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Review of Apple's "Mighty Mouse"
hanser writes "Ars Technica is running an in-depth review of the new Apple "Mighty Mouse." From the review: "As it turns out, Apple blew the description of its "aural feedback" and "touch sensitivity" out of proportion and led most of us to believe that 1) there was some sort of speaker built into the mouse with synthetic mouse sounds coming out of it, and 2) the shell might be solid-state touch-sensitive like our beloved iPod wheels.""
It's all standard marketing language. What are the chances that a company could ever possibly do something like that? The mere thought sends shivers down my spine!
Seriously though, what did you expect? Apple will wise up and drop the price on this thing by October, and hopefully have a Bluetooth version by then too. Apple claims to be a big supporter of Bluetooth with decent support in the OS, but this overpriced rodent does nothing to prove it.
I'm a fanboy, but I'll call a spade a spade. And this thing is a really overpriced spade.
But the thought that a company could possibly overstate the capabilities and features of a product! Holy shit they totally blew it out of proportion! It's actually a much smaller proportion than they claimed it is!
I feel so violated!
Slashdot: 24 hours behind every other site or your money back!
I'm still acclimatizing to x86, next you'll be telling me that all macs will ship with windows.
Nothing sucks like a Vax, nothing blows like a PowerMac G4
Anyone found what the resolution of the sensor is on this thing? I've looked everywhere and no one seems to know...
Their other mice have bluetooth, and I don't want to replace my bluetooth mouse with a wired one, which is 50$, when theres a possibility of a bluetooth one coming out soon . (I want one sooooooooooo bad...)
Apple, possibly the most innovative computer company on the planet. Yet, the multi-buttoned mouse is 10 years too late and its not even wireless. Whats up with that?
Another review at DetroitMac: http://detroitmac.com/index.php?content=mightymous e
For my initial impressions about this mouse, check out my LiveJournal post discussing it here. In short, I rather like the mouse, although since I was using it in a near-silent house last night, I noticed that it makes a sort of squeaking sound sometimes. I think this is plastic rubbing in it somewhere...
Way back in the System 7 days I had a Kensington Thinking Mouse (4 buttons) connected to my Mac via AppleDesktopBus. The additional 3 buttons were programmed through a control panel installed along with the Kensington drivers.
In the Mac OS 8 days I had a two button mouse, Mac OS 8 had full and proper support for contextual menus (right-click or control-click, they do the same thing).
So did Mac OS 9...
So does Mac OS X...
During the public beta of Mac OS X, I was able to plug in a Microsoft Optical Scroll Mouse and use both the right button and the scroll wheel without having to do any installation or configuration. Ditto for Logitch mice. This worked just as well with Mac OS X 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, and now with 10.4.
Also, I forgot to mention that the mouse very much does have a speaker built into it, but the only sound I've heard it make is a clicking as you spin the scroll ball. It's almost like the iPod scrolling sound, but a lot quieter. It's impossible to hear in a normal, noisy office, and in a quiet room it's easy to mistake it for the standard ratcheting sound made by the wheel in almost all other scrolling-type mice. The ARS Technica article seems to have overlooked or simply not noticed this.
You have to give the folks in Apple's marketing department a lot of credit. They do a fantastic job of releasing "good" hardware and capturing the attention of the mainstream. Springing products on the market in their secretive fashion creates the effect a previous poster pointed out where we suddenly have 1400 comments in slashdot about the post.
I haven't used one of these mice, nor have I even seen one. But the fact is, Apple has generated a ton of response for a simple $50 peripheral. When any other company releases a mouse, we might hear about it but likely not. This thing has everyone talking.
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If the author of this review had even bothered to read the information on the Apple website, he would have found that there are no sounds associated with the mouse.
Then what, pray tell, is the meaning behind this?
Now Hear This
Mighty Mouse even sounds as good as it feels. The audio feedback built into Mighty Mouse provides an aural sensation that responds to your movements. When you scroll or click, Mighty Mouse produces subtle sound effects based on your actions.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
The "innovative" virtual button design is great for letting people use it as a single-button or multi-button mouse, but the consequence is that it doesn't do everything a normal multi-button mouse can do. Namely, it can't click both the left and right button at the same time, and register them as a (left+right) click. Instead, (according to the review) it just gets registered as a left click. Additionally, people who rest their fingers on the mouse buttons are going to be annoyed, because they have to lift their index finger in order to right-click.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
If the author of this review had even bothered to read the information on the Apple website, he would have found that there are no sounds associated with the mouse.
From the Apple website: "Mighty Mouse even sounds as good as it feels. The audio feedback built into Mighty Mouse provides an aural sensation that responds to your movements."
It is also obvious by simply looking at the mouse that it is not "solid-state touch-sensitive like our beloved iPod wheels."
From the Apple website: "Thanks to a smooth top shell with touch-sensitive technology beneath, Mighty Mouse allows you to right click without a right button. Capacitive sensors under Mighty Mouse's seamless top shell detect where your fingers are and predict your clicking intentions."
Also, one of the small features I love about Macintosh is the ability to plug your mouse into the keyboard, therefore getting rid of the need for a long mouse cord. Sounds like a guy who doesn't work on a Mac very often.
Um, what's your point? He didn't say this was a problem, he just noted it as one of the features of the mouse and that this was typical of Apple mice.
Sheesh.
Well, I'd rather smoke weed than get up in the morning, but even I want a Mac.
They are different and cool.
"I used to have that really cool,funny sig
OK, it's January 2005 and you've been appointed CEO of Apple. Apple is still selling computers with 1 button mice even though they have supported multiple buttons in the OS since Mac OS 8 (and via third party drivers since System 6). To make matters worse, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Logic, and Shake all work best with three mouse buttons!
So, CEO, what do you do?
A) Appologize to the public on national TV, shutdown and liquidate the company.
B) Keep selling only one-button mice forever.
C) Replace the Apple one-button mouse with a Microsoft Optical Scroll Mouse.
D) Replace the Apple one-button mouse with a Logitch MX series mouse.
E) Sell an over-engineered $49 three button + 2D scroll mouse (MightyMouse).
F) Go for simplicty and sell a $29 two button + 1D scroll wheel mouse (the kind you can buy online for $3.99).
G) ______type_your_own_solution_here______
When all is said and done, all of the the Apple PR on the Mighty Mouse product page is a bit much.
... and apparently he found no surprises.
He did at least read part of the site...
Dissolve... Resolve... Evolve...
http://detroitmac.com/index.php?content=mightymou
"Audio Feedback:
Apple points out on their website that the mouse features a built in speaker to provide audio feedback. This speaker is used when using the scroll ball and the side button. The click noise for the side buttons is perfect. Not too loud, yet not too quite. The scrollball on the other hand is too loud for my liking. It makes a click noise similar to a typical scroll wheel, but it clicked too much. The mouse preference pane does not allow you to adjust the volume or mute this feature. I never thought I would say this, but can we get a volume control for our mice?!?
"
blakespot
-- Heisenberg may have slept here.
iPod Hacks.com
you mean.. just like how their monitors list only Apple computers as 'compatible'? It'll probably work in linux. If not, then it's a driver issue because of the fact that it's not a regular mouse (from what I can tell).
(bridging from the original item yesterday that had people in spasms proclaiming how bad it would be when they actually used it - because apparently according to them Apple must have designed, built, manufactured, whipped and sold this without trying to use it...)
