Contour UniTray
Dan Knight - 1999.07.29
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: New 2008 iMac 2GB $42 / iMac Intel Core2 DUO & MacBook Pro 2GB $36 - 1GB $20. MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94 -- Free shipping available.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Mercury Elite FW800/FW400/USB2/eSATA up to 2.0TB TOP-RATED Solutions offer High Performance, Reliable storage for all your data storage needs. 500GB $159.99, 750GB $199.99, 1.0TB from $299.99
Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
New iMac 800Mhz Memory 4GB $90, 2GB $45 - Click to Maximize your Macs...
Does anybody make the perfect mousepad?
I don't think there is such a thing. I've used a lot of different ones over the years: the rubber backed fabric pads, the Apple plastic pads, the 3M textured pad, a nice M.C. Escher pad, the Mac Professionals Book Club pad, and who knows how many others. Most are okay, but nothing you'd care to invest money in.
Mousepads have their problems. If they're too thick, your wrist rubs against them. And sometimes the mouse cable catches on the corner of the mousepad. And they get dirty.
I've seen some clever designs, ones I wouldn't want to use. I remember one that was round and had a springy thing to hold the mouse cord out of the way. I think it even had a wrist rest. But the cord holder tended to get in the way of smooth mousing.
The Mac Professionals Book Club mousepad was great, until it started chipping on the edges and catching the mouse cord. Now the corners are turned up. Too bad, because it was a nice pad.
I really liked 3M's flexible pad. It was very thin and had a textured surface. It was also impossible to clean and started to warp and get bumpy over time.
The most promising basic mousepad I've seen is the thin plastic MacPad, which was shown at Macworld Expo. It's textured and easy to clean. They've promised to send me one for review; I'm looking forward to it.
Until then, I'm using the Contour 
UniTray I
bought at Macworld Expo. It's about 0.6" high, has rounded edges (so it
won't snag your mouse cord), has a textured surface, and has a
gel-filled wrist rest.
I'm becoming a fan of wrist rests. I have a nice foam one by my keyboard. It's just the right height for resting my hands.
Contour Design solves the height problem on the UniTray with two inserts that can sit beneath the gel wrist rest. With no insert, I find the wrist rest just a bit low. It shipped with the 6mm insert, which I found too high. The 1mm insert seems just perfect, especially with the Contour UniMouse, which is a bit higher than many mice. (After a year-and-a-half, it remains my favorite mouse.)
The UniTray is also longer than it is wide, recognizing that while your screen is horizontal, the mouse itself is vertically oriented. Very smart.
I'm very impressed with the design of the UniTray, which comes in all the usual Mac and iMac colors. My hand moves comfortably from keyboard and wrist rest to mouse and mouse pad. The gel provides a nice level of support comfortably.
If you're looking for a better mousepad, the UniTray is a definite
contender. 
- The Macsense keyboard is avaiable in any of the old iMac flavors from Outpost.com, MacMall, and other vendors for about US$20.
Manufacturers and distributors: Interested in having your product reviewed? Please read our review policy.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Anticipation: New iPods Now, New Macs Later, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 09.05. The season of new iPods is at hand, but new Macs may wait until 2009.
- Buy a MacBook Now or Wait?, MacBook touch Patents, Samsung X360 Takes on MBA, and More, The 'Book Review, 09.05. Also 20 years of portable Macs, data backup and preservation, universal U-Charge battery charger for Mac 'Books, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05. Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
- Source of iPhone 3G Problems, Army Uses iPods as Field Translators, Gains with Business, and More, iNews Review, 09.05. Also UK bans iPhone ad as 'misleading', iPhone password easy to bypass, GM to offer radios with USB in 2009 models, weather tracking software, and more.
- Macs Gain Ground in August, Consumers Most Likely to Buy Macs, LaCie USB Speakers, and More, Mac News Review, 09.05. Also migrating Time Machine to a new drive and two new keyboards from Logitech.
- Overclocking a Mac mini Got Me Hooked on Souping Up Macs, Adam Geller, My First Mac, 09.04. Stories of hot rodding iBooks, G3 iMacs, and PCI Power Macs on the cheap.
- Apple Will Not Abandon Optical Drives, the Mac Drought, Purposeful Mac Acquisition, and More, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 09.04. Also Mac OS X 10.5 on a G4-upgraded Blue & White G3 and problems using a flat panel display with a Quadra 700.
- Only Leopard Runs Routine Maintenance Tasks after Startup or Waking from Sleep, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 09.04. Mac OS X 10.5 runs routine system maintenance scripts as soon as possible after starting up or waking up your Mac. Earlier versions of OS X do not do this.
- Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04. Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
Latest Deals on Low End Mac
- Best iPod touch Deals, 09.05. Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 09.05. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, 09.05. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 09.04. Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 09.04. Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
- Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, 09.04. Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
- More links in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Have a question?
Ask an expert!
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
