I have used mice from every manufacturer, including just about all of them made by Microsoft. The Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 is the one mouse that I will go to the ends of the Earth to be sure is the one sitting on my desk.

The reviewer who said it's "damn near perfect" is exactly right. Most every attribute of the mouse has been discussed already, but I'll add my list of highlights for the record.

I'll go ahead and list my singular complaint right up front: the mouse wheel gets stuck (requires more force to move) after a couple years of daily use. I would still be using my first Laser Mouse 8000 if not for the mouse wheel issue. I tried cleaning the mouse -- even taking it apart -- but it seems to just plain wear out after a while.

Knowing this, I simply buy a new one when I start to feel the mouse wheel getting resistive. I figure 40 bucks for a couple years of service is not too bad.

So, on to my list of highlights:

1. The mouse's tracking is as smooth as glass, as well as precise. Anyone doing pixel-by-pixel work in Photoshop (or any image app) should use this mouse. The thing has never made a tracking error in the several years I've been using it. (Actually none of the several I have owned over the years has ever made a tracking error, so quality control is excellent.)

2. The mouse wheel has completely smooth action, with no "motion stops/clicks" that most other mice have. It glides up and down effortlessly, providing precise control with no control errors, overshoots or undershoots. (At least until it stops working -- see the single complaint above.)

3. I personally use a mouse pad because I find it to be more comfortable, but the mouse works on practically every surface, if mouse pads are not your thing.

4. No annoying red or blue light underneath.

5. Perfect weight and balance. Not a cheap plastic-feeling featherweight like most mice. Feels substantial without being too large. In fact, its proportions of length, width, and height are perfect. It's not like those "ergonomic" mice that are actually more akin to a discus than a mouse.

6. It has an on/off switch!

7. Charges very quickly -- an hour or two to fully charge a depleted battery.

8. Lets you know when the battery is running low with a red light on top of the mouse that slowly fades on and off. As the mouse charges, a green light on the mouse fades on and off to let you know it's actively charging. When the charge is 100%, the green light stays on steadily until you remove the mouse from the charger. This might sound nutty or obsessive, but even the light feels/seems like quality. Not a cheap, blinking LED.

9. The charger, a flat plastic plate that is slightly wider and longer than the mouse, makes it simple to sit the mouse in the correct spot to get it charging properly. Why is this important? Because with other mice it is not so easy. Take Microsoft's new Explorer mice for example (the one with the piercing blue light underneath). The charger is a tiny little device that you have to get the tip of the mouse to sit on. Because it is so small and light it seems to flip and flop around your desk, and getting the mouse to sit on just the right spot can be a tricky two-handed job. The Laser Mouse 8000's charger has an extra rounded "bump" that centers the mouse so you can just drop it on the thing and nearly always get it right. If you do happen to mis-align the mouse on the charger, the light will let you know. With all the Laser Mouse 8000s I have purchased over the years, the charger is still labeled "Microsoft Mouse Charger 1.0" on the bottom, so I guess they got it right the first time.

10. The rechargeable battery can be easily replaced with an off-the-shelf Ni-MH AA-size battery (which I did one time).

11. Microsoft's excellent and free IntelliPoint software is simple to install, and the one software package works with every Microsoft mouse. In fact, if you have multiple Microsoft mice, you can easily configure the software back and forth between mice, and it has a nice big photograph of the mouse you're currently set up to use, with the various button actions superimposed over the photo. Furthermore, Microsoft keeps IntelliPoint (and its IntelliType software for Microsoft keyboards) constantly updated for the latest Microsoft operating system -- something they *should* do. For example, their Windows 7 versions are out right now -- two months prior to the official release date of Windows 7. Downloading and installing is aided by the nice web page that leads you to the right version based on which OS you're using -- with 64-bit OSes fully supported.

12. The Bluetooth dongle plugs into any USB port and does *not* require any mating procedure with the mouse. Just plug it in and everything "just works". In fact, because of the "hard-wired" Bluetooth mating between mouse and dongle, the mouse can be used in a pre-boot environment, as if it were a wired USB mouse. Nice!