It acts like a typical Apple mouse for feel and clicking, it is tactile and the right/left thing is not at all like a track/tap pad. It's like having two buttons. The center button takes some getting used to to just move it and not click it, the squeeze buttons are cool, dunno what I'd assign to them yet.
The local Apple store sold out of the 12 they got immediately.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
BT/radio mice require batteries, though. And you don't want your mouse to run out of charge when gaming online or when working on a crunch.
99% of optical mice use the HP/Aglient sensors, in fact they just recently announced having shipped 400 Million of those bad boys!
The sensors come in several flavors (mini, low power for cordless, high resolution, etc) but they basiclly boil down to four categories:
400 DPI - the very first batch of optical mice
800 DPI - second generation of optical mice (most popular)
1600 DPI - "high performance" models (expensive gamer mice)
Laser - newest generation (currently used in the Logitech MX 1000 at 800 DPI)
Tour just about any graphic design studio or video shop and you'll find that most of of the Mac users have third party mice with all sorts of funky ergonomic shapes and button configurations. Just because Apple ships a mouse with the PowerMac G5, iMac, and eMac doesn't mean you're forced to use it. Even a $1.99 USB mouse from OfficeMax will work just fine.
except for the cool scroll wheel that feels/acts as a track-ball, this is a normal 4 button mouse.
oh well, so much for 1 button is better argument.
You can't handle the truth.
Sorry to admit this in public, but... I... have sweaty palms. OK I said it. Now these white mice are all very well and good for normal people but to me they are like an advertisement to that fact. I have a G5 and the mouse that came with that is constantly filthy.
The other problem I have is with this scroll wheel. I love the concept. 360 degree scrolling is a great idea, but didn't we get rid of balls from mice for a good reason? I mean, how many time a week will it be necessary to clean the scroll ball... if indeed you can? Its not really an issue with scroll wheels because you are directly manipulating the wheel, but on ball mice you were relying on the friction between ball and wheel - which dirt and grime gummed up.
Did the clever bods at Apple think about this in advance and use one of those fancy optical balls?
The other issue is the short cable. My G5 has bluetooth. Apple's bluetooth keyboard is a delight, but it, obviously, doesn't come with a USB hub built in. So where am I supposed to plug the mighty mouse in? If the the cable on the traditional Apple mouse is anything to go by its not long enough to be useful if connected to the rear of the G5. So will I be forced to use a bulky extension cable on a premium mouse - should I decide to buy one?
Scared of flying, pointy things snce 1979!
There are no "new concepts" here, merely a different implementation of (long-) existing concepts.
Some of us paid money for this shit
Why?
That's why Apple invented the battery meter, and spare rechargable batteries. *Innovation!*
Hehe, and gaming, on a mac? (Although I guess the mouse is Windows compatible, it would just look out of place with a Dell keyboard..)
I've recently switched to using OS X, and it'd be nice if Apple were to add an optional multi-button functionality to its laptops (beyond [ctrl][click], which requires two hands to be done comfortably). This program looks like a work-around, though I haven't tried it yet.
Personally, I never understood the big deal about one vs two buttons on the Mac. Apple has supported two buttons via any cheap 3rd party mouse for some time. While my 3-year-old has no problem using a two button mouse, my father in-law has never grasped the concept. I'm a sysadmin and some of the users I support get that deer-in-the-headlights look when I tell them to right-click (these are the same users that don't understand directory hierarchy... but thanks to things like Spotlight, they wont need me to find their files anymore).
So IMHO the one-button mouse is not as stupid and out-dated an idea as some seem to think. I wont be buying a Mighty Mouse, but Apple has provided an elegant solution that allows both power users and novices to work of the same computer.
So basically when MacMarketing says its "touch sensitive technology", they meen that springs make contact when you push the mouse down. Quite like every other mouse ever made. I guess they make it sound all fancy and new to justify the 50$ price tag.
"You superiour intellect is no match for our puny weapons" - The Simpsons
I thought Apple had finally swallowed their pride and submitted to making a 2 button mouse, something they _seemed_ to be against.
o sio.htm
w are/NextMouseAdb.jpg
From what I understand, Steve Jobs calls the shots at Apple and has the final say on everything. I also understand that this was the way things were at his previous company, NeXT. When he set out to create the "perfect" computer (the NeXT Cube and NeXTstation) his mice had two buttons
The mouse can be seen here:
http://www.allaboutapple.com/personali/alberto_cr
The later, puck-with-buttons mouse can be seen here:
http://www.simski.org/next/hardware/pictures/hard
The earlier, rectangular, mouse was my favorite. Both it and the keyboard were surrounded by a rubber bumper to minimize any sound that could be made if an office worker were to bump their mouse into their keyboard.
Having a short cord makes sense if you plug it into the keyboard. I think thats what Apple intended. Then the short cord is a bonus since you don't have a bunch of extra cord to deal with.
a) a lot of us here should really get a life if we get all worked up about a mouse
It's the little things in life that keep us going by amusing us.
I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
A couple of years ago, I bought my wife a wireless Microsoft Intellimouse for her Mac (OS 9, since upgraded to X).
Prior to her getting that on the computer, I (windows user) would go crazy with the lack of 'right-click' whenever I used her computer. She had no idea what I was talking about whenever I would start cursing and cussing, complaining, "god-damn stupid one-button mouse! I don't want to hold down the ctrl key!" (She was still using the hockey puck at the time)
Now it is great to hear her do the same thing whenever she gets on someone elses Mac. She starts complaining about how stupid it is, and where the heck is the right-button, who thought of this stupid system, and why don't they add another button...etc. etc..
And all the while, the other person (who owns the computer with a single button mouse) sits there wondering what the heck my wife is talking about.
Long story short...why the hell did it take them so long?
No reason to lie.
No wireless. Fewer buttons than a Logitech. Lame.
Damn!! 1400??? Well, then im not that amazed it has a secuel, like in movies... if they sell a lot of tickets, you already know a secuel is coming!
If the first news about it was such a success, then this shouldnt surprise you. About your options, i take the two.
no sig
Shit, I knew I'd missed my main calling in life. All this time I thought I was supposed to be a software engineer, but I'm really supposed to be a hairdresser! ;)
Did you guys read the caption for the first picture? That is absolutely awful.
I just tried one. It feels and sounds as if it has two very conventional clicky switches and as far as left/right buttons go it feels completely natural. It has a flexible "unibody" shell that lets you press one switch and not the other. Unfortunately it also gives the mouse a flimsy feel. A $20 Microsoft or Logitech mouse feels better, and can't these be configured so that all buttons are left clicks? The scoll wheel is something you have to try, some will like it, some will hate it. It seems to take more strokes than a conventional wheel. It may have a rougher granularity but I'm not sure, I need more time on it. As far as aesthetics goes it can't be beat, it definitely matches the keyboard. This mouse is something you have to try before you buy.
I'll stick to my Logitech MX518 thank you very much.
I just ordered the mouse through www.apple.nl for EUR 55 (= $67). Including regular shipping and taxes they charge E64.40 (= $79). Why does Apple insist on charging EU customers so much above the US price of $45? If I buy a new G5 I can pay for a plane ticket AMS - JFK with the price difference.
This sig is just as redundant as the rest of this posting
..for fucks sake. Dear Apple, gets some balls. overpriced too.
You should feel honored that, while it seems that mod points are rare these days, someone felt it appropriate to bestow them on you.
