Thought this was worth sharing because it's cool and comes from a company I think is cool since they open source all their work I have no affiliation I'd been thinking about getting a trackball...
Three years ago, we released the design for the Adept, a unique trackball perfectly suited for the use of QMK, for 3D-printing, and for ambidextrous use across a wide variety of applications.
The Adept has been consistently popular ever since we released it. It’s been used by people for many different purposes, and spurred many of our community’s members to make innovative modifications for it, taking advantage of it’s open-source nature.
Today, I have the privilege of sharing the next iteration of our Adept design. It’s been improved in every way we could think of, leveraging the enthusiasm that we’ve seen for the design in our community.
Here it is: the A+.
Thought this was worth sharing because it's cool and comes from a company I think is cool since they open source all their work I have no affiliation
I'd been thinking about getting a trackball for a while as an investment towards wrist health as I get older. Ploopy's hardware checks a lot of boxes for me that other devices don't. I can avoid being locked into manufacturer software for configuration (it uses Via). I have access to the design files, if I ever want to mod or repair the device.
And I like a lot of the design decisions they made. I'm weirdly excited that it has knobs.
I made the leap to trackballs 5 years ago and my wrist has never been happier. (They are also great for the design/photo/video editing work that I do.) Currently using a Ploopy Adept, and I...
I made the leap to trackballs 5 years ago and my wrist has never been happier. (They are also great for the design/photo/video editing work that I do.)
Currently using a Ploopy Adept, and I definitely recommend their products. Their open source-iness is key, because ergonomics is all about customizability.
As an aside, I always think of Diary of a Wimpy Kid when I see this company's name. Ploopy. I've been using a trackball, the Kensington Orbit Fusion for my daily driver for the past 2 years or so....
As an aside, I always think of Diary of a Wimpy Kid when I see this company's name. Ploopy.
I've been using a trackball, the Kensington Orbit Fusion for my daily driver for the past 2 years or so. I like it pretty well. I picked that one because you still grip it like a mouse, but it's a finger ball (did not want a thumb ball). The best part of it IMO is the scrolling ring, which is why I chose it over the similar Elcom model. The only thing I would change about it is I would tilt it; if it was on an incline like some ergonomic mice, it would be perfect.
I haven't tried this kind of trackball that lies on the table, but it looks uncomfortable since you'd have to hold your arm up over it all day. I'm probably missing something there, but that's what gave me pause when I was looking. I do really like the knob for scrolling on this new Ploopy though, that's a cool feature.
I've always been tempted by a ploopy, but I'm concerned about the plastic since it's 3D printed. My experience with 3D printed things is that they feel cheap and brittle, but I don't know if...
I've always been tempted by a ploopy, but I'm concerned about the plastic since it's 3D printed. My experience with 3D printed things is that they feel cheap and brittle, but I don't know if that's always case. Also, mice often need cleaning, and I've always thought those ridges from the process would be a nightmare.
Edit: I ordered one! Reading comments about the adept and folks say it has good build quality and feels smooth. Very excited - had to pre-order in Tier C to get the yellow, so likely many months before it arrives. Hopefully a good upgrade for my old Elecom Deft when that day comes.
I've been using a Ploopy Nano (the OG one with no buttons) for many years now and love it. This new model looks pretty awesome, it'll probably be in the running if I ever decide to upgrade and...
I've been using a Ploopy Nano (the OG one with no buttons) for many years now and love it. This new model looks pretty awesome, it'll probably be in the running if I ever decide to upgrade and want to go fancier than the Nano 2.
Is it just me, or is a knob something I can grip and twist? Like a door knob or on a handheld radio. Think I'd sooner call those on the ploopy dials or spinners. I remember seeing the standalone...
Is it just me, or is a knob something I can grip and twist? Like a door knob or on a handheld radio. Think I'd sooner call those on the ploopy dials or spinners.
I remember seeing the standalone one and thinking it didn't have much height to grip but still technically qualified.
Not that it matters, semantics, and one could print a taller knob if they like. Though placing them on the sides seems more natural to me.
Nice to see a trackball design with room to grow similar to the slimblade pro which has been one of the major options in the "trackballs for people using complicated software" world. Will have to...
Nice to see a trackball design with room to grow similar to the slimblade pro which has been one of the major options in the "trackballs for people using complicated software" world.
Will have to dig around in the source material and see how hard it would be to modify it to accept a billiards ball instead of a smaller trackballs. My roomie in college had a CST that let you just replace the ball with a standard pool ball and I thought it was the coolest thing. Not worth the ~$200 though.
Here's hoping ploopy provides actual parametric CAD files instead of something lame like STEP binaries.
