I got a $50 compUSA gift card, and got myself this really good mouse. It's really comfortable (and about 1/3 bigger than my cheap HP optical mouse), has a 4-way scroll wheel thingy, side buttons, and a decent optical sensor. It cost me $29.99 AFTER REBATES (one of which is on it's way, have yet to do the other one since it's due in April). In general, I think that Microsoft hardware, unlike their $oftware products, is a job well done.

I agree with the fact that microsoft makes very good hardware. Part of the reason is that their drivers never stop working and are normally built into the operating system. However, i disagree with the software comment. The reason Microsoft software is "unsecure" and such is because it is what everyone uses so those who want to be destructive target their stuff and to be honest, no matter how good a programmer you are, it is almost impossible to create anything that is 100% secure.

i have the same one. Vey good and comfatable mouse. Alot better than the old one i had. I am glad that microsoft makes there mouses better than there xboxes

You didn't pay for quality, you paid for a name, the microsoft name. Thae same goes for clothing brands. Shirt with no label - $5 shirt with label - $25. Companies sell their goods through their names. I'm currently using an acrox optical mouse which was dirt cheap and was probably made in China along with the rest of their electronic goods.

I fully agree with you. When buying branded products, chances are that you are going to pay for the brand name and its establishment rather than the quality of the product. For example, an Apple IPod can cost up to 200+ but another brand of a MP3 player, it may cost less than 150. The same concept can be applied to fashion accessories, why go for branded goods like Mango, Billabong ... etc when you can get similar goods which are better? But of course the issue with getting brandless items is knowing how to see them and differentiating between the good and bad quality ones.

On the issue of this Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 5000, I have not heard of it. But my experience with a wireless mouse is not a good one. I had a free Sony USB wireless mouse when I got my Sony Vaio laptop about slightly more than a year ago. At times it had problems trying to identify the wireless mouse and as a result, the mouse was deemed useless on more than a couple of occasions. With regards to Microsoft hardware, as of now, I have only seen a microsoft keyboard, I don't find it is better than other keyboards with no brands, reinforcing the fact that a brand name != the best