Ditto! The review this article pointed to was well worth the read, and without Slashdot drawing my attention to it I probably would have missed it.
Not a dupe, as this was well justified.
So you're saying that people who haven't been conditioned by right-click context menus are perfectly content with their computer and how to use it, until they become exposed to a Windows (or Windows-like) interface where they must learn to rely on right clicking?
And you're saying it's great to hear your wife complain bitterly about something when she used to blithely use the computer with no idea that "something was wrong"?
Long story short, I think the other person wondering what the heck your wife is talking about is doing fine.
BTW, I just switched to OS X and got a Kensington scroll mouse instead of the Mac mouse, but I'm trying to wean myself from excessive right clicking.
Like any interface product -- keyboard, joystick, tablet, etc. -- a mouse is one of those products you should always try before you buy. It's a primary interface to your computer, so unless you're sure you're going to be comfortable with it for the long run then don't even bother with it.
I for one will definitely try this out in the store before I decide whether to purchase it. The reviews are nice to read, but nothing substitutes the hands-on experience.
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
From article: Critics have long teased Apple users for their distinct lack of mouse buttons, and Apple users are constantly attempting to either defend themselves by saying "nuh uh, I bought a separate multi-button mouse!" or by taking the trickier route of attempting to explain the HCI theories behind one-button mice, all the while secretly resenting Apple for putting us into that position.
Ya know...you don't *have* to blindly defend Apple. You could actually form your own actual opinion. Don't be a propagandist or a company tool.
Did the mac dissolve into a pool of molten plastic when you connected the MS mouse to it?
"It is a good divine that follows his own instructions" - Portia, The Merchant of Venice
I find Apple mice to be a tad too small. Perfect size for me would be Logitech Mouseman Wheel. Though right now I am using a wireless Microsoft optical mouse.
I wonder why they don't think of people with big hands.
No chance. Why would they bother? Its only a mouse. I'm sure there are no deep dark Apple secrets buried in there.
The simple truth is that the Linux desktop is not Apples target market cos it doesn't have the volume at the moment. Same reason why they don't bother porting QuickTime to Linux. Windows does have the volume, so its worth while writing drivers for.
Besides, if they released drivers for Linux they'd only be depriving some poor kernel hacker out of the fun of writing one.
Oh my god! Steve Jobs is copying Bill Gates. The end is near.
Yes, absolutely. They are just working away happily, with no idea what they are missing.
Just like we all did before the Internet (what would we need that for?)
Or, just how we did before electric lights. (time to go to bed!)
Just like we did before automobiles (I've got a fast horse!)
Yes, you could easily argue that people can be just fine, dandy, and happy when don't even know what they are missing.
But once you have it, it is very hard to go back.
No reason to lie.
that the one thing MS does well is hardware? I own a Microsoft optical mouse, trackball, and two Microsoft split-key keyboards...
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
Actually, her name really is Jacqui and she has a B.S. from Purdue University. She could also totally kick your ass.
'nuff said !
It's not a complaint, just a comment. Many people on Ars and the internet in general threw a fit when it came out that it did not have Bluetooth, so it was merely an acknowledgement of that.
Do you really think the invention of a second mouse button is up there with the automobile or the lightbulb?
Please, it's a mouse button. If a person is comfortable with a single mouse button, let them use it. Just like if someone prefers a different layout to their keyboard instead of qwerty.
1. A sex toy 2. Something to hang in your toilet tank 3. An implantable medical device 4...
1. The mouse never billed itself as being bluetooth. Also, many existing macs don't have bluetooth builtin. Hardly any desktops do, and the ibooks only recently came with bluetooth as a factory default. So if it were bluetooth, a large percentage of users would be left out.
2. Who wants an excessively long cord that adds to that rats nest of wires under your desk? The short cord is ideal for Mac users because the mac keyboard has usb inputs to accept your mouse.
Two things:
1) you put the misconceptions in the article instead of the facts. What, do you actually want us to RTFA?
2) The design makes it impossible to hit the left and right mouse buttons at the same time. So much for using it for WoW.
Just go back and read the /. thread from yesterday. There were plenty of people who fully understood what this mouse was about. There just were a larger number of people whose kneejerk reaction was completely unwarrented. "THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING" Get a grip. It's a mouse. It's not a bloody revolution. It's not the end days. It's a freakin' mouse. People read WAY too much into the descriptions that wasn't there. They wanted to believe crazy things and...TADA...they were wrong. It's not Apple's fault.
No, that was editors/admins modding down all metadiscussions. They do that all the time, possibly hoping that people won't see people complaining about what's wrong with Slashdot (I enjoy browsing the site, but it doesn't remove the fact that there are issues).
But this time, they shot themselves in the foot, because it's VERY obvious there's a problem, and everyone will need to browse at very low settings to see any comments at all, and thus see these meta-comments and even notice the admin moderation done to them, especially considering the fact that no one else is getting mod points right now.
Now, let's watch my karma go down - who cares.
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
Why stop there? How about all those other milestones in human innovation, such as the USB-powered personal massager? How did we every live without that one?
On Apple's homepage all I could find was the following:
They say nothing about a speaker..
Georg
As far as I can tell *most* of the actual mouse bits (left and right click, tracking) are using standard USB mouse drivers. The trackball and squeezy I'm not sure about.
How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
Hell has frozen over.
Pigs are flying south for the winter.
Osama has turned himself in to vegas county sheriff, dressed in drag.
and in other news: Apple has a two button mouse.
Next up: Apple to release a PDA.
-if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
I like the idea of having a "zero-button" mouse. The wheel has enough tactile feedback to make it comfortable. However, I found that the wheel was a little bit too small, and you have to put some pressure on it to make it register the roll. If you have slightly sweaty hands, like mine usually are, you'll find yourself touching the surface of the mouse while you're trying to scroll, which causes enough friction to make the scrolling a little jumpy and uncomfortable. The "pinch" buttons are pretty hard to press, but I suppose I might get used to them. The aural feedback for the scroll wheel and the pinch buttons is nicely implemented. It isn't annoying at all, and I think it is helpful too.
Another annoying thing is that you cannot right click unless you have your finger off the left side, which takes some getting used to.
All in all, I'm not totally happy with the Mighty Mouse but I still like it enough to keep it.
This is an okay-looking little mouse with a couple of little design touches. The only real novelties are the "360 degree" scrolling method, the body covering the buttons idea, and the fact that it's Apple and they've conceded that they're going to provide a multi-button peripheral. The latter of which, to trolls who've been living under a rock, is apparently irresistable.
Here's guessing that Apple will spend the next year or so springing little designs like this on the market, in the hope that it'll help them bridge the time until the Intel chips come in. A whole lot of Airport Express type products, with relatively low-key upgrades to the G4 and G5 lineups taking a back seat. Some new iPod flavors.
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
requires a 3 button mouse...
-- it's ridiculous how many people misspell ridiculous... (damn, damn, damn...)
No- it was an example of ignorance.
If we are ignorant of something, of course we don't miss it.
But once we experience it, then we want it.
No reason to lie.
Well, he's a she, for starters. Did you even look at the review? ;)
As for the short cable:
1) Many Mac users don't have Apple keyboards with USB hubs in them
2) iBook users have their USB ports on the left. Awkward for right handed users
No FT, No Comment
Actually, her name really is Jacqui and she has a B.S. from Purdue University. She could also totally kick your ass.