EDIT: only STL and STEP are available. Though in the hardware appendix, they do mention "Miniature snooker balls are a good aftermarket option."
Love to see a new trackball. I've been using a Kensington Expert for many years and find I don't use the upper two buttons at all, I use the scroll ring constantly, and I use a custom mapping...
Love to see a new trackball. I've been using a Kensington Expert for many years and find I don't use the upper two buttons at all, I use the scroll ring constantly, and I use a custom mapping where holding right click and rolling the ball is like a hyperscroll deal. The two things I bring out a traditional mouse for are CAD work and gaming, but otherwise I prefer a large trackball.
I'm not fully convinced on the knob placement on this one. I think I prefer the ring on the Kensington Expert where it's a grippy texture that goes all the way around the ball. Don't have to move my hand at all to use it, and I can be simultaneously navigating and scrolling quite naturally. On this one it looks like I'd have to change my hand position off the ball to use the spinners. Still, overall I like it and this is definitely a direction I like to see.
Thought this was worth sharing because it's cool and comes from a company I think is cool since they open source all their work I have no affiliation
I'd been thinking about getting a trackball for a while as an investment towards wrist health as I get older. Ploopy's hardware checks a lot of boxes for me that other devices don't. I can avoid being locked into manufacturer software for configuration (it uses Via). I have access to the design files, if I ever want to mod or repair the device.
And I like a lot of the design decisions they made. I'm weirdly excited that it has knobs.
I made the leap to trackballs 5 years ago and my wrist has never been happier. (They are also great for the design/photo/video editing work that I do.)
Currently using a Ploopy Adept, and I definitely recommend their products. Their open source-iness is key, because ergonomics is all about customizability.
As an aside, I always think of Diary of a Wimpy Kid when I see this company's name. Ploopy.
I've been using a trackball, the Kensington Orbit Fusion for my daily driver for the past 2 years or so. I like it pretty well. I picked that one because you still grip it like a mouse, but it's a finger ball (did not want a thumb ball). The best part of it IMO is the scrolling ring, which is why I chose it over the similar Elcom model. The only thing I would change about it is I would tilt it; if it was on an incline like some ergonomic mice, it would be perfect.
I haven't tried this kind of trackball that lies on the table, but it looks uncomfortable since you'd have to hold your arm up over it all day. I'm probably missing something there, but that's what gave me pause when I was looking. I do really like the knob for scrolling on this new Ploopy though, that's a cool feature.
I've always been tempted by a ploopy, but I'm concerned about the plastic since it's 3D printed. My experience with 3D printed things is that they feel cheap and brittle, but I don't know if that's always case. Also, mice often need cleaning, and I've always thought those ridges from the process would be a nightmare.
Edit: I ordered one! Reading comments about the adept and folks say it has good build quality and feels smooth. Very excited - had to pre-order in Tier C to get the yellow, so likely many months before it arrives. Hopefully a good upgrade for my old Elecom Deft when that day comes.
I've been using a Ploopy Nano (the OG one with no buttons) for many years now and love it. This new model looks pretty awesome, it'll probably be in the running if I ever decide to upgrade and want to go fancier than the Nano 2.
Is it just me, or is a knob something I can grip and twist? Like a door knob or on a handheld radio. Think I'd sooner call those on the ploopy dials or spinners.
I remember seeing the standalone one and thinking it didn't have much height to grip but still technically qualified.
Not that it matters, semantics, and one could print a taller knob if they like. Though placing them on the sides seems more natural to me.
Nice to see a trackball design with room to grow similar to the slimblade pro which has been one of the major options in the "trackballs for people using complicated software" world.
Will have to dig around in the source material and see how hard it would be to modify it to accept a billiards ball instead of a smaller trackballs. My roomie in college had a CST that let you just replace the ball with a standard pool ball and I thought it was the coolest thing. Not worth the ~$200 though.
Here's hoping ploopy provides actual parametric CAD files instead of something lame like STEP binaries.
EDIT: only STL and STEP are available. Though in the hardware appendix, they do mention "Miniature snooker balls are a good aftermarket option."
Love to see a new trackball. I've been using a Kensington Expert for many years and find I don't use the upper two buttons at all, I use the scroll ring constantly, and I use a custom mapping where holding right click and rolling the ball is like a hyperscroll deal. The two things I bring out a traditional mouse for are CAD work and gaming, but otherwise I prefer a large trackball.
I'm not fully convinced on the knob placement on this one. I think I prefer the ring on the Kensington Expert where it's a grippy texture that goes all the way around the ball. Don't have to move my hand at all to use it, and I can be simultaneously navigating and scrolling quite naturally. On this one it looks like I'd have to change my hand position off the ball to use the spinners. Still, overall I like it and this is definitely a direction I like to see.