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Apple Developing Two-Button Mouse

An anonymous reader writes "Always the innovator, Apple is rumored to be developing a two-button mouse! Personally, I don't think it will catch on. Two buttons will be way too confusing for your average user." A few users noted a related Slashdot story from awhile back that discusses why Apple has historically avoided the two-button mouse. The article also mentions a revision to the AirPort Base Station with built-in optical audio.

71 of 1,070 comments (clear)

  1. Pan wheel... by nmg196 · · Score: 4, Funny

    In a few years Apple will invent something called a "pan wheel" which allows you to pan up and down in documents... They'll probably try and patent it as well.

    1. Re:Pan wheel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The Wheel from the iPod on a mouse?

      I'm sure my girlfriend will appreciate how dextrious my fingers will get.

    2. Re:Pan wheel... by Ubergrendle · · Score: 5, Funny

      This morning I woke up and the skies were coloured of sackcloth, and the sun coloured as blood, and there was this distinct crunching sound on the floor as I walked over a carpet of locusts, and there were these strange markings on the outside of my door.... now I know why.

      --
      John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
    3. Re:Pan wheel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yawn. My Logitech three-button wheel mouse works just fine in OS X and guess what the wheel does?

      Um... if you rotate the wheel fast enough, would you get the joke that flew by at Mach 10 over your head?

    4. Re:Pan wheel... by darthtuttle · · Score: 5, Funny

      You roll an 18 in Dex and see if you don't end up with a girlfriend.

      --
      Darthtuttle
      Thought Architect
    5. Re:Pan wheel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      i take it I'm not the only one who thinks the ipod's scroll wheel interface was designed by watching women masturbate?

    6. Re:Pan wheel... by wed128 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Nerdiest Response Ever

    7. Re:Pan wheel... by foxtrot · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, I tried, but it turned out Cha was my dump stat...

      -JDF

    8. Re:Pan wheel... by cosmo7 · · Score: 5, Funny

      And how much extra effort would it take to fix it? 10 or 15 minutes and a quick re-compile?

      You've got to think corporate:

      Memo from QA, 'Firefox compatibility'.
      2 months later: Action Meeting decides to have report done.
      2 weeks later: Meeting about report.
      16 months later: Issue report request, 'Firefox compatibility'.
      15 minutes later: Intern produces report.
      6 months later: Meeting to discuss report.
      3 weeks later: Meeting to discuss follow-up report.
      2 months later: Action plan established.
      1 week later: Action plan steering committee appointed.
      3 months later: Action plan steering committee asks intern to recompile mouse drivers.
      15 minutes later: Drivers ready.

    9. Re:Pan wheel... by ThousandStars · · Score: 3, Funny

      I suspect he has an innate "resist girlfriend" ability, so that also depends on whether he makes his saving throw.

    10. Re:Pan wheel... by GMC-jimmy · · Score: 3, Funny

      From the Slashdot artical; optical audio

      Sounds like an oxymoron to me.

      --
      __________________________________
      Free your mind - Flush your toilet
    11. Re:Pan wheel... by flyingsquid · · Score: 2, Funny
      so that also depends on whether he makes his saving throw.

      Once, a friend of mine got a very unpleasant voice message from a girl he'd just broken up with. He said, rather stunned, "It was like... an icy blast."

      I said, "You feel an icy blast; saving throw vs. ex-girlfriend fails. Take 50 points of damage".

    12. Re:Pan wheel... by Baricom · · Score: 2, Funny

      Looks like somebody needs to enroll in a language course -- English Homophones.

      (Yes, I did get the joke :P)

    13. Re:Pan wheel... by OzRoy · · Score: 2, Funny
      So the whole interface was designed after the boss caught the apple engineers watching porn at work.

      "No Boss it's research! Look at the way her fingers move. It must be the easiest way to interface with anything!!"

    14. Re:Pan wheel... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Parent poster didn't finish his sentence. It should read "Thank you, I'll be here all weak from the ass-kicking I'm sure to get for that vile pun".

  2. Meh by Lisandro · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have one with five on my PC.

    Oh, and my amps go all the way to eleven!

    1. Re:Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
      I wonder how Job's will keynote this. Not a guy who likes to say 'I was wrong'

      His keynote will go "I was so right. I always, ALWAYS knew the customers wanted two buttons. That's why Mac mice have always had two buttons."