;-)
;-)
Surely you mean she could totally kick my ars(e). Geddit... ass, arse, ars.... ah, never mind
Anyhow, if you reread the post, you'll see that it's making fun of the careers officer's inability to see past a supersmart girl's name, not poor Jacqui herself (as well as being a cheap piece of humour at the expense of someone's name (-_^)V ) I thought it was pretty obviously silly myself, but... oh well.
I mean, I wasn't seriously suggesting that your writer should seriously *have* to be a hairdresser.
With a name like that, she'd be equally cut out for life as a beautician as well...
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
When I looked at the Mighty Mouse web page yesterday, I saw something about this. So after reading the Ars article, I went over there to check-- and the reference is gone. It looks like somebody made a mistake.
My Photography - http://ian-x.com
The Deathlings (comic) - http://thedeathlings.com
From TFA page 2: Aural feedback As it turns out, Apple blew the description of its "aural feedback" and "touch sensitivity" out of proportion and led most of us to believe that 1) there was some sort of speaker built into the mouse with synthetic mouse sounds coming out of it, and 2) the shell might be solid-state touch-sensitive like our beloved iPod wheels. That is overly exaggerated--I even stuck my ear up to the mouse while using it for several minutes to be sure (and received a few strange glances in the process).
Like the Apple Pro Mouse, the upper shell depresses when you press on it in various places with your finger(s), and the clicking noise is an actual, real clicking noise that is not any different from the clicking noise I'm getting right now with the Microsoft Intellimouse on my Windows XP box. Frankly, I was almost a little disappointed that I would not be able to make fun of these "features!"
Hmm...I think of myself reasonably as "most people" and I have issue with the Ars review.
(1) Apple doesn't say (right column "Now Hear This") there's a speaker and quite honestly, It doesn't make sense that there would be. Mice have provided great clicking feedback for a decade without the use of a speaker.
(2) Who really thought the whole mouse was made out of solid state iPod Wheel magic plastic? It would be a waste of materials driving up costs for no reason at all (not even AAPL profits!)
So perhaps Ars is out of it.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
I did, when it became too goofy to do KVM switching with a bluetooth mouse. The usb/bluetooth adapter in the KVM doesn't seem to work real well. I found that bluetooth just didn't perform in this setup as well as a wired mouse so I switched back. On the other hand I do love my bluetooth mouse with my powerbook (the BT-500).
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Still. Cheng, even with all these quotes, seems to have overread the PR and misplaced her assumption about the speaker in the mouse.
Pelé!
The second mouse button wasn't "invented". The first mouse ever had three buttons. Only Apple thought they'd have to dumb it down to one because they thought their users couldn't count farther or whatever. It's not "different", it's just stupid. Everyone with half a brain can cope with at least two mouse buttons.
Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?
Ok, so I had a biiiig problem with the regular Mac Mouse. The reason is because a very common activity with a mouse is to drag and drop. Specifically on Macintosh operating systems, you have to click on the menu, hold the click and drag the mouse down through the items till you get to the one you want. THIS IS FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE WITH THEIR MOUSE. I sat there watching a 4 year Mac veteran trying to use the menus with their stupid ass mouse and they missed like every other click. It's designed to fail. Basically, the only way you can scroll all the way down in a long menu is if you pick the mouse up. BUT THE WHOLE FUCKING THING IS A BUTTON. So you have to pinch it by the two stupid ass ridiculously small side things and hope to god you can hold it's weight between your index and pinky for long enough to move it back up your desk so you can continue scrolling back down the menu. WTF^2
So this new "mouse" if that's what you people want to call this abomination, has introduced the world's dumbest feature. The two side things that were your only hope of getting to the bottom of that horrid menu are now BUTTONS. WTF^4?????
So now, not only is the whole damn thing a button but you can't ever pick it up off the fucking desk to drag and drop an appropriate distance. USABILITY? What is wrong with you people?
Check out the Logitech MX 500 for a real mouse.
Let me know if anyone has tried it on OS 10.3. Ars Tech implies it will only work fully on 10.4 with the drivers on the CD, but all the multi-button mice I've used have worked fully out of the box in 10.3. I wonder if this one would as well....
"Even for Slashdot, that was a very obscure reference!" - Anonymous Coward
annoyed, because they have to lift their index finger
Ok, we have DEFINATLY gotten too lazy when lifting a finger has become too much to ask of us.
You can't take the sky from me...
If multibutton mice are so confusiong, the hordes of Mac using grandmas must be dying en masse of heart attack from looking at the keyboard with over a hundred keys, many with utterly confusing labels like "ctrl", "f1" or a picture of a pretzel. For the well being of Mac using grandmas everywhere I propose Apple should not ship keyboards with any of their computers. After all, all the keys are in the on-screen keyboards anyway and pro-users can always choose to buy their own keyboards. This has the additional advantage of forcing developers to write apps without assuming the presence of a keyboard, leading obviously to a much better interface than Windows PCs which often won't even boot without a keyboard.
No BlueTooth, Less Space Than A Nomad. Lame.
All Your Buttons Are Belong To Us.
In South Korea, Only Elderly People Use 1-Button Mice
Sorry, I Need Coffee.
I would have to aggree with part of your statment, end users (people) are really stupid, even the ones who know that they are doing. I would also say that while I use a two button mouse about 75% of the time, I hate how most companies do mice on laptops. Apple's implimintation on the powerbook works very well for me (huge one button mouse). When I need/want a second mouse button, I plug a mouse in. No one can seem to get a two botton mouse that I have liked, one that does not seem to get in the way or work with with left and right handed use.
Hmm, I would play the heretic and say *yes*, it is comparable, in one way or another.
The similarity is this: once you got to know this invention, is it near-impossible to go back without feeling serious hindrance. Not impossible to go back at all, so it's not that life-changing like losing e.g. X-Rays and fridges, but a real PITA to do.
Mobile phones, electrical lighting, cars and multi-button mouses share this property: if you got to know them, it's very disappointing to give them up later.
A mouse may seem like a minor nuisance, but I feel it endlessly annoying nonetheless. As a computer guy, it's my most important tool at work and I would never let my 3-button mouse with a scrollwheel go until you pry it from my cold dead hands. And I've been requesting a 5-button mouse for quite some time now and once I get it, I'll defend it more than some red stapler, I swear.
In short, the maximum credible disaster in my pc-experience would be having to use a one-button mouse to surf with IE5 or lower. It's about as rewarding as wanking with boxing gloves and full body armor on. I don't want to use my keyboard for casual browsing and pressing multiple keys when working with a graphic suite, let alone playing some games.
It may be a design element for Macs, but I seriously doubt it actually improves UI design. Hiding stuff in context menus is possible and screen estate is still valuable unless we all have that 30'' tft. And while all "shifting" could be done with the keyboard, I prefer having the most used pointing "actions" directly accessible on the pointing device. And speaking as an avid gamer, it's a bliss to have all weapon-related stuff on the mouse hand while the movement/posture/communications is done with the keyboard hand.
In short: the fingers on my mouse hand can do so much more than just pushing a plastic shell shell around and pressing one button. Would be a shame to intentionally leave 4 of 5 mousehand fingers unused. I have 5 fingers on every hand, so I might as well use them all.
If you scroll up to the detroit mac review, they mention an option in the plist file that says you can change dominance, so if you click with fingers on both buttons, it will do left or right click, your option.
