Hasta La Ideas

My PC’s mouse quit on me in the middle of a project, and I had to run out for a replacement. The only mouse available at my local Walmart (made by a company I’ve heard of, anyway) was this guy:

I hate clamshell packaging, and was about to grab tinsnips when I spotted these arrows on the back of the packaging:

They point to these two half-cups at the top corners:

They’re easy to get a fingertip into…

…and the rear panel, which is attached by little plastic spot-welds, easily peeled away with a satisfying pop-pop-pop noise.

There’s a large tab at the bottom of the paperboard packaging. This made it easy to grab and remove the paperboard. (You don’t see me grabbing the tab because I’m trying to hold the packaging up while photographing with my other hand.)

With that out of the way, the mouse is now accessible. This, too, had a helpful tab stuck to it, making it easy to free from the tight clamshell.

Overall, a fantastic piece of package design.

That said, the actual mouse is gar-bahj.

I can’t blame the company—I own their $100 MX Master 3 for my other computer, it’s the best damn mouse I’ve ever owned—and this Silent Wireless model was only 12 bucks, a pricepoint undoubtedly forced on them by Walmart. The “Silent” bit means the buttons don’t click when you press them, removing what I think is a key piece of tactile feedback; if I had to guess, removing whatever made it click was a cost-cutting measure, then spun as a “feature.”

Moreoever, the right button doesn’t register at least half the time. I’ll have to return this, then bite the bullet and drive to a more distant store that sells MX Master 3s.

Have you all noticed that these days, the stratification of product quality has turned almost binary? It’s either cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel disposable Walmart junk that doesn’t work properly, or pricey top-of-the-line offerings. There doesn’t seem to be much in the middle.