阅读有关Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse及其规格的信息让我非常好奇。至少在理论上，它似乎提供了我想要的一只好鼠标的一切。Sculpt Touch Mouse的中心有一条光滑的金属条，该条可用于上下和左右滚动，此外，它还配置为三个有用的按钮——向上翻页、向下翻页和任何你想要的按钮中间点击即可。这看起来像是终极的滚动鼠标(scrolling mouse)，我很想看看它。让我们看看我在使用它几天后学到了什么。
拆箱和开始
我很惊讶没有找到任何试图销售这款鼠标的公司没有发布的拆箱视频。我从普通用户那里找到的那些相当平庸，不包括拆箱。所以这次我要提供我自己的拆箱照片（我还不是一个视频创作者(video creator)）。我只有一个手机摄像头(cell phone camera)可以使用，所以这些照片不会赢得任何艺术奖项。🙂 但首先，这里是Microsoft的官方页面，其中包含功能和定价：Sculpt Touch Mouse details。包装非常有吸引力，经过深思熟虑。鼠标本身是熟悉的“Dove Bar”形状，旨在舒适地握在任何一只手上。
以下是盒子里的东西：鼠标、简短的用户指南、一些保修和安全手册(warranty and safety pamphlets)，当然还有电池。
这是鼠标的底部，显示了BlueTrack和BlueTooth指示灯(BlueTrack and BlueTooth indicator light)、蓝牙(Bluetooth)连接按钮和电源开关(power switch)。
与其他一些制造商不同，微软(Microsoft)并没有吝啬使用Outer WhoKnowsWhere-istan 的无名(Outer WhoKnowsWhere-istan)电池。这些是金霸王(Duracells)。在这里，我打开了鼠标并安装了它们。
现在我准备试一试。
在 Windows 7 上移动鼠标
由于我已经安装了Kinivo BTD-400 蓝牙 4.0 USB 适配器(Kinivo BTD-400 Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter)，我所要做的就是打开鼠标并按下(mouse and press)中间的蓝牙(Bluetooth)连接按钮。鼠标上的灯开始闪烁红色和绿色，所以我转到控制面板(Control Panel)并选择添加设备(Add a device)。
从那里开始，过程很顺利。鼠标被发现，驱动程序被自动安装，很快鼠标就可以使用了。
它仍然需要稍作调整才能让所有功能都符合我的喜好，所以我去了鼠标和键盘中心(Mouse and Keyboard Center)。我很高兴地报告说，这一次它比Wedge Touch Mouse有用得多（谢天谢地）我很快就能够将触控条上的中央按压设置为双击。默认加速(default acceleration)很好，我不必更改它。
我在Windows 7 PC 上使用(Windows 7)Wacom Bamboo 数位板和触控笔(tablet and stylus)已有很长时间了。建议这样做以帮助缓解手腕疼痛，并且对我来说效果很好。但是，平板电脑驱动程序(tablet driver)有点古怪，在某些网站（例如Gawker 组(Gawker group)中的网站）上，除非我单击并按住按钮并向下拉，就像我在选择一样，否则我无法使用触控笔正确滚动侧边栏整个侧边栏。使用Sculpt Touch Mouse，所有这些网站都可以按预期滚动。对于常规网页和文档，您不必将指针放在页面的滚动条(scroll bar)上即可进行滚动——页面上的任何位置都可以。
以下是触控条可用的许多基本设置，对于任何人来说都应该足够了。如您所见，鼠标内置了振动（触觉反馈）功能，默认打开，我进行了实验，然后关闭。我真的不需要触觉反馈来告诉我我在做什么，而且我觉得振动只会让电池更快地耗尽。
我很惊讶垂直和水平滚动速度设置得如此之慢，但我很快发现这些默认速度是正确的。更快地移动它们，滚动变得难以控制。我对鼠标在Windows 7(Windows 7)下的工作方式非常满意。它提供了很多方法来根据我的喜好对其进行自定义，并且只需轻轻一按即可滚动和单击。很容易长时间使用而不会感到疲劳。与我过去使用的一些鼠标相比，这是一个很大的优势。Sculpt Touch Mouse非常舒适地贴合我的手，但由于我持续的手腕问题，我使用了我的凝胶腕托。这是 Marte 特有的问题。🙂
在 Windows 8 上移动鼠标
在Windows 8(Windows 8)下的安装与在Windows 7下一样顺利和顺利。我打开鼠标，按下底部的连接按钮，然后转到Control Panel -> Add a device。
Windows 寻找要添加的设备并几乎立即找到了Sculpt Touch Mouse 。
我选择了它，并告诉Windows 8继续。鼠标实际上在驱动程序安装完成之前就开始工作了。从那里，我使用鼠标和键盘中心(Mouse and Keyboard Center)来配置我喜欢的鼠标，就像我在Windows 7下一样。再一次，默认的滚动和加速(default scrolling and acceleration)是完美的。
我立即发现在“开始(Start)”屏幕上滚动是一种绝对的享受。手指轻轻地从屏幕的一侧移动到另一侧，就可以尽可能流畅地移动。按钮和滚动条(scroll strip)在我尝试过的每个Windows 8应用程序中都能完美运行。在屏幕较小的上网本上，我经常使用Page Up和Page Down键。能够在不将手从鼠标上移开的情况下做到这一点真是太棒了。鼠标可以在我尝试过的每个表面上工作，为了个人舒适，我选择在带有凝胶腕托的(wrist rest)鼠标垫上(mouse pad)使用它。拿在手里很舒服，只拿了最低限度(bare minimum)移动、点击和滚动(click and scroll)的努力。对于日常使用，我认为没有比这更好的了。这是Sculpt Touch Mouse和我的 Toshiba NB-505 上网本的图片。
如果这看起来有点奇怪，那是由于视角和所有东西都坐在宜家(Ikea)的三角形笔记本电脑桌上的事实。
在Mac OS X Mountain Lion上移动鼠标(Mac OS X Mountain Lion)
在我的Mac Mini(Mac Mini)上试用鼠标非常令人失望。它的安装与Wedge Touch Mouse(Wedge Touch Mouse)一样容易，但Microsoft不提供Sculpt Touch Mouse的(Sculpt Touch Mouse)Mac驱动程序，因此只有最基本的功能（左键和右键单击）可用，滚轮(scroll wheel)根本不起作用。我没有做进一步的测试。我真的很失望，因为我曾希望在 Mac 上使用Sculpt Touch Mouse 的功能。(Sculpt Touch Mouse's)
结论
