1---
 2template:
 3slug: m575
 4title: The Logitech Ergo M575 trackball
 5subtitle: A short review of my first ever trackball
 6date: 2022-07-01
 7---
 8
 9Ever since switching to a split keyboard, using a mouse has been rather
10awkward. Do I put it in between the two halves? Not enough space. Do I
11put it to the right? Again, not enough space since that's where my
12notebook sits. And then there was the pain. I had to take routine breaks
13from using the mouse due to pain on the bottom-left side of my palm. 
14
15Enter, the trackball. Trackballs are pointing devices much like the
16slightly more popular rodent. They're super old -- dating right back to
17the post-World War II era.[^1] Largely speaking, there are two kinds of
18trackballs: thumbballs and fingerballs. A thumbball, like the name
19suggests, is operated using the thumb. A fingerball (also called as
20ambidextrous trackballs) has the ball in the center, with buttons on
21either side. They behave quite like a laptop's touchpad. 
22
23[^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trackball#History
24
25Trackballs take up very little space (check!), and are known to help with
26RSI (also check!). So I got one.
27
28![logitech ergo m575](https://cdn.icyphox.sh/KPMds.jpg)
29
30I got the [Logitech Ergo
31M575](https://www.logitech.com/en-in/products/mice/m575-ergo-wireless-trackball.910-005873.html).
32This is the cheapest Bluetooth trackball available in India. I bought it
33for around INR 3500 (≈45 USD). It sits comfortably and stably in between
34the two halves of my keyboard; it is so much easier on my hand -- it has
35greatly alleviated my pain. Pictured below is my actual desk right
36now[^2].
37
38![my messy table](https://cdn.icyphox.sh/O97-8.jpg)
39[^2]: That is indeed another split keyboard in the works.
40
41The M575 is larger than your typical mouse but that's fine since it
42doesn't move. Its curved shape is very satisfying to hold -- it fills
43your entire palm. The build quality is pretty solid. It's all plastic,
44but that's a good thing. Rubberized finishes are harder to clean and start
45getting gooey and icky after a while.
46
47<div class="row">
48<img src="https://cdn.icyphox.sh/PeP0g.jpg" style="width:300px" />
49<img src="https://cdn.icyphox.sh/gR2La.jpg" style="width:300px" />
50<img src="https://cdn.icyphox.sh/Hdw-p.jpg" style="width:300px" />
51</div>
52
53There are a total of 5 buttons: the left and right, scroll wheel and the
54forward/backward buttons, which sit to the top left. I'm not sure I like
55their positioning however -- I prefer them by the thumb. I suppose the
56ball takes up that space. Speaking of the ball: it's a sparkly
57plastic-ish (not sure really) material and it's pretty light. It can
58(and needs to be) popped off now and then for cleaning. The ball sits on
59three ceramic bearings which are very smooth.
60
61It ships with a single AA battery with an advertised runtime of 24
62months. Connectivity is either via Bluetooth or a USB-A dongle found in
63the battery compartment.
64
65As for software, [Solaar](https://github.com/pwr-Solaar/Solaar) is a GUI
66(and a CLI) for various Logitech devices, the M575 included. I couldn't
67get much use out of it aside from tweaking DPI settings.
68
69![solaar screenshot](https://cdn.icyphox.sh/2d09m.png)
70
71A neat trick, and decidedly more useful, is enabling scrolling using the
72trackball. On NixOS[^3], this simply requires adding the following to
73`services.xserver`:
74```nix
75libinput = {
76  enable = true;
77  mouse = {
78    scrollButton = 2;
79    scrollMethod = "button";
80  };
81};
82```
83
84With this, I can simply hold down the left and right buttons (equivalent
85to pressing the scroll wheel), and scroll with the trackball. Want to
86scroll all the way to the bottom? Just flick! It's glorious.
87
88I'm a baller now.
89
90[^3]: Refer to [this Arch Wiki
91    entry](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/libinput#Scroll_with_mouse_by_holding_a_button)
92    for how it's done on other Linuxes.