Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled

Posted by graderjs on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @09:34AM
from the self-post dept.

As in had a little flywheel or servo motor in it, and momentum scrolls in sync with whatever screen you're scrolling. As in you can take your finger off and the little thing just keeps on scrollin'. Would be a nice little "haptic" (if that's the right word) ergonomic thing for a mouse to do.

( 14 comments | 2 points | on HN )

Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by cameron_b on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @09:50AM (#33007910)

I've seen some mice with heavy freewheeling scroll wheels instead of the indexed experience and it took a little time to get used to it. I think you're meaning to implement a simple break to communicate "no more page" which I think would be an interesting addition.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by graderjs on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @10:08AM (#33008126)

No. I literally mean like, you know how you can scroll swipe on mobile (or trackpad) and the page just keeps running. I think the scrollwheel should too, even if it wouldn't under it's own momentum, it should remain spinning in sync with the page (servo, I guess...?).

But I hadn't thought of your thing (the scrollwheel kind of stops and, I guess you mean, can't me moved further, once you reach the end of the page), and I like that idea! :)

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by kbrannigan on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @12:56PM (#33010240)

If you go to major electronic shops: Better Buy, Stables etc... you can test mice like that.

Logitech, Microsoft. They have little flywheels that keep on going

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by __d on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @10:25AM (#33008323)

The Logitech MX Master series has a heavy, (optionally) free-spinning scroll wheel.

It's the best scroll wheel I've ever used: night and day better than anything else. Scrolling through a long doc is a flick or two, and it just keeps rolling along, until you touch it and it stops instantly. It allows amazing precision.

If only the side-to-side scroller was as good ...

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by Tomte on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @12:53PM (#33010195)

Unfortunately, it's prone to breaking.

There is a mechanism controlling the wheel mode that can mechanically get into a position where the magnetic control doesn't do anything.

Sometimes, thumping the mouse hard against your thigh helps resetting the mechanism, but sometimes not. My first one went out within warranty, I've got it replaced, but I'm sure this one will fail in a few months, as well.

Logitech probably saved a cent or two there, crippling an otherwise fantastic mouse.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by nikau on Thursday September 29, 2022 @05:40AM (#33018263)

My original MX revolution is around 15 years old and the scroll wheel still works fine. I did have to solder in some new microswitches for the main buttons, but that's not unexpected for the amount of use its had.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by Tomte on Thursday September 29, 2022 @05:55AM (#33018374)

I think the mechanism was new for the MX Master.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by nikau on Thursday September 29, 2022 @07:27PM (#33028759)

Yeah mine has a motor that turns a detent ball, newer ones use a magnet I think

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by 57FkMytWjyFu on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @08:14PM (#33014823)

I'd go with a macro mouse with [Ctrl W], [Ctrl T], [Ctrl Shift T], [Page Up], and [Page down]. (And you still have 7 more shortcuts for whatever.)

Pages hiccup on scroll wheel mice, so your 'momentum' gets eaten every time the pagination occurs.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by warrenm on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @12:02PM (#33009531)

I've used mice in the past that had a scroll wheel that would "coast" a little if you pushed it hard

And swiping on tablets/smart phones does what you describe

So does swiping on my Mac's trackpad

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by logicalmonster on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @09:51AM (#33007934)

Would I like to see this? Yes, of course, it sounds neat. But is there a chance that this could be a really fun toy for about 10 minutes, and then it becomes a bit annoying? Maybe.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by btkthrowaway1 on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @10:19AM (#33008255)

I've been using the MX Anywhere mouse from Logitech for over a decade now and I think it's had this feature for most of that time.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by ohadron on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @09:56AM (#33007987)

Try out the Logitech MX Master 3 scroll wheel. It's similar to what you describe, and honestly not a huge game changer for me.

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Re:Tell HN: It would be cool if a mousewheel momentum scrolled by swah on Wednesday September 28, 2022 @02:55PM (#33011765)

Even cheap mice from Logitech has something like this now (SmartWheel)

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