Is A TrackBall Neccessary?

[u_rebelscum]

And can those buttons be configured into mame

yes

are they like a normal Mouse

yes

where they cannot be mapped as arcade buttons?

This is wrong.  Don't pause the game while remapping (& enable mice).

[QuixoteQuest]

And can those buttons be configured into mame or are they like a normal Mouse where they cannot be mapped as arcade buttons?

I haven't figured out how to use the mouse buttons as MAME/emulator/arcade buttons, because they are not connected to the IPac. But you can ascribe any function or macro you can normally do to three button mouse. From reading u_rebelscum's reply I can't tell whether he's saying there is a workaround so that you can use the trackball/mouse buttons as arcade buttons.

[ahofle]

I haven't figured out how to use the mouse buttons as MAME/emulator/arcade buttons, because they are not connected to the IPac. But you can ascribe any function or macro you can normally do to three button mouse. From reading u_rebelscum's reply I can't tell whether he's saying there is a workaround so that you can use the trackball/mouse buttons as arcade buttons.

It's not a workaround, you just select the input you want to change, press enter, and then press the mouse button you want to map.  What u_rebel was saying is that if you forgot to enable the mouse for that game, then pressing the mouse button will not register.

[u_rebelscum]

From reading u_rebelscum's reply I can't tell whether he's saying there is a workaround so that you can use the trackball/mouse buttons as arcade buttons.

Sorry, let me rephrase:

[Can] a normal Mouse [button] ... be mapped as arcade buttons [in mame]?

Yes. 
Step 1:  Enable mice in mame.
Step 2:  If the it controls a different player or game button then you want, remap.  Do not pause the game while remapping.

For more info on remapping, look at the mameFAQ [urlhttp://www.mame.net/mamefaq.html#h03]#h03[/url] for a step by step howto with  pictures.