The big issue with this, is I see no way of being able to hold down the right button and push the left button at certain intervals. Like when playing video games, I have right lick for un and left for shoot. There is no way the mighty mouse can do that, but then again, most hardcore gamers would have a dedicated gaming mouse on their XP box.
Scrollball?
Ew....
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
Your iPod wheel is touch sensative....wow, looks like I might have to get a new version. At least my 5Gig batter fared better than everyone else's.
so what's ArsTechnica talking about with the no speaker business?
Which "no speaker business"? Try reading the actual article, instead of just the part Slashdot quoted out of context. In context, it makes no such claim.
If you can't access the full function of the mouse without the Apple drivers, and the review says there are no MM drivers supplied for XP beyond the basic HID ones from XP itself, then that doesn't make it compatible in my opinion.
Bad enough that it isn't wireless but to remove the features that differentiate it from far cheaper and fully supported competition is just a joke.
One of the things that just struck me is how hard it is going to be for me to give tech support to my parents and their friends now over the phone. I'm constantly saying, "Ok, click that" and hearing "Left click or right click." For some reason, that just doesn't sink in to these people. Now I'm going to have to say, "Click kind of on the left" or "Click kind of on the right" and hope for the best.
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"Sounds like a guy who doesn't work on a Mac very often."
And you're be completely wrong. She (note the "she" part, which you might have picked up on by looking at the name of the author) actually has been using Macs for a good ten years now.
I love your logic, though -- someone doesn't like a feature you like, so they must not be as experienced as you. Riiiiight.
I don't have any problem at all moving back and forth, and in fact don't even notice it. Conditioning, I guess.
"led most of us to believe"
People pointed out that this is just a prettier version of an optical mouse with trackball scroller, and similar to IBM's Scrollpoint mouse.
The notion of hiding multiple mouse buttons under a seamless cover in order to give Mac users the option of using multiple buttons without changing the appearance of a single button mouse has also been proposed multiple times on Slashdot, in particular for Powerbooks.
So, yes, you have another instance in which Apple marketing is a little too glowing and the actual product is just a prettier version of a standard PC product. But, hey, that's not bad: Apple's mouse is nice looking (but, then, it's also three times as expensive as the plain, functionally equivalent alternative).
I would like to know what happens when you plug it into a Windows or Linux box.
A USB mouse should be a USB mouse... but since Apple changed their powerbook trackpads and they no longer work in Linux, I'd be surprised if the mighty mouse works outside of OSX.
no comment
That sounds like my experience getting stuck using Windows boxen after learning shortcuts for my Linux desktop. X11 for *nix supports pasting with the middle button and I get frustrated with the Windows Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V system whenever I have to use it. God forbid I ever have to use a single-button mouse.
Sorry, my karma just ran over your dogma.
Looks like a nice mouse, if a bit over-the-top, though.
(%i1) factor(777353);
(%o1) 777353
I don't have a set of salvaged IBM loud clicker keyboards at home just because I like the *noise* the keys make. I have them because I love the *feel* of it.
And yeah, since there's really a speaker in it, I wonder if it's hackable to make it make other noises. It'd be great to stick an unsuspecting subject with a squeaky mouse. Just imagine someone desperately trying to convince Apple tech support that his optical mouse has developed a mechanical squeaky...
The review said the side buttons didn't work for Windows. I'm guessing that with Linux, you can configure it the same way as all other multi-button mice and get them working (although yes, a lot of the means of getting those buttons to do something can be a pain).
In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.
Well, Mac users have Diablo and humm...
(Of the three people I know to own Macs, only one plays game(s) on it and Diablo is the only one I have ever seen/heard on/from it.)
1) so Apple should optimize their mouse to work with non-Apple keyboards? I HATE long mouse cords. Why the hell would I want an extra two feet of cable getting tangled around stuff when I've got a perfectly good USB port on my keyboard?
2) When I used a corded mouse on my 12" Powerbook, the cable was just long enough to reach around behind the monitor and plug in, leaving me just enough play to operate the mouse comfortably. See above with extra two feet of cable: NOT desireable.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Just putting any Apple related story on Slashdot is guaranteed to turn into a one-button vs many button flamefest guaranteed to get tons of comments.
If anyone mentions anything slightly bad about anything apple they get acused of being a troll and get their life threatened.
If anyone says anything good about them, they get accused of being a Jobs can-do-no-wrong zombie.
Either way, comments will come like a flood. If your ads are paid based on views, its a good money maker.
----- If communism is a system where the government owns business, what do you call a system where business owns govern
The length of the cord on Mac mice wraps perfectly around the back of the iBook and leaves plenty of room to move the mouse around on the right side. It even wraps around the back of my 15" Powerbook with cord to spare. The cord is definitely not too short.
When I used to use a corded logitech mouse on my Powerbook I had to wrap up most of the cord since the thing seemed to be 10 feet long.
Do you own a Mac or are you just spewing?
seSales, Point of Sale software for OS X.
So where does the sound come from without a speaker then?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Notice the trailing end of the previous sentence is the same as the one you quoted.
(Heh...I copied the HTML straight from the page. Interesting that they bother to tag the search terms bold, but then nullify it with CSS.)
By "us" I think you mean "you." Apple's description is entirely clear.
Who cares if it has a speaker or not, as long as it feels natural in use?
That's an 'in-depth' review and we dont see the guts of the thing? Take the darn thing to pieces so the fanboys dont have to. But they will anyway...
Baz
This article taught me one important thing. There are people who actually PREFER a single button mouse. This is totally news to me.
Really, what's the argument for one mouse button over two? I didn't realize there were people out there who were attempting to make that argument; I figured it was something that Apple kind of sheepishly clung to because multiple mouse buttons weren't their idea.
I can't accept two buttons being too confusing as an argument.. I used to work tech support and even the dumbest redneck I talked to knew his left from his right. If you can't figure that much out, I'm afraid using the rest of the computer is going to be pretty hopeless.
I think the most important feature of this new mouse is that it works like a single button mouse in the default configuration.
Last month, my wife was on the phone with her mother providing tech support. I'm not exaggerating when I say that she said "NOT THE RIGHT BUTTON, MOM!" about 20 times. The context menu was coming up, and the selected action (default) was not the one needed.
Her mom is not stupid, but she does hit the wrong button on her mouse. To her, there's no difference -- they both click.
The Mighty Mouse will work fine for people who just want the simple click-n-go interface. Also, since the default configuration is to not have a right button, it forces developers to "keep it simple, stupid".
Power users (e.g. your average Slashdot reader) can benefit from multiple buttons -- and go to the preference panel to enable the additional functionality. Some intermediate level users may even learn about the "power of the right click" by seeing & exploring the preference panel -- good for them, too!
This is what I like about Apple -- creating solutions that work for a wide range of users.
-ch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mouse#Histor y_of_mouse_engineering
Photo of the original mouse. How many buttons?
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Fine and interesting, but I really fail to see why no 24 hours after a story about the new mouse, that generated more than 1400 comments (for a mouse people...), we need the next story about this very mouse.
I think you will find that 1200 of those comments are trolls and Apple zealots getting trolled.
In addition to a lot of people who love Apple, there are a lot of people who love to hate Apple. The mouse has always been one of the most visible things that's "different" about Macs and therefore a hot topic for religious flame-wars.
