Exact Mouse -- exactly what I needed

I've been having trouble with my editing software and neither my
Vegas discussion group or the s/w maker (Sony) could help me with
it, although someone from the droup gave me a workaround...fairly
kludge-y but a workaround nonetheless.

The problem: I would mouseover the top right or left corner of a
video (or audio) clip on the editing timeline and the little "fader"
icon would appear. I would click and drag...but the clip would trim
instead of fading...it absolutely would not adjust the opacity of the
clip to fade it in or out.

I use a lot of fades, so this was a huge hassle. Other stuff with the
mouse didn't work as well, same type of thing...trying to click and
drag something in close quarters, as though the mouse couldn't
"read" where it was, things like moving the opacity line, the audio
volume level, or the video velocity level.

This is a big headache for me. As usual, I'm in the middle of
editing a project.

So I did a bunch of stuff. I upgraded to the higher quality cirque
glidepoint ($79) touchscreen mouse -- no result...I still couldn't
click and drag. So I ordered a 2000 dpi precision mouse and
mousepad ($100) that is on its way now.

A couple of days ago, I downloaded a piece of $20 software - Exact
Mouse. Actually, it has a couple of very nice functions like a clickable
x/y grid that lets me check on whether things are aligned in a
document. Very useful for someone who cuts and pastes as much
as I do. Also 3 "load layout" memory buttons, which is quite handy
too.

Mirabile dictu! the mouse started functioning perfectly in Vegas.
Sure glad I spent that c-note on a precision mouse...but maybe I'll
end up using it for something.

In the meantime, I'm fading in and out like a real editor...Keeping
my eyes on the road, my hands on the wheel, and my brain in gear.

Happy highways, Roadette

--30--