Mouse Question

i hooked up my microsoft optical mouse to my iBook via USB. why does the cursor speed get very sluggish when it gets near clickable objects. it's speed doesn't remain constant around menus and stuff. can this be fixed.

Try this:

http://www.usboverdrive.com/

i'm very reluctant to use the above driver. i have read some bad stuff on it. does anyone else experience a not so smooth usb mouse? all my buttons work but the cursor movement seems off.

what kind of surface are you using it on? mousepad? have you tried changing any settings in the mouse system preference?

The usual cursor acceleration on the Mac is curved ie move the mouse fast and the cursor moves further across the screen than when the mouse is moved slowly. Think of a 20"+ display. Would you really want it the same
Takes a bit of getting used to after windows but I find it better. Get across the screen fast then slower to hit the target.
Some third party mouse drivers allow you to set it the same as windows.
eg The Mac mice ones have two sliders for acceleration so you can flatten the curve if you want too.
Have fun

i've looked into this further and it seems like i want to change the acceloration. i have trouble with accuracy. the acceloration doesn't remain constent.

I downloaded mousezoom which helps out a bit. Its not a driver per-se, but a preference pane.

http://homepage.mac.com/bhines/mousezoom.html