Personally, I'm perfectly happy mousing in OS X with one button or two. I use scroll buttons if they are there, but on my iBook I'm content to scroll with the keyboard (and love the fact that there's only one mouse button on the trackpad, so I can click by just stabbing blindly with my thumb in the general area of the button.)
I won't buy this mouse because of the lack of bluetooth, but I think it's pretty darn spiffy for anybody who doesn't mind the cord.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
The weird thing about this mouse is the side buttons. My Apple Wireless mouse has the same design (little semicircles of plastic on the side), although obviously they don't do anything on my mouse.
Were those put there as a specific design element that could be used later for this mouse, or was that a total coincidence? I always thought that design was weird.
Free, legal music for iTunes users.
I thought Apple had finally swallowed their pride and submitted to making a 2 button mouse, something they _seemed_ to be against.
Apple was never "against" multi-button mice--the OS has supported them for years. However, Apple has never before shipped a multibutton mouse, firmly believing that a single button was best for beginners, and Macs are nothing if not beginner-friendly. Advanced users could go to Radio Shack and spend the 10 bucks for a multibutton mouse.
What changed their mind? Probably just that they managed to come up with a single design that functions just like a one-button mouse for beginners, but acts like a 3-button mouse for advanced users.
Apparently Taco didn't want to post the ENTIRE part of the section he quoted. From TFA:
The scroll ball has a subtle clicking sound as you roll it, which sounds extremely natural while using the mouse, but if you test it without the mouse being plugged in, you find that the sound is in fact not coming from the mouse's movements itself. Additionally, there is a very faint click (which was difficult to hear in a relatively quiet office environment) associated with the side squeeze buttons that also does not exist when the mouse is unplugged. The initial uproar over the idea of the speaker and synthetic sounds had us all convinced that there would be loud, horrible, and campy mouse sounds being emitted from our mice, but that was absolutely not the case. Frankly, I was almost a little disappointed that I would not be able to make fun of those "features!"
I think they missed one important dot on that diagram.
Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
Mac users aren't smart enough to DIY their own computers, who knew they could buy non-Mac mice? I used to give people more credit, then I did tech support for a few years. If it's not frustratingly dumbed down for me, I assume most people will never figure it out.
" The poor girl uses phrases like "We're concerned for our users"."
;)
Would you mind showing me exactly where that quote comes from? Thanks.
What're you talking about? This mouse is EXACTLY what I've needed for Marathon! Wow, now I can finally play proper... Will it work with System 7/NoUSB?
If right clicking is useful, why would you want to wean yourself from it?
I am of course assuming that you are doing it because it is useful (if not then why).
I don't think I understand your response. Someone found a better (for them) way and doesn't want to revert. They introduced this to another person who had the same response. They are both happier with their new option on their own computer. Why is this bad?
As for the "must learn to rely on right clicking", please tell me, what program (besides the Gimp), in Linux, BSD, Next, Windows, BeOS, Plan9, QNX..... REQUIRES it. None of those OS's require use of the right button, they all do SUPPORT it, so do Macs. Most operating systems will even allow you to use them without a keyboard by default.
----- If communism is a system where the government owns business, what do you call a system where business owns govern
For $41 I can get the Logitech MX1000 laser mouse.
It uses a real laser (as opposed to a red LED and a camera) for tracking, has an ergonomic design, is wireless, has a recharging stand, battery indicator, 8 buttons (left, right, forward, back, "tasks", scroll up, scroll down), and a up/down/left/right tilt wheel.
I use this thing for everything from Photoshop to Counter Strike, and it is BY FAR the best mouse I've ever used, corded or not. Never jumps around. Is incredibly accurate. Extremely comfortable. Battery lasts a very long time. It's just great.
Can somebody tell me why I would want the Apple mouse? Oh... ya... because Apple made it. My bad.
Too bad you can't even spell her name right, dumbass. Or read.
What is humor if not pain tempered by time?
You can easily spend 13k on the top of the line Power Mac if you include the price of displays.
A top of the line power mac well equipped:
4gb mem
single 400gb sata drive
Radeon 9650
23" display
wireless everything
$5,926 before tax and shipping.
I think this was the poster's point, the big time macs still cost big time money, so they could at least include the mighty mouse stock.
"if you got to know them, it's very disappointing to give them up later."
Using a tablet at home and then having to use a decidely stupid mouse at work is definitely disappointing. Why do you people even use the damned things? All they're good for is clicking! Have you ever tried to draw something with a mouse? Just because Xerox invented it doesn't automatically make it good.
"Is this Winkhorst a nova criminal?" "No just a technical sergeant wanted for interrogation."
Only Apple could generate this much hype over a mouse. And Apple doesn't even have to try. Apple just releases a standard marketing press release. "This is our greatest product ever, and you should buy one. If not two." That's standard business. But then, between half the press going gaa-gaa over it, the other half downplaying it and talking about Apple's "troubled" position in the industry, and all the fanboys and zealots arguing about it on sites like this, you'd think Apple had just invented the original mouse. The only way we could have more Slashdot buzz would be if, I dunno, Microsoft announced they had hired Linus Torvalds to create a new generation of Amiga computers to render the FX in the new new Star Wars sequels.
I think ole Jobs must have amplified his Reality Distortion Field so that it surrounds the entire company.
dragonhawk@iname.microsoft.com
I do not like Microsoft. Remove them from my email address.
I've never liked the ergonomics on Apple mice, and this one doesn't look any better than usual. I'll stick with the Perfit Mouse from Contour.
"The debate over one-button versus multibutton mice has become extremely heated at times and has roots going back for almost as long as mice have been around. Proponents for both sides claim that their mice are "easier to use" and promote productivity, although I am not personally aware of any extensive human-computer interface (HCI) studies done on multibutton mice that have come out in their favor." This is BS. I haven't heard any arguments supporting the one-button mouse. It's widely known that the one-button mice are inferior. Nothing against apple; even Mac owners I know dislike the damn things. The person didn't know what they were thinking when they wrote this section. An "extremely heated debate".... hah! "I am not personally aware of any extensive human-computer interface (HCI) studies done on multibutton mice that have come out in their favor." Why would a company waste their money to try to prove something that everyone already beleives? Are you aware of any studies that prove the opposite? Probabyly... because this is a biased article. Still, $50 is too much to pay, especially when mice that do just about all this are going for $15.
at amazon. cheaper than getting it from apple.
Yeah because the existing ones were abducted by aliens overnight, right?
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
A few people still believe in stuff like standing up for good people, even in the face of overwhelming nerdish odds. 8)
Okay, if you want to be pedantic about it. The first commercial mouse had two buttons, belonging to the Xerox Star 8010.
Don't just stand there, get that other dog!
No simultaneous l+r button = no mouse cruising in World of Warcraft, therefore this mouse is useless.
Since, as we all know, a computer's value is directly proportional to its ability to play World of Warcraft.
That is all.
Her mom is not stupid, but she does hit the wrong button on her mouse. To her, there's no difference -- they both click.
Imagine this woman behind the wheel of a car. Her mom is not stupid, but she does hit the wrong pedal on her car. To her, there's no difference -- they both go down.
I understand the simplicity behind a single-button mouse, but I really have to question how the hell people survive daily life if they honestly cannot differentiate between *2* controls. How the hell does she use a 101+ key keyboard? All the keys click.
Can she tell her left and right shoes apart at least?
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
...regarding the speaker and fake noises:
Frankly, I was almost a little disappointed that I would not be able to make fun of those "features!"
