Spaceball or Pilot??

I'm looking for recommendations - which is best, a Spaceball 5000 or a
SpacePilot?

The price is similar but the products are quite different.

Thanks

 

I much prefer the shape of the SpacePilot. If the price is the same, I
would certainly go with it as it has the display that tells you the function
of all your set buttons. But, the flip side is that the round shape of the
Spaceball may be more suitable to some people in that it may fit their hand
better. I would suggest trying both before you make a purchase. Call your
VAR and see if they have a demo of each.

WT

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I went through the same decision making process several weeks ago. I
fully agree with Wayne's comments. I concluded that some of the
features on the SpacePilot like being able to see the function key
assignments were also worthwhile--I was never able to tryout either; I
live 300 miles from anyplace that would sell either product. In the end
I purchase a SpaceBall 5000 USB because I was able to get it for less
than one third of the list price on Ebay. Even considering I am not up
to speed with it, I find it great tool.

Marty

 

We have one SpaceBall where I work (with at least a dozen people on
SolidWorks). It's funny, because this device keeps getting passed
around to different people. It's neat at first, but you soon realize
that you just can't beat the "one hand on the keyboard and one on the
mouse" method, assuming you know how to use your hotkeys efficiently.
I dare say there is no faster method.

 

As the keeper of the hotkeys list, I firmly believe in the usage of hotkeys
for speed and efficiency. However, there are times that I use my SpacePilot
a bunch. One such time is when I am mulling over a model to figure out how
to do something. While doing that I am constantly turning, rolling, etc. to
look at it from all directions in order to find a solution. The SpacePilot
is certainly the best tool for that time since no hotkeys can do that.

WT

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I have a Spacemouse Plus, when I first got the thing about 3 years ago I
thought it was a complete waste of money! It was awkward to use, a real
pain the ---.

However I persevered with it, I had spent NZ $1,400 so I was motivated.
After about 2 weeks of use, I could not live without it. A Spacemouse
does take some time to get used to, watch someone who has used one for
sometime I'll guarantee they are faster and more productive than someone
who uses mouse and keyboard alone.

John Layne
www.solidengineering.co.nz

 

I always tell people that a spaceball is one of those things that
untill you use it, you will never know why you went so long without it.
As far as choice, I think the biggest issue is what you want to grab,
a disc like thing on the pilot, or a ball on the spaceball. A good
resource for cheap spaceballs is Ebay, especially if you can use serial
connection. I have bought 2 from there, and have had no problems.
Both were under $100 and in good shapr.

 

Really? Everyone in our office has a spaceball, and no one would give
it up. I'm probably the only one who even uses the programmable
buttons - and sure, I use hotkeys on the keyboard as well - but
_everyone_ here swears the things pay for themselves in under 2 weeks
(at eBay prices).

 

Sorry, my previous post was in response to FYE, who said:

---
We have one SpaceBall where I work (with at least a dozen people on
SolidWorks). It's funny, because this device keeps getting passed
around to different people. It's neat at first, but you soon realize
that you just can't beat the "one hand on the keyboard and one on the
mouse" method, assuming you know how to use your hotkeys efficiently.
I dare say there is no faster method.
---