they were fucking awful. And software like Zbrush came along and made them kinda unnecessary.

Also people just get good with a mouse. Ultimately no one wants to replace small movements with a mouse with large hand movements which become uncomfortable pretty quickly.

>>Also people just get good with a mouse.

How long does that take? :(( :(( :(( :((

About 15 years :Y

What 3D software do you use (just out of interest like)?

I found a small wacom graphics tablet worked really well with 3d software, and pretty much everything else except games.

I must be a slow learner then, I've been using mice for at least 20 and I still suck at it. Yay lack of coordination!

Currently mostly using Solid Edge (parametric 3d cad), but as I move towards more 3d printing stuff (designing/building a uv resin printer just now :D ) I'll likely be using stuff like blender more. I've played a little with blender and quickly realised I need to learn a lot more about the design process - so different to parametric modelling.

I've also played a fair bit with mudbox (I think that's what it's called) which is fun as hell and would be amazing with one of those 3d haptic pen things.

Also also I've been playing with using a laser line and offset camera to make point clouds of real objects and turn them into meshes. No idea what the best software to manipulate and edit the meshes is, probably blender again. I bough a broken kinect and fixed it up to try making 3d scans but it was really fucking hard to get a reliable scan with it.

15 years of 8 hrs a day work :(( :(( :((

Blender's awesome.

I read somewhere about a library for Blender that can create meshes from photos (several from different angles, like). It's early days but when they nail that tech it'll be amazing.

 

I tried playing CS on my Wacom when I first got it. Quickly realised why that's a terrible idea.

Also I friended you on Steam but you didn't accept. You fucking monster.

(No offence intended if you actually are a monster)