      When someone raises the obvious objection, they'll be hustled out of the room by the Apple 2nd Chief Directorate Security Troopers and exiled to Gulag. And Jobs will repeat, slowly, for the benefit of the not-to-quick-to-catch-on, "Two buttons. Always."

      And the Party faithful will sing rousing anthems to the wisdom of the Premier and the Apple Revolution.

  3. Buttons? Meh. by Chrispy1000000+the+2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Back in my day, we didn't even have buttons. We had to move the cursonr, and *wait*!

    --
    Sig
  4. They'll place... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...one button at the top end and one at the bottom end. Gotta think different.

  5. Obligatory Simpson's Quite by nahdude812 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Shh... d' ya wanna get sued?

  6. Whats really going on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    They are really working on the i-something name.

  7. now i'm curious... by jeffy124 · · Score: 3, Funny

    what will become CmdrTaco's new reason to not use a macintosh?

    --
    The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
  8. In other news by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Funny

    Slashdot gets sued for giving out trade secrets. Apple demands to know who leaked this information, which would have revolutionized the computer world as we know it.

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    1. Re:In other news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny


      Microsoft, being the copying thieves that they are, will jump all over this and release their OWN two-button mouse soon. Just you watch. They stole every other good idea from Apple (well, except for security and stability, which they still have not stolen from anybody yet).


      Those bastards at Micro$oft even used time travel to release their two button mouse in the past.

      Just one more proof that they are using their monopoly position to alter history.

  9. Let me guess... by andy55 · · Score: 2, Funny


    ...and let me guess...it's being unveiled on April 1st?

  10. Next up.. by the_skywise · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft innovates the 1-Button mouse as a whole new line of efficiency.

    Bill Gates says: "One mouse button ought to be enough for anybody."

  11. Nah, "To button" and "Fro button" by PornMaster · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Back button" is in common usage already. If they call them "To Button" and "Fro Button", they can apply for trademarks.

  12. But I only have one finger... by DreadfulGrape · · Score: 2, Funny


    ... you insensitive clod.

    --
    sig has been sent away for a few small repairs...
  13. Re:What?!? by MyLongNickName · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a shower:)

    Is it Saturday night already?!

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  14. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  15. I'd second that, and add another ... by twilight30 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Anyone look at the suggested retail prices for these?


    Apple has just recently reduced the price of its wired mouse to $29 and its wireless optical mouse to $59. The two-button wireless optical mouse would likely debut at the $69 price point once reserved for the company's current wireless mouse.

    "Jaws will drop," said one insider.


    Now, I know what the Mac fans will say: 'Plenty of people spend far more than that on gaming sticks and PC peripherals,' etc, etc.

    But why can't they make the mice cheaper? I had to pop out a few months ago to buy an Apple mouse for a client here in London. Not knowing any better, and needing the thing immediately for the client's OS X rack, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the prices for bog-standard and other Mac mice at Micro Anvika.

    In the end I found a busted old iMac with a working hockey puck and just lifted that.

    'Jaws will drop,' indeed.

    --
    ========================================
    Death will come, and will have your eyes
    -- Pavese
  16. one step at a TIME! by hsmith · · Score: 5, Funny

    jeez! you can't throw it all at a user a once! the only way is to scale out those big features incrimentally.

  17. Meanwhile... by nacturation · · Score: 1, Funny

    Apple continues its innovative streak with the two-ended stylus. 99% of PDA users on slashdot have mocked the simplistic one "button" stylus for years and welcome Apple's innovation. A small permanent neodymium magnet embedded into each end of the stylus provides a different polarity which the PDA senses and treats as either a regular click or a secondary click.

    --
    Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  18. Re:Mac Users will now need by elecngnr · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hmmmm, can't use my middle finger. I need to direct it to the M$ users when they come to ask me to help them fix their buggy, virus loaded P.[iece of] C.[rap]

    --
    Having done so much with so little for so long, I now can do anything with nothing at all.
  19. Re:Buttons? Meh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cursor? Luxury! In my days, we had to *type* when we wanted to do something. And we where grateful.

    wait a minute....

