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Why Apple Makes a One-Button Mouse
IdiotOnMyLeft writes "There is a short article at Gear Live that tries to explain why Apple still sticks with a one-button mouse. It points out the fact that although it is perfectly possible to use a two-button mouse on a Mac for 7 years now, developers are forced to rethink their design approach and can't flood the right-click menu. No article of this kind would be complete without mentioning that users get confused with two buttons. There's a rumor that John Carmack once asked Steve Jobs what would happen if they'd put one more key on the keyboard."
... they can't afford to pay for the second button.
Just put one of these six button mice on their desk and watch their head explode.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
...to bring down a site before the first comment is even posted, apparently... *sigh*
No, it's because Apple thinks its' users aren't surfing the web with one hand, if you know what I mean...
Yes! And what about all those function keys on the keyboard? F1? Do I press F and then 1? And Alt? What the heck does that do? Two Alt buttons!?!? And why do we need both backspace and delete; they just confuse everyone!! I think Apple should be shipping a one-button keyboard!!
A three year old child is easy, try explaining it to my mother
I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
Admittedly I'm not up on current Apple hardware, but what about a scroll wheel? Do you mean you actually scroll *manually*? Explain how this works exactly.
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
Good luck to Apple then, as my Grandmother hasn't been using anything for the past ten years now. Well, except, she was apparently able to use a ballot box last election in Chicago.
common sense: noun
What those who are ignorant of the subject matter think; usually wrong.
that costs eighty fucking dollars :P
My university's video editing facilities got a whole bunch of new G4s a few years ago. I can remember when they came in the very next day you could find about 12 of the one-button mice Apple bundles with its systems in the trash as you walked into the lab; all immediately replaced by two-button mice.
common sense: noun
What those who are ignorant of the subject matter think; usually wrong.
Well, I'm one of those that would prefer zero buttons - nobody would get confused then. It'd nicer to just hold the mouse over an area of the screen and keep it there for around 5 seconds. Waiting that time would be the equivalent of a 'click'.
Seriously, two buttons is one of those things that might be harder to use initially, and then over time (i.e. 5 minutes), the increase in productivity, and general ease of use is all worth it. Even my mum can use 2 buttons, and if she can, anyone can.
Can any of the browsers use the the right mouse button to 'lock' the cursor, and then you move the mouse to scroll the page up and down (or even left and right) ? The idea is that the cursor doesn't move while you do so. I think that'd be a really neat idea - better than the usual scroll bar.
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
While on the face of it, this statement sounds ridiculous, I have experienced cases where it has proved true. I relate the following Tech Support True Story.
me: Okay ma'am, I want you to move your mouse pointer over the My Computer icon and click your right mouse button.
caller: The right mouse button?
me: Yes ma'am.
caller: Which one is the right button?
me: (starting to get annoyed) You have two buttons on your mouse, One on the left and one on the right, I want you to click the right button over the My Computer icon.
caller: Um, your right or my right?
me: (putting my phone on mute and desperately trying to avoid laughing hysterically)
"I'm making perfect sense, you're just not keeping up."
Maybe you should just stop trying to copy that 17 meg file...
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
Damn phpBB tags!
Heh. That's when it's time to whip that black Sharpie out of your pocket protector and (just like you do with 4-year-old's shoes) put a big 'R' on the Right-Click button, and a big 'L' on the Left-Click button. I've never seen anyone using such a mouse, but I found one marked R and L in the garbage at work once.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
[i]no, you just press the left mouse button[/i] But I dont have a left mouse. Onyl the one on the right.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Because when your grandmother uses Windows, she licks the left and the right button at the same time. Watch her the next time she's using the computer -- really, she does this.
In my day, we had to point and click. and we liked it. None of this fancy scroll wheel or mouse gestures crap. I tell ya, scroll wheels and the obeseity epidemic are not just a coincidence. Sit up straight and do it the good old fashioned way: move that mouse and click for gosh sakes. it builds character.
must... stay... awake...
He can't play minesweeper with just one button...
That will never happen. The ego is strong with that one.
That's why I don't use it.
Actually, it is the infamous Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field that he keeps ramping the power on. Gates is filled with envy over it, as his own versions of the thing keep crashing.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
I use the wheel button, too!
Great for cut and paste in X11.
You make the mistake of thinking you can educate the fundamental stupidity out of people. You can't.
IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH "TOTAL WIMP" (user 564548) YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF INDEPENDENT THOUGHT!
You said it. My idiot 3 year old nephew keeps re-implementing vectors no matter how many times I tell him to just use the template from the STL.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
COME ONE, at least OFFER a three-button mouse!
It must be horrible living in a town so small, and using an ISP so censorious, that your only source for computer hardware is the customization dropdowns on Apple's online store. Do you at least have running water and flush toilets?
I just invented an 89 button mouse. It's an 87 key notebook keyboard that you can roll around on your desk, with an additional scroll wheel and two mouse buttons.
Advantage: Only one cable is needed, instead of separate mouse and keyboard cables.
Disadvantage: It's a really retarded idea.
>> My ultraviolent Linux switch video.
mmm, a mac user can't handle the concept of a right mouse click... yet Adobe in Photoshop see fit that PC users have the joy of Alt-Shift-Ctrl-S to save for web.... its like playing the friggin piano!... Arent they insulting their audience to say "our users dont *get* a right mouse click, but the rest of the world can handle a 4 note Chord?"...
Just bought a new quantum computer, but I'm uncertain how it works.