Is it noticeably better? Yes. A run-of-the-mill optical mouse constantly takes snapshots of the surface to judge the direction it's moving. The laminate of my cheap office desk is a kind of faux granite, with just enough sheen to frustrate many optical mice. Not a fan of mouse pads in the optical age, I had taped a manila folder down. Because the laser mouse tracks with up to 20 times the precision of an optical mouse, and deals with the shiny surface of my desk as if it were a mouse pad, that manila folder is gone. Logitech claims the mouse can work on any surface this side of a mirror or clear glass. I ran it on the shiny side of a CD-ROM disc, and it maneuvered fine except for one tricky spot. You can even hold it a half-centimeter above your mousing surface and get near-perfect tracking.

The mouse has another one of my favorite features, a lithium-ion battery. Digital cameras and cell phones have improved dramatically as a result of those little powerhouses, and the mouse does too; it's able to run for 21 days straight without charge. I don't want to buy batteries — not even one every six months — if I can help it. Still, I hate rechargeable devices that die suddenly, another flaw of earlier Logitech rechargeables. The MX1000 has a three-bar battery indicator on its side that keeps me from forgetting to charge it. Also, since it's lithium-ion, it can perform at full strength on a mostly-drained battery.

The last new feature of note is a thumb to the nose of Microsoft's patent lawyers: a scroll wheel that you can also push from side to side, for two-axis scrolling — Microsoft introduced this feature last winter. As can often be the case, the latecomer has the advantage. Unlike Microsoft's, the MX1000 makes a satisfying click when you move the scroll wheel left or right, so you know it's working.