Apple Marketing's Halo Plan:
Now that you've got that cool iPod and Mighty Mouse - hey, why don't you take the full package?
The future is in beta
Also, how unintuitive is it to click with your middle finger? THIS IS THE REASON THE RIGHT CLICK IS ON THAT FINGER.
My ring finger falls naturally on the right mouse button, with my middle finger on the scroll wheel. I'd bet you 100 dollars that, at least, 95% of users with mice that have scroll wheels operate them in a similar manner.
Why would any sensible person want a mouse set up so that they could have all the buttons on it immediately accessible without having to reposition their fingers?
Then it sounds like the right click is exactly what you needed, thats the reason for the context menu, so you can do all the most common commands without having to hunt for them.
Don't tell me you have this much trouble "getting it". The context menu itself was what wasn't wanted.
Well, there's your food for trolling.
Editors/admins don't mod all metadiscussions, other slashdot readers (such as me) do. This whole thread has nothing to do with the article, so it should be marked down. I don't come here to listen to people complain - I'm looking for insight.
Go to http://slashdot.org/moderation.shtml and you'll see who these evil moderators truly are; it's just you and me.
It puts the lotion on it's skin, or else it gets the hose again.
I've always found that to be true early in the dating process.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
I am willing to bet that it is just standard USB HID mouse. That means it is already supported in linux, unless Apple decided to put vendor-specific codes / use FEATURE instead of INPUT reports.
What interests me is if they made the squeeze to be a fourth mouse button, or an absolute axis of how hard you are squeezing. It could be interesting if pressure sensitivity reports can actually be read.
But I am not willing to spend $50 for a non-ergonomic mouse with a cord to find out.
badness 10000
No, her mom is likely not stupid, but you have to wonder why she (and so many others) think this way...
For example, why don't these people constantly press the wrong pedal in their automobiles - hit the gas when they want to brake, hit the brakes when they want to accelerate? What is the difference? Two different pedals, one to the left, one to the right, both perform different functions in an automobile. Sounds similar to a mouse, right?
So - what is the difference? Is it a UI issue? Is it a feedback issue? I am thinking here that maybe the mouse buttons need to be different in a very tactile and/or size way. Maybe, make one "bumpy" and the other smooth. Or, make one "feel" differently when it is clicked. Maybe a solenoid feedback "bump" to the button when the action is correct or something?
Here is another idea, something that I think has not been explored at all, or very little, since it was first proposed by Douglas Engelbert back in the 1960's: Have a separate mouse for each hand, with only one button on each mouse. In a way, this is what Apple originally did with their single button mouse, except instead of having separate mouse controllers, the second button was relegated to the keyboard...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
I do tech support for a well-known security company and I can count on both hands and feet (and any other available appendage for that matter) the number of times people have asked me if, by click I mean left or right. I'm constantly having to tell people,
"Unless I say otherwise, assume click means to press the left button down."
And that's the soiled masses of Windows users. I like the approach of the Mighty Mouse. I think I'll wait for it to go to blue tooth and some of the initial design specs to be revised (for one I think the Apple Pro mouse is too small, and same goes for the Mighty Mouse). But the idea of having, by default, the functionality that one expects from a Mac (single button mouse paradigm) with the ability to customize to power user's needs is a masterstroke.
The casing is not flexible. It's a hard shell. Whether you left- or right- click, the action is the same: the whole front of the mouse moves downward. It determines which side you clicked on using touch sensors.
Sony's seamless mouse has a microswitch under each side and a flexible case.
...Apple is taking orders for these new "Mighty Mice", but if you order in bulk, they send them in special cartons (see linked picture).
g
Ok, ok, so I can PhotoShop a little...
http://users.ev1.net/~cjansch/josh/mightymints.jp
-- Game Developers: Stop porting badly-textured games from crappy console systems!
The Mighty Mouse is obviously not ideal. I've seen comments describing it as "very 1995" due to the fact that it has a cord. It's a first pass at making a mouse acceptable for novice and advanced user alike, and it necessarily follows that there will be shortcomings. What's more important, in my view, is that Apple is lowering yet another traditional barrier to adoption of the Mac. The MM can be seen as another in a series of moves from Cupertino that fly in the face of Apple conventional wisdom. First Apple introduces a $500 machine, largely removing the argument that Apple's hardware is too expensive for general consumption. Next they announce the impossible, a shift to Intel-based systems, improving the chances of cheaper hardware and eliminating the PPC v. x86 MHz controversy. Now they have a multi-button mouse.
One by one, they're resolving issues that vocal so-called "professional" users have used to criticize Apple for years.
Incase you weren't joking: No it won't. Anyways the marathon mouse support is shit. Use AlephOne, it works much better, and mouse works great (its the modernized marathon engine, runs on OSX, still plays the old marathon data files)
Sure:
Big and bulky
Awkward to grip, causes the mouse to often orient at a slight angle.
The buttons on the side are useless, requiring far too much of a contortion to get to work.
Scroll wheel is nice, scroll buttons suck.
left and right click require different ammounts of force to initiate, very disconcerting for the first few days.
Rechargeable batteries = good
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Hmm, you'd recommend a tablet? I always fancied to buy one, but never found a chance to test them out before. Mouse is terrible for drawing, agreed. I don't know about websurfing with a tablet, but maybe I should test them when I get around to...
From the article:
"I tested right-clicking with varying degrees of skin contact on the left side of the mouse and you can't be touching it "too much" on the left side before the right click gives up and you're now left clicking."
Sounds like a goddamn nightmare. Randomly sending left or right clicks based on whether you happen to be resting your finger on the left side "too much". Just great. At least with a regular mouse there is always a predefined action for each side.
The scroll nipple is pretty cool though. I'd still rather have a tilt-scroll wheel but this is an acceptable substitute.
What makes Ars Technica think that Apple "blew the description of its aural feedback and "touch sensitivity out of proportion". From the product description page on Apples website (Might Mouse)? From the large graphic that says "Click", or the one that says "Squeeze"? I think that the statement from the article is what is being blown out of proportion. The rest of the article seemed to be a solid review, and should be taken into consideration, however, blasting Apple for how they are advertising this product seems to be a little ridiculous. "Touch sensitivity", could just as easily mean click, as could "pressure sensitive", or "just apply pressure". I mean c'mon. The real relevance of this article as it pertains to /. should be what the rest of the article is saying, not one assumtion made by the reviewers as to Apple's advertising verbaige.
Taken in consideration that the dot ont he mouse i placed near the wire/tale. Shall it then represent the ass of the mouse?
I have an MX700 and I was excited to try out my new MX1000. Boy was I disappointed. The fucking thing wobbled. Possibly some kind of manufacturing flaw but it was completely unacceptible. I'm waiting for their 2nd generation laser. I've heard they have a gamer version in the works.
Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
So. Seeing all the voluntarily-one-handed computer users, I can understand they don't want to wait, and they don't want to find that key. Ergo: they want the right-mouse button.
In a perfect world, I'd elect for my computer (hardware and software) to have all three choices available and just let me decide which I'd prefer. I guess some of the posters here feel that Apple is obscuring one of those choices with the amusingly-named "hoofmouse" :)
Aaaaand I think I've replied to the wrong level of the thread, oh well.