  20. Re:BSOD? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please. Comparing the BSoD to an OS X grey screen of death is just wrong. When a Mac crashes, the screen fades to grey, and a translucent box appears telling you (in four languages, no less) that you need to restart your computer. The BSoD has far less class and style...

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  21. This terrible. by Cookie_Monster_Troll · · Score: 1, Funny

    Me no like this idea. Me like one-button hockey-puck mouse because it shaped like COOKIE!!!!

    --
    dum de dum de dum de dum de dum ...
  22. Re:Two button mouse my... by CapnGib · · Score: 5, Funny
    Whoa whoa whoa slow down Tex. One button at a time.

    Let the mouse button wars begin!!

    25 years later...

    mac OS XX user: "WOW the new Apple Bluetooth mouse has 3 buttons and a scroll wheel"

    Windows Longwhore SP4 user: "Lame, my MS Intellimouse has 16 buttons, 2 pressure-sensitive-tilt-slide-rotate-scroll wheels, 2 lasers, a 3-axis fiber optic ring gyroscope with GPS tracking, an inertial-charging battery system and 2-parameter biometric analyser to combat privacy, I mean piracy"

    --
    Beauty is truly in the eye of the tiger
  23. Re:Buttons? Meh. by galdur · · Score: 1, Funny

    Type? Hah, back in my days, we had to wake up at the crack of dawn, punch cards to get things done, and we didn't even have a screen!

  24. Re:Buttons? Meh. by ThePlague · · Score: 0, Funny

    Type?!? You were a spoiled child. We had to make punchcards with a dull butter knife.

  25. Re:Two button mouse my... by kgarcia · · Score: 2, Funny

    What would really be gained by simply adding a second button?

    They will be compatible with 1990 era PC's

    [/rimshot]

  26. Re:Give me a Scroll Wheel by tgv · · Score: 2, Funny
    it was good enough for everything... except reading long pages.

    You're not supposed to wear them as glasses. You should stick to your old glasses or contact lenses and use the mouse for navigating the document.
  27. Sigh by Klar · · Score: 4, Funny

    I feel better about myself when I read comments like this..

  28. When CmdrTaco Talks About Innovation by jack_csk · · Score: 2, Funny

    Does he mean the term as used by Microsoft?
    I don't even know how that can make a news. I could always plug in my 2-button USB mouse into a Mac and the mouse would work.

  29. I can see it now... by SammysIsland · · Score: 2, Funny

    Customize your Apple...

    Mouse
    O - One button
    O - Two buttons [Add $200]

  30. Re:BSOD? by Unkle · · Score: 3, Funny
    The BSoD has far less class and style...

    So true. I particularly loved, back in the 9x days, how--after the computer crashes and forces you to restart--you are slapped on the wrist for shutting down the computer wrong. This was especially frustrating while working on a program or paper for class...

    --
    Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.
  31. Re:MOD UP! by Matt+the+Hat · · Score: 5, Funny

    I actually asked a girl at a club how she would rate me on a scale of 3 to 18. She said 17 so I pulled out a 20 sider and rolled. Then I said I passed my charisma check so you have to dance with me. It actually worked! That's what happens when you start the night with drinking and D&D before going to the club.

  32. Re:Insanely Insane Apple Design Decisions by 123abc987 · · Score: 3, Funny

    When I throw things into the trash can in my kitchen, it doesn't magically jump out the side of my house.

  33. Re:MOD UP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    someone has to say it.....

    That is just sad, truly sad.
    1.) that you would make the comment
    2.) that you would make it to a girl
    3.) that you would have a D20 with you in a club
    4.) that you would think this would work
    5.) that this actually did

  34. Re:MOD UP! by Marvelicious · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did her moustache tickle?

    --
    Send whiskey and fresh horses!
  35. Re:Insanely Insane Apple Design Decisions by Admiral+Ackbar+8 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or you could just right-click

    Therein lies the rub for a one button mouse...

  36. Re:Two button mouse my... by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 3, Funny

    OS XX is okay, but I'm really waiting for OS XXX. It will have much better plug and play support than we have today.

    --
    -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
  37. The power button... by xRelisH · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember on some of the older PowerPC's in the computer lab back when I was in elementary school, the power button was right where you'd think the floppy eject button was.

    I don't think I can count on one hand how many times people have switched off their PC's when trying to eject a floppy!