Sculpt Touch Mouse舒适地贴合我的手，轻触就足以进行点击和滚动，这是一个真正的优势。除了将中心按钮设置为双击之外，默认设置对我来说效果很好。这是一款大多数人可以长时间使用而不会手部疲劳(hand fatigue)的鼠标。它应该可以在任何表面上工作，所以我在台式机、笔记本电脑桌、我的Wacom 平板电脑(Wacom tablet)、DVD 盒(DVD case)和粗糙的木制雪茄盒(wooden cigar box)上试用了它，完全没有问题。我将它与鼠标垫(mouse pad)和凝胶腕托一起使用(wrist rest)因为这对我来说是最舒服的，但对于流畅的操作并不是必需的。它很容易配置，所有按钮和滚动条(scroll strip)都有很多可用的选项。只有一件事我无法测试：我没有任何需要同时按下两个按钮的软件。当我尝试这样做时，它就像我在右键单击一样。
判决
Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse是一款出色的全能鼠标(all-around mouse)，几乎可以满足所有人的需求。设置很简单，而且默认设置对我来说效果很好这一事实无疑是一个优势（我通常需要做很多调整）。如果你关心这些东西，它的灰色珠光塑料非常有吸引力，如果有必要的话应该很容易清洁。您可以在不使用鼠标时关闭鼠标以节省电池电量，当您重新打开鼠标时，它会自动重新连接。微软(Microsoft)表示电池可以使用长达九个月。我喜欢正确构建(built right)向上翻页和向下翻页进入触摸条（我经常使用这些键）。它在我的两台基于 Windows 的计算机上运行良好的事实让我更加遗憾没有适用于Mac的驱动程序。我希望微软(Microsoft)将来会解决这个问题。对于这款功能齐全的鼠标，标价(list price)非常合理。我认为购买Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse不会出错。
The Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse Review - A Great Scrolling Experience
Reаding about the Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse and its specifications made me really curious. At least in theory, it seemed to offer everything I wanted from a good mouse. The Sculpt Touch Mouse has a smooth metallic strip in its center and that strip can be used for up and down and side to side scrolling, plus it comes configured as not one but three useful buttons—page up, page down, and whatever you want the middle click to be. This looked like the ultimate scrolling mouse and I was eager to take a look at it. Let's see what I have learned after using it for a couple of days.
Unboxing and getting started
I was surprised not to find any unboxing videos that were not put out by companies trying to sell this mouse. The ones I found from average users were pretty mediocre and didn't include the unboxing. So this time I get to supply my own unboxing photos (I am not much of a video creator yet). I've only got a cell phone camera to work with, so the pictures are not going to win any artistic awards. 🙂 But first, here is Microsoft's official page with features and pricing: Sculpt Touch Mouse details. The packaging is very attractive and well thought out. The mouse itself is the familiar "Dove Bar" shape, designed to fit comfortably in either hand.
Here are the contents of the box: the mouse, a brief user guide, some warranty and safety pamphlets and the batteries, of course.
Here is the bottom of the mouse, showing the BlueTrack and BlueTooth indicator light, the Bluetooth connect button, and the power switch.
Unlike some other manufacturers, Microsoft does not skimp by including no-name batteries from Outer WhoKnowsWhere-istan. These are Duracells. Here I have opened up the mouse and installed them.
And now I was ready to try it out.
Mousing around on Windows 7
Since I had already installed the Kinivo BTD-400 Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter, all I had to do was turn on the mouse and press the Bluetooth connect button in the center. The lights on the mouse started flashing red and green, so I went to Control Panel and chose Add a device.
From there the process went smoothly. The mouse was discovered, the drivers were automatically installed, and very quickly the mouse was ready to use.
