Hmmm, that's odd indeed. The MX should work on any surface including transparent glass. I do use a mouse pad, but mostly for the comfort of my wrist. If I remove it, the mouse works perfectly fine, and I've NEVER had accuracy problems with mine.

Where is your receiver in relation to the mouse? I think I did notice that the range is a little shorter than the MX1000, but then the receiver for that mouse was the docking station which I always kept about a foot from the mouse anyway. I have my receiver for the MX (and my keyboard) on the USB extension cable just to be sure, because my desktop is a little far away from my primary work space. Maybe that would help?

Frankly, ergonomics are so subjective. People hold their mice differently, so I probably have a completely different experience than you do. I tend to move my mouse with my fingers alone, while my wrist sits motionless on my desk. My fingers are so far back on the mouse that my middle finger barely reaches a little more than halfway up the scroll wheel.