I am wondering if i should get a 3d mouse for 3d modeling? Has anyone used one, or should i just stick with a regular mouse, here is a site for a 3d mouse.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10248083
Look that product up on the forum. You’ll find many posts.
Also, despite how they advertise it, it’s not a 3D mouse. It’s more like three analog sticks put together.
Lol…
Sounds like a wonderful time wasting gimmick 
Yes. A waste of time, to use 6 axes at once instead of one. Good logic, there.
The SpaceNavigator is a godsend.
I like it. I have used it with Max and find it especially useful for making fine adjustments to the viewport (zoom/pan/rotate) when doing detail work in a very zoomed in view. Also, it always rotate around your selection, something that I have found that Max’s native rotate tool not always does.
It takes a little bit of time getting used to, but it shouldn’t be more than an hour or three. I also find that even though it is quite heavy and has a rubber base, it slides around a little bit.
It is not a replacement for your regular mouse, though. Normally you would use the mouse with your right hand as before and switch between the keyboard and the SpaceNavigator with your left, using the SN to zoom/pan/rotate your view. (You can also set it up to modify the actual model instead of the camera.)
Exactly. Considering I keep it right by the modifier keys, it’s not much of a stretch for the brains or the hand. SpaceNavigator/Keyboard in the left hand, stylus in the right hand, and switch to the trackpad for either hand as appropriate. I still use the modifier keys and the stylus/scroll wheel in the circumstances where I want to move only in one or two axes. The SpaceNavigator is in no way a replacement for any tools you already use. But there’s nothing else that can do what it does. Working without the SpaceNavigator is like drawing in MIDI data instead of playing a keyboard.
I actually never found this useful.
Can the SpaceNavigator be configured as a joystick in a Unity standalone? If so it might make a more intuitive replacement for a gamepad. I’ve never actually tried one, but have thought about getting one more than once.
Yes, but not easily enough for my taste. It doesn’t show up as six analog axes by default, or at least it didn’t when I tried - but that was probably two years ago. My solution was to use ControllerMate, which allows you to map them as you please.
However, I don’t really find it to be a very practical gaming device. It only has two buttons, and they’re not easy to press, so it’s not a good device for any action-oriented game.
Don’t forget to vote it up on feedback.unity3d.com:
Editor: 3D mouse (e.g. SpaceNavigator) support
I kind of like that Aras posted that but it currently “only” has 95 votes (and I ain’t got any left, meh!)
I’m one of the 95 not-so-happy few… 
Why do certain people dislike the Space Navigator so much, looks like a mystery. My guess is that they still haven’t used it in the best conditions : camera mode, with or without rolling. In this mode, you feel as if you were a small flying saucer in your 3D scene.
BTW, Jessie : you were right about the interest of activating the “rolling” option. Have been using it for a while now in SketchUp - and 3D Coat, for sculpting and painting : what a delight ! And it allows so precise and fast manipulations that I never travel without my SpaceNavigator…
All we would need to develop Unity adaptations for third-parties like ControllerMate or Osculator would be a few keyboard shortcuts for manipulating the Editor camera in all directions… please, whoever reads this at Unity : just a few shorcuts… 
If you get a chance, could someone give it a try and see if all six axes can be used in a Unity standalone without resorting to an external driver? It it works, I can foresee a couple fly through presentations that might benefit from this device.
I had the opportunity to test the SpaceNavigator for a few weeks a while ago. I tried very hard, but i just couldnt get used to it. My main gripe was that i had to switch from navigator to keyboard whenever i wanted to use a keyboard shortcut - and i use shortcuts a lot. And maybe im just too used to mouse navigation - i was really struggling to get comfortable with the SpaceNavigator. Guess its just not for me.
My colleagues, however, love it and cant live without it. Although ive noticed they rarely use the keyboard.
I use keyboard shortcuts like nobody’s business. I also do the same with 1-4 finger trackpad gestures, several of which I customize using Multiclutch. I’d recommend learning to play the guitar or drums - switching from the SpaceNavigator to the other things I mentioned is just a quick elbow rotation, like moving around a few frets. Or like switching from the bell to the bow of a ride cymbal.
Sorry, this stuff is what I know! I feel an exact parallel, for what it’s worth.
It’s also a parallel to moving to the right side of the keyboard. I hit most of my shortcut keys with my left hand only, when using my tablet, so moving to the right side of the keyboard is similar to moving left to the SpaceNavigator.
Another thing that might help is a lot of gaming with dual-analog FPS control. I configure my SpaceNavigator so that using it is hardly different from playing a console FPS. I had a very difficult time with that kind of control with Halo 1, but got used to it over a couple days. I just had to combine the thumbsticks into one …hand-stick? …and learn the ability to add zoom and roll, several years later, when I got the SpaceNavigator.
bigkahuna, I will be able to test for you in a couple hours.
@KaelisAsur : in fact, I make a daily use of SketchUp which has a huge collection of keyboard shortcuts, every action being configurable. My SpaceNavigator is close to the keyboard, so I always have access to the SHIFT, ALT, CTRL, CMD and space bar keys with the left thumb, while the rest of the hand remains on the SpaceNavigator. Hadn’t noticed it actually, only your remark makes me think of it
Edit : I’m also a guitarist, Jessie… which could explain everything
bigkahuna, it does not appear that a single SpaceNavigator axis gets recognized as a joystick axis, using the latest driver. (This was probably always the case.)
Thanks Jessy. I’m also
I have a space navigator myself, but I never really got into it much. Nice idea, but it’s cumbersome. I actually found one of the sister products of the space navigator, the Logitech Nulooq Navigator to be more useful, despite losing one axis of movement. (It’s basically the Space Navigator, but features a programmable iPod-style click wheel, in place of a z-axis.)
As far as I can tell, the Nulooq has three axes. I don’t see how that’s anything like the SpaceNavigator, unless you used the SpaceNavigator in 1-axis-at-a-time mode. Which is the default in some apps, and always a possibility, but as far as I’m concerned, worthless.