It still needed to be tweaked a little to get all the features set to my liking, so off I went to the Mouse and Keyboard Center. I am very happy to report that it was a lot more useful this time around than it was with the Wedge Touch Mouse (thank goodness) I was quickly able to set the center press on the touch strip to be a doubleclick. The default acceleration was fine and I did not have to change it.
I have been using a Wacom Bamboo tablet and stylus on the Windows 7 PC for a long time. This was recommended to help with wrist pain and it has worked very well for me. However, the tablet driver is a little quirky, and on some sites (like those in the Gawker group) I could not get the sidebar to scroll properly with my stylus unless I clicked and held down the button and pulled downward as if I were selecting the whole sidebar. With the Sculpt Touch Mouse, all those sites scrolled as they were supposed to. And for regular web pages and documents, you don't have to have the pointer on the page's scroll bar to make the scrolling work—anywhere on the page is fine.
Here are the many basic settings available for the touch strip, which should be enough for just about anyone. As you can see, the mouse has a vibration (tactile feedback) feature built into it, turned on by default, which I experimented with and then turned off. I really don't need tactile feedback to tell me what I'm doing, and I felt that the vibration would only run the batteries down faster.
I was surprised that the vertical and horizontal scroll speeds were set so slow, but I quickly discovered that those default speeds are correct. Move them any faster and the scrolling becomes hard to control. I was very pleased with the way the mouse worked under Windows 7. It offered a lot of ways to customize it to my liking and it required only a light touch to scroll and to click. It would be easy to use for long periods of time without fatigue. A big plus when compared to some of the mice I have used in the past. The Sculpt Touch Mouse fit my hand very comfortably, but because of my ongoing wrist problems I used my gel wrist rest. This is a Marte-specific problem. 🙂
Mousing around on Windows 8
Installation under Windows 8 was just as smooth and uneventful as it was under Windows 7. I turned on the mouse, pressed the connect button on the bottom, and then went to Control Panel -> Add a device.
Windows looked for a device to add and found the Sculpt Touch Mouse almost immediately.
I selected it, and told Windows 8 to go ahead. The mouse actually started working before the installation of the drivers was finished. From there, I used the Mouse and Keyboard Center to configure the mouse to my liking, just as I had under Windows 7. Once again, the default scrolling and acceleration were perfect.
I found immediately that scrolling across the Start screen was an absolute treat. Just the very lightest movement of a finger moved from one side of the screen to the other as smoothly as could be. The buttons and the scroll strip worked perfectly in every Windows 8 app I tried. On the netbook, with its smaller screen, I had been using the Page Up and Page Down keys a lot. Being able to do that without taking my hand off the mouse was great. The mouse worked on every surface I tried, and for my own personal comfort I chose to use it on a mouse pad with a gel wrist rest. It was very comfortable in my hand and took only the bare minimum of effort to move, click and scroll. I don't think it gets much better than this for everyday use. Here is a picture of the Sculpt Touch Mouse and my Toshiba NB-505 netbook.
If this looks a little weird it's due to the perspective and the fact that everything is sitting on a triangular laptop table from Ikea.
Mousing around on Mac OS X Mountain Lion
Trying out the mouse on my Mac Mini was a major disappointment. It installed just as easily as the Wedge Touch Mouse had, but Microsoft does not supply Mac drivers for the Sculpt Touch Mouse, so only the most basic functions (left and right click) were available and the scroll wheel did not work at all. I did no further testing. I was really disappointed because I had hoped to use the Sculpt Touch Mouse's features on the Mac.
Conclusions
The Sculpt Touch Mouse fit my hand comfortably, and the fact that a light touch was more than enough for clicking and scrolling was a real plus. Other than setting the center button as a double-click, the default settings worked fine for me. It's a mouse that most people will be able to use for a long time without hand fatigue. It's supposed to work on any surface, so I tried it out on a desktop, a laptop table, my Wacom tablet, a DVD case and a rough wooden cigar box and had no problem at all. I will use it with a mouse pad and a gel wrist rest because that is what's most comfortable for me, but it's not necessary for smooth operation. It was easy to configure and there were a lot of options available for all the buttons and the scroll strip. There was only one thing that I couldn't test out: I don't have any software that requires pressing the two buttons at once. When I tried doing that, it acted as though I were right-clicking.
Verdict
The Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse is an excellent all-around mouse that should fit nearly everyone's needs. Setup is easy, and the fact that the default settings worked so well for me was a definite plus (I usually have to do a lot of tweaking). If you care about such things, its gray pearlized plastic is very attractive and should be easy to clean if that's necessary. You can turn the mouse off to conserve the battery when you're not using it, and when you turn it back on it reconnects automatically. Microsoft says the batteries can last up to nine months. I loved having page-up and page-down built right into the touch strip (I use those keys a lot). The fact that it worked so well with both my Windows based computers made me all the more sorry there wasn't a driver available for the Mac. I hope Microsoft will remedy this in the future. The list price is very reasonable for a mouse this full of features. I don't think you can go wrong buying the Microsoft Sculpt Touch Mouse.
