[tmuir]

Some of the first world problems of HN users using technology are beyond the pale. I was arguing mouse vs remote/phone for playing media on a media server, and someone's retort was that a mouse would require them to have a surface upon which to use the mouse at their couch. I've spent way too much time envisioning this mythical surfaceless couch and person.

[polynomial]

Not that I spend a lot of time on couches, mine or others, but even if there is a "usable" surface nearby (I have no surfaces near my couch) it's usually a coffee table with terrible ergonomics for use as a controller plane.

But this doesn't seem like a major issue, since it really seems a tablet (or just your phone) solves the problem.

[tmuir]

Wait, what are these unusable surfaces? I have a $25 logitech wireless mouse and keyboard that I use roughly 8ft from the usb receiver. Besides the screen of my monitor, I actually cannot find a surface in my direct vicinity that my mouse doesn't track extremely well upon. This includes jeans, shirt, skin, paper towel, microfiber, drywall, carpet, rug, whiteboard, a glass coffee table (surprisingly), and books.

How can the capabilities of something as cheap, commoditized, and refined as a computer mouse vary so much that some people's mice are only usable on a small and inconvenient set of surfaces, while other mice have completely mastered the process to the point that nearly every surface imaginable works flawlessly?

[polynomial]

Indeed, perhaps I am being fussy about what kind of surface I prefer to use, and how precise I like the tracking to be.

I am inspired by your reply however to try to find another mouse which works well on glass, that would literally be a game changer.

[dllthomas]

I regularly struggle with an optical mouse on my couch or knee, when I need to poke netflix. It's manageable, but it's also annoying.