You are, I assume, fully aware, that this qoute is Just Asking For It
jobeard said:
I don't think anyone has yet mentioned that a mouse is a current sensing device,
ie: current flows and changes in the current is what is noted in the X/Y axis
I had thought that a wireless mouse was an analog to digital servo mechanism, combined with a radio transmitter. I even dared to think that it could possibly be a PCM based device where the X axis might be controlled by pulse rate and possibly the Y axis could be controlled by pulse width. In any event, whether that speculation is correct or not isn't necessarily germane to this discussion. When motion is sensed the mouse circuitry attempts to null the current flow, The nulling after motion is the basis of most if not all electronic servo control strategies.
The moral of the story here, boys and girls is, the less you move your mouse, the longer your batteries will last. This of course again makes the assumption that the designers have indeed created a circuit that has a sleep function, so that the mouse, like a naughty child, will probably fall asleep if you ignore it long enough.
Again, a string of assumptions. Which is an sort of snide way of saying, if you don't use it, the batteries won't go dead. Which somewhat unwittingly on my part, is somewhat snide in itself. I didn't plan this, there's just no way of getting around it.
In my area, we had an automotive speed shop, that kept a sign in it's window, "speed costs money, how fast do you want to go". It's a cruel world, but so does computing, (cost money). In this cruel world, products that won't do the job in an energy efficient manner are brought to market all the time. People are duped into buying them all the time. "So it goes", to quote Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
So,time and again the consumer has to take matters into his own hand, and strike a blow for energy conservation. I say, "save a mouse, grab a chicken instead".