"Mouse pad? I haven't used one of those this century... not since I got my first optical mouse in 1998. I thought those"
i remember the first optical mouse i used, it required a mouse pad, without it it couldn't move precisely or wouldn't keep the cursor in place, looked like that old windows virus called parkinson(not a joke, it existed)
The first one I bought in 1998 is this one, with back button on the left side, and forward button on the right side.

Still works perfectly, and until two weeks ago, was still in daily use.
My second optical was this one, which also still works perfectly, and something I found dangling from someone's trash can, a long time ago.

Functionally it's the same as the first one, but has both the forward and back buttons on the left side. I prefer the original arrangement, but hey, free is free.

My latest in this one, bought from Amazon, and delivered 01/05/13;

...which I purchased because it is wireless, and has the same functionality as the Intellimouse, plus has a side scrolling tilt wheel. Note the tiny USB receiver that normally gets left in one of my tower's front USB ports. It also has a storage bay inside the mouse for when not in use, or when transporting to another location.
I've never used a pad with any of these, and haven't scratched anything either.
