First, I use many pointing devices. With my home standing desk, I use an Evoluent vertical mouse. With my workplace sitting desk, I do better with a trackball (it's huge). When I need to take my laptop on the road, I just use the trackpad. They all have their pros and cons depending upon the task at hand.
I think the hover effect helps by making the click a more reflex-driven event. Even if my cursor is skittering about a little bit, a mouse-over effect helps the lower parts of my brain "pull the trigger" at the right moment. I'd describe it as a lot like playing an FPS or some other fast-moving action game. Sounds lame and totally unscientific, I know, but I definitely notice the difference.
First, I use many pointing devices. With my home standing desk, I use an Evoluent vertical mouse. With my workplace sitting desk, I do better with a trackball (it's huge). When I need to take my laptop on the road, I just use the trackpad. They all have their pros and cons depending upon the task at hand.
I think the hover effect helps by making the click a more reflex-driven event. Even if my cursor is skittering about a little bit, a mouse-over effect helps the lower parts of my brain "pull the trigger" at the right moment. I'd describe it as a lot like playing an FPS or some other fast-moving action game. Sounds lame and totally unscientific, I know, but I definitely notice the difference.