This mouse came with my Microsoft wireless erognomic set. To be honest when I first saw it I wasn't sure if I was going to use it. For the past 10 years, I've used the same mouse and keyboard. The $9.99 wired Microsoft Wheel Mouse, and the regular old Microsoft natural keyboard. I even used it the same combo at work. I was happy with it, and never thought I'd use all of the advanced features in the new mice and keyboards. They keyboard and mouse worked right after I plugged in the dongle. I didn't even have to install the software or sync anything.

I've purchased a wireless mouse before, but that was short lived because I was unable to play First Person Shooters with that mouse since it was too heavy, and I didn't like the feel of the scroll wheel.

However, since then times have changed. I no longer play games, and do more coding and web work on my home computer. I love this mouse. It's a bit strange since it is very fat and high up. But it's meant to be like that to provide a more natural feel. Instead of resting on the top of the mouse, your hand actually rests on it's side on the table. It provides a soft rubber like grip for your thumb and the side of your hand.

The mouse has 5 basic buttons. The left and right click of course. You can also push down on the scroll wheel. And there are two additional buttons that are by default set to going Back on your browser, and display a magnifying glass. Of course, as with newer mice, the scroll wheel can scroll up and down, and also left and right now. The scroll wheel is a smooth scroller that seems to loosen up as you keep scrolling. For some reason, clicking the magnifying glass button makes my screen go black for a few seconds before showing the magnifying glass. I'm not too happy with this option. By default, clicking the middle button brings up a screen that shows all of your open programs so you can choose which Window to go to.

When installing the software, it allows you to change the buttons to whatever you want. You can even have program specific buttons, which is a good feature.

The mouse overall is a bit heavy, and it uses two double A batteries which it comes with. Unfortunately it doesn't have a rechargable base, but these batteries should last about a year before having to change it. That's not too bad. There's also a light right below the scroll wheel which will turn on when your battery is running out and that you will need to change it soon.

Call me old school, but the feature I like about the Natural Laser Mouse 7000 is the laser! I have a white desk, so since I was using an optical mouse before, the mouse would not work on my white desk. I'd have to use a piece of paper as my mouse pad, and I was not used to that. Being a laser mouse, the mouse works perfectly fine on my white desk. No mouse pad needed.

So overall, the mouse is a bit weird to look at, but it is very comfortable. I find myself using the extra buttons more and more. I particularly love the Back button and of course the laser. The mouse makes your hand sit on its side providing a more natural resting spot for your hand, wrist, arm and shoulder. It also comes with a little USB dongle that is smaller than your regular USB stick.

Pros

• Laser mouse!
• Ergonomic feel
• Extra buttons
• Very simple setup

Cons

• No charging dock
• A bit heavy - not good for gaming

---