Indeed, the newer mice can work on almost any surface. The first one I saw was over a decade ago, it was called the Logitech "Darkfield" mouse and it was the first one I'd seen that advertised that it could work on a glass table. And it did. Most sensitive and accurate tracking I'd ever had in a mouse. I bought a few of them, but then, their primary click buttons got flaky. I repaired a couple of their buttons, but got sick of changing out double-A batteris in them. I've since gotten several other newer models of logitech mice (usb rechargeables) since then, and they have all worked fine for years.