  38. Re:MOD UP! by Anonymous+Custard · · Score: 2, Funny

    How long until the DM had your character wake up from that dream?

  39. Re:MOD UP! by The+Archon+V2.0 · · Score: 4, Funny
    I actually asked a girl at a club how she would rate me on a scale of 3 to 18. She said 17 so I pulled out a 20 sider and rolled. Then I said I passed my charisma check so you have to dance with me. It actually worked!

    Dear Penthouse^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Slashdot Forum....

    That's what happens when you start the night with drinking and D&D before going to the club.

    Yep. You played all the D&D, and she did all the drinking.

    (Just funnin' ya. But if you packed a d20 specifically for this, it means you had put way too much thought behind this idea.:)

  40. Now what will the trolls say??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    First Apple shuts up that "Apple laptops unfit for UNIX users" snapperhead by putting USB-based keyboards in the January 2005 PowerBooks.

    Then they got rid of the "Macs are too expensive" crowd by releasing the Mac mini.

    Now they're working on a two-button mouse?

    What will the Wintrolls have left to whine about?

  41. 2 Buttons = Fat People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hi,
    two buttons are bad for your health:

    1 Button = 1 hand on keyboard + 1 hand on mouse (for alt and control key use)

    2 buttons = 1 hand on mouse + one hand to insert pies/cakes into mouth

    Therefore two buttons = unhealthier computer use due to sudden uptake of pie/cake :-)

  42. Your Life. In a small, plastic case. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I know this will bring the thunder down on me, but it's too funny.

    http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/images/iProduct.gif

    I'm also sure I'm not the first to post this link.

  43. Re:MOD UP! by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Funny

    "I actually asked a girl at a club how she would rate me on a scale of 3 to 18. She said 17 so I pulled out a 20 sider and rolled. Then I said I passed my charisma check so you have to dance with me. It actually worked! That's what happens when you start the night with drinking and D&D before going to the club."

    Heh. Apple considers a 2-button mouse but the real discussion going on here is about Dungeons and Dating. *Sigh* Nerds are going the way of the dodo.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  44. How about the 104-button mouse? by Esion+Modnar · · Score: 3, Funny

    Eliminate the keyboard.

    --

    They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
  45. Re:Women... by Gi77+B4t35 · · Score: 0, Funny
    reasons i have not gone on 2nd dates with people that only nerds will understand
    I wouldn't even go on a first date with someone that only nerds would understand.
  46. Re:Two button mouse my... by Steve+Cowan · · Score: 5, Funny
    OS XX is okay, but I'm really waiting for OS XXX. It will have much better plug and play support than we have today.
    Not to mention Exposé Extreme!
  47. Re:MOD UP! by DigiShaman · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thank you...for making me sputter coffee all over my cubical desk.

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  48. Since when... by emotionus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Since when did this become "The Onion" ?

  49. Re:Insanely Insane Apple Design Decisions by Barlo_Mung_42 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Or you could just right-click on the drive itself and tell it to eject."

    Good thing apple is putting out a two button mouse.

  50. Microsoft Responds... by levitater · · Score: 2, Funny

    In other news, Apple also announced a future mouse using six buttons. Steve Jobs was quoted a saying, "We want to be ahead of the curve, since we screwed up last time and waited 20 years before catching up with other 2-button mice. Besides, we want to anticipate demand when humans grow an extra finger approximately half a million years from now.."

    Microsoft has already responded by announcing a 10-button mouse, though speculation is that it will be released too late, when humans no longer require limbs and already have started using brain waves to control the world.

  51. Re:MOD UP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You don't carry a d20 everywhere you go?

  52. Re:MOD UP! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Slowly being killed off by the Dutch. Watch your back.

  53. Re:MOD UP! by easter1916 · · Score: 3, Funny

    God that desk must be uncomfortable. Do your knees keep banging into the sides?

  54. What mouse? by bgspence · · Score: 2, Funny

    I haven't used a mouse in years.
    Look around you. Laptops are everywhere.
    A mouse on a laptop is like a fish with a yo-yo.

  55. Maybe they'll improve their touchpad too by mmuskratt · · Score: 2, Funny

    You know, like tapping the touchpad for selection and double clicking...

    The single button on macs is so stupid, I can't stand it. Such beautiful machines too...

    --
    man rtfm