13. The Bluetooth dongle is a fully-functional Bluetooth receiver that can be used to connect with any other Bluetooth device. For example, your mobile phone with Bluetooth support can connect with your computer once you've plugged in the dongle.

In short, I would be sad if Microsoft ever discontinues or changes this mouse.

I'm mystified by those who report difficulties with setting up the mouse to work with Vista (or any other OS), because it is so dead-simple to do. My guess is that they have screwed up their Bluetooth settings or something. Or maybe they previously (or later) installed another Bluetooth product that supplanted the Microsoft drivers. Or maybe they have more than one Bluetooth device installed. I have no idea, but the cause would probably be along those lines because of just how easy it is to use this mouse, with its hard-wired mating to the receiver.

It may seem odd to write such a lengthy review for a mouse, but the fact is that a mouse is an essential piece of hardware that a computer user interacts with many times every day -- so it makes sense to me!

I have had a couple of Bluetooth mice, my latest the Bluetooth Explorer mouse from Microsoft. I've always found that Microsoft makes good sturdy hardware that feels good to use. The Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 is no exception. But in addition to being well made and feeling good in the hand, it solves all the problems of my previous Bluetooth mice. I should say I'm using it with an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad and had no problems installing it.

Here are some things I really like about it:
1. It has a cradle for recharging. When the battery gets low (the mouse has a glowing red light that comes on when it gets low on power) I place the mouse on the cradle.
2. A rechargeable battery means no piles of AA batteries to dispose of.
3. My last charge lasted for over 2 weeks, with daily use (I work at home on my computer for most of the work day).
4. It has an on/off switch so if I'm traveling, I can turn it off before packing it.
5. It is very responsive - just like a wired mouse. My old Bluetooth mouse would go into a light sleep mode if it wasn't touched after several seconds. I had to move it or scroll the wheel to wake it up. Very annoying. This mouse responds so quickly after even minutes of inactivity that you'd never know it wasn't wired.
6. The options in Control Panel allow you to choose between power consumption and responsiveness. My setting is right in the middle and I get the charge and responsiveness described above. This is excellent for my needs.
7. Ever since I had forward and back buttons on my Explorer mice by Microsoft, I've been unwilling to give them up. This has buttons on the left and right sides that can be pressed by your thumb and fourth or fifth finger, respectively. The left button moves you back in your browser (also in Windows Explorer -- any application that has forward/back arrows). The right button moves you forward. It saves so much time and effort in a browse session to not have to move your mouse to the upper left corner of your browser to navigate. I know some keyboards support this, but my hand is already on my mouse. It's about convenience!
8. The scroll wheel will scroll up and down, an action used a lot, and left and right, an action used not as much, but is nice to have.

All in all, well worth the money and the ultimate in wireless Bluetooth mice, in my opinion.

Some reviews suggested that the mouse does not work with the internal bluetooth on the mac. My experience was quite the opposite and it works perfectly with Mac.. I have two macs, an intel imac and an intel macbook pro. It paired perfectly with both of them within a second. Didn't have any problem at all. Just went into 'bluetooth' in system preferences and clicked 'set up new device..'. Then chose 'mouse' as the device. Both computers found the mouse instantly with the internal bluetooth. Not using the dongle at all.

On my imac i have steermouse installed so i could even assign the extra button on the right another functionality (eg. keypress F11 to show desktop). On the macbook pro i don't have any extra mouse software installed. And so on that computer by default the left extra key triggers exposé and the middle click opens dashboard. The extra right key doesn't do anything. Needless to say, left and right click, scroll etc. work perfectly. Even left and right scroll by tilting works though i found it a bit slow.

I am not even bothering with the CD that came with it. It has intellimouse 6.1 for mac. Probably the software will provide additional functionality to program the mouse, but I haven't used it yet so i cannot comment on that. I don't think i will need to use the software as the mouse works fine as is.