After arranging the screen, keyboard and system case, the first thing most designers and engineers do with a new workstation is toss the cheap mouse that came with it into the trash can. The free mouse can not only slow your most exacting work and eventually get gummed up dust and garbage, but is really a pain in the neck (and wrist). For a professional with a job to do, the mouse is more than merely a way to move items on the screen, it's the tool you touch the most. Top precision, comfort and a slew of switches, wheels, and buttons are only the start because some are truly cool looking.

This new generation of top-gun mice may put the pointer exactly where you want it, but they cost much more than the $5 mechanical mouse. Some sell for as much as a cheap workstation, but it is money well spent for those whose work needs to be precise, must be done quickly and has to be right the first time.

"The weakest link in the user interface is where a human being comes in direct contact with a mouse," says Don Bynum, president and CEO of ITAC Systems, a maker of a variety of high-end mice and pointers. The reason for the design disconnect is that most mice were intended for light-duty home and office use, not the demands of the workstation operator.

His company's Mouse-Trak trackball is elevated for comfort and support while the six programmable keys are conveniently situated right where the fingers usually are. Four buttons are right next to the ball for easy access, particularly for those with small hands, and it's ambidextrous so that right-handed people like it as much as southpaws.

Built with stainless steel shafts and bearings, the ball has been designed to last, and can handle ball speeds of up to 500 rpm, although the few who can spin the trackball that fast should try out for the Olympic trackball team. It has resolution to match with up to 480 pulses per revolution, so the workstation always knows exactly where the pointer is. The $100 price of the USB trackball rises to $200 for Sun workstations.

Contour Design Perfit Mouse Optical shows that precision can be beautiful and comfortable as well as functional. "Our primary goal is to provide a high performance mouse that allows users to be comfortable and not become fatigued," explains Keith Dupont, business unit manager at Contour Design.

The $110 device can help prevent damage to the delicate nerves and tendons in the wrist by elevating the forearm. With 800-dot-per-inch optical positioning technology, the Perfit has more than double the precision of the typical optical mouse so the pointer always goes where you want it to go.

It's clear from Contour Design's approach that one size does not fit all because the Perfit mouse, which was the result of three years of design work and testing, comes in four sizes each for righties and lefties. In addition to the expected scroll wheel, the mouse has a rocker switch. So that the fingers don't have to move much to make a selection, both are right where the fingers fall naturally, and all the switches and wheels are programmable. The mouse uses a USB or PS/2 cable and works with every major workstation operating system, but has its own drivers that add extra features.