 There are two types of Linus Tech Tips viewers. The ones who can't remember trackball mice and the ones who are old like me. That's right kids, in the late 90s these bizarre pointing devices were almost as popular as a standard ball mouse. You know, the kind that had its balls down below. But then fell into obscurity as optical and laser mice gained dominance. But are trackballs bouncing back? Well Logitech, er, Logi? Logitech is giving it a shot. Meet the MX Ergo, their first trackball in nearly a decade. And the video is brought to you by TunnelBear, which makes it easy to privately and securely browse a more open internet. To try TunnelBear for free go to TunnelBear.com slash LTT. At 260 grams the Ergo is twice as heavy as your typical mouse. But that's fine. Like other trackballs, it is not used by sliding it around the desktop. Instead you actually move the pointer by spinning this optically tracked ball with your right thumb. The Ergo is beautifully designed. The soft touch rubber finish that covers the entire top of the mouse gives it a premium look and as for the feel, well, it can leave your hand a little hotter than you might be used to, but we're inclined to overlook this because with the base set to its upright position, reducing pronation or scissoring of the arm bones, it positions the user's hand similarly to a vertical mouse. It is extremely comfortable. I guess that's probably where the name comes from. With that said, what's good for the wrist isn't always good for the thumb. Moving the cursor, especially a long distance downward feels kind of like doing thumb crunches unless you reposition your hand. Let's take a look at the buttons. The left and right clicks are rated for 10 million and are otherwise pretty darn standard. These back and forward buttons are both easily accessible with your index finger, as long as you don't have child-sized hands like I do, and the scroll wheel is rubberized, moves smoothly, and it comfortably tilts to either side. Now we've got a couple of more interesting buttons. This one toggles precision mode, which like a sniper button on a mouse, shifts the sensitivity for precision pointing, and this one is a Logitech Easy Switch, so that you can switch easily, haha, I see what you guys did there, between devices with one of them using the included 2.4 GHz dongle and another one connected via Bluetooth. And you might actually find yourself doing just that. Track balls are great for travel because they require very little area to use. AirGo, an airplane tray table or armrest will actually work nicely for much more comfortable mousing compared to trying to use a touchpad. And thanks to the AirGo's four-month battery, you won't even need a charging cable with you. Fun fact though, if it does die, it boasts a full workday's worth of battery after just one day of work. And it's actually a full-time battery after just one minute of charging. Okay then Linus, that's all well and good, but what is it like to actually use it? Well, if you've never used a track ball before, you might actually be surprised at how easy it is to convert. Our writer James went into this thing with zero experience, and after a few days, it's become second nature, and some actions like middle-click scrolling are actually even easier with a track ball. With that said, it's not like there wasn't a slight learning curve, and it has some clear disadvantages. If you use a multi-display setup or an ultra-wide monitor, for example, you might find yourself having to crank the sensitivity just to cover all of that desktop real estate. And while okay, that's true of any mouse, on the track ball in particular, this really made accurate pointing on fine things a feat of concentration, since it does tend to jump a bit when being turned very small amounts. The solution, as it turns out though, is to turn on mouse acceleration, which... How about that? It turns out that setting does have an actual use. Though, you will want to disable it while you're gaming on your track ball. Wait... Gaming on a track ball? Yes, that's right. You can use a track ball for gaming, and it actually doesn't suck either. Our resident CSGO guru, Ed, was actually up and pwning noobs in no time, though he did say that he was a little disappointed in the ergo's tracking speed, which may prove to be insufficient for players who like to whip their mouse for quick turnarounds. Okay then, Linus, I'm interested. You got me. But why should I buy then the $100 MX ergo over Logitech's own competing wireless track ball, the M570? Is the precision button, easy switch, and the smoother ball action really worth the extra $50? Maybe not, but they are nice to have, and the 20 degree tilt really is a lot more comfortable. And surely there is no solution that exists to prop up the M570. Okay, but in all seriousness though, does the MX ergo belong in your future? Well, there is still room to improve. A stepless scrolling mode on the wheel, a low latency light speed connection, higher endurance switches, and a dedicated DPI switch. Would all go a long way towards making this feel like a true flagship. Maybe a G series track ball is on the horizon. But with that said, it's really good. If you're a track baller, it's easy to recommend. As for if you're not, well, it is the kind of thing you do have to experience on your own, but Logitech has a 30-day return policy, so if you're a little bulkier, if you're a little bulkierious, then there's nothing to lose from giving it a spin. 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