::jafomatic
OK - you point to the "first mouse" -- something cobbled together from bits of wood, wheels, and wires about 1963. Obviously a test device to see if the idea even works -- why add more buttons if you don't even know the wheels will work (I have no evidence this is how it went, but for testing out an idea, I wouldn't invest any more time than absolutely necessary to see if it will work at all).
So after Engelbert thinks about what a mouse should do a bit, he comes up with this (scroll down for pic). The famous 1968 demo was with a three button mouse. Some parts of that demo are absolutely fabulous. For example, there is a segment showing a collaborator appear on the screen, webcam style, and the two people work together on a single document, all the while hearing and seeing each other. There is an excerpt from the presentation in Alan Kay's talk. When I watch this, I can't help but wonder why the heck computers haven't really advanced in UI terms in the last 30 years. Ok processing power yada yada -- but when I watched this the first time, I felt like nothing had changed except for the addition of color, better refresh rates, and smoother mousing. Those are just tweaks, not innovation.
Anyway, the very first test device mouse had only one button. Thank goodness it has advanced and evolved.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
Can you give us an example of one of these tests that show a single mouse button is a better interface tool?
I've looked and never found anything other than opinion on the subject.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
"Mac users aren't smart enough to DIY their own computers, who knew they could buy non-Mac mice?"
Building your own computer takes about an IQ of 90. Pick a case, a motherboard, a processor, a harddisk, RAM, optical drive, graphics card, keyboard, mouse, monitor, take your screw driver, and done.
People with an IQ of 110 add up the prices and notice that a ready-built computer is cheaper.
People with an IQ of 120+ figure out that they want to use a computer, not maintain it, so they get a Mac.
Has anyone tried it when gaming? If so, then how it compared to other mice?
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Unlike earlier versions of Mac OS, which were limited to a one-button mouse, Carbon is designed to support multiple mouse buttons. (Theoretically, it can handle as many as 65,535 buttons, though the most you're likely to encounter in practice is 3.)
No, the 'e' (prefixed at birth by divine forces to your name) allows you to work in the exciting (cough) world of Information Technology.
However; (a) It should be capitalised 'eJacqui', and (b) That 'e' is kind of dated now; consider replacing it with an 'i' to become 'iJacqui' instead.
No, on second thoughts, leave it as 'eJacqui'. Replacing the 'e' with an 'i' would automatically associate you with iPod/iMac owners, thus nullifying any technical skills you have. (^_^)
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
You sound like an idiot. I hear there are special schools to help you folks out.
People with an IQ of 110 add up the prices and notice that a ready-built computer is cheaper.
People with an IQ of 115 figure out that Best Buy is a terrible place to buy PC parts.
Check out Pricewatch. You can almost always build a PC for less than an equivalent prebuilt system. You just have to be careful when selecting which vendor you buy from.
Hey, someone moderate this up!
Atlas Shrugged : Thematic Story
A Mac works wonders for people like this. Never need to use anything other than just one button which does the same thing every single time.
By "first" you mean the Xerox PARC mouse, I assume -- which wasn't the first by a long stretch. It also, with three buttons, did less than the Mac mouse did with one button -- so Apple wasn't dumbing down anything at the time.
Even today, the right mouse button is mainly used in games and for context menus. The latter is nice, but of almost no use to non-power users. It makes a huge difference in games, though.
G) The CEO realizes that it is not about selling a mouse and sees the bigger picture.
Many people look at this mouse, compare it to other offerings, and are puzzled. It is not revolutionary, other mice offer far more features at a lower price. This is not a big deal. Those people are correct. This is just a mouse. Compared to other mice on various features it is not very compelling. Thus, in this context, it is not a big deal.
Other people look at the mouse and comment on Apple as a company. They observe that this product is neither innovative nor particularly novel. They conclude that Apple has failed to provide anything "insanely great", and either wonder why this news is worthy of attention or deride the company and its users for various reasons. These people have a point. This mouse is neither innovative nor "insanely great. Again, this is not a big deal.
However, since the late 90s, most product releases by Apple have been far more important in context than in isolation. I think this small product is more important than is obvious under casual scrutiny.
Apple tends to develop all its products by focusing on the interactions of individual users with Hardware+Software systems. They spend less time than other companies thinking about feature checklists. They spend less time on the impact of hardware or software in isolation, and focus more on how they are used together. Also, though they do attend to the desires of power users, they never place this goal above the requirements of ease of use and productivity for the majority of users.
In recent years users have realized that support for both scrolling and pointing improves ease of use. They added scrolling support to the laptop systems recently. This mouse adds that for their other products. Second, many users buy third party mice both for scrolling support and for one-click access to contextual menus. Thus, adding an option for right click operation makes sense. Finally, recent additions to the operating system have become very popular. Dashboard widgets and Expose are used frequently by many users. Providing a way to improve the speed of and reduce the effort for accessing these features would improve productivity and ease of use for many.
The design of this mouse meets all of these primary goals admirably. It provides scrolling support. It provides simple access to dashboard and expose functionality. It provides one button Control-Click functionality for those users who want it. Users who are prefer (are are only familiar with) single button mice, will not have to unlearn any old habits or have difficulty understanding or using the new scrolling, Dashboard, or Expose functionality.
A user of an off-the-shelf 4 button mouse (or 3 real buttons and a clickable scroll wheel) can configure their mouse to provide equivalent functionality already. So, even in the broader context, they can get similar functionality at a lower price from a third party. However, for a large proportion of the user base, I suspect that this mouse may be a better option. Is it significantly better than the alternatives? Will this mouse sell well? Since it is largely Windows compatible, will many PC users buy them? My guess is that the answer to each of these questions is largely irrelevant. Apple would obviously to prefer to sell more mice rather than fewer mice. In the big picture, however, I think this is insignificant. I also think Apple knows this.
The revenue from selling these mice, even at $50 is insignificant. Taking market share away from third party mouse vendors is insignificant. Is anything significant here? I think so.
1. Apple looked at ways to improve user interaction with Macos X and the most commonly used bundled apps and iLife. They designed a mouse that provides significant benefits to most users performing common activities with bundled apps and iLife.
2. Apple is aware that multi-button vs. single button mice has long been a source of both misconception and controversy, even though for most users and for Apple
The cord length is probably due to Apple expecting users to plug this into their USB keyboard, not the computer.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
I normally use Linux but had to pull up to a doze box to verify some things.
Can you please clarify?
I'm not seeing where the OS requires the right button, anywhere. In fact, I can't see where it requires a mouse (nice for 508 compliance). The right button does enhance the experience (but this seems true on any OS).
Minesweep, no right button needed. Using the wrong button is a different issue though.
There are no high end graphics apps or CAD programs on this box but, I'll take your word for it.
Aside from my ability to assign useful features to the right mouse button, it also means Windows absolutely sucks to use standard software with a touch screen, or alternate interface
Well, Windows generally sucks on any interface. But, to offer a counter point. All those tablet PC users seem to be pretty content with the touch interface.
I'm just not buying the force a developer to 'develop to one button' argument because Macs still support the context menu (and have for quite some time). A developer can still write apps that depend on the context menu on a Mac, just like any other OS, just as easily (actually easier because of the nice api), using the API provided by Apple. Whether you get it by click and hold, control key click, select and hit the context menu key, or right click just seems beside the point.
----- If communism is a system where the government owns business, what do you call a system where business owns govern
Consider the possibility that there are other reasons for a particular engineering design than the one you can think of off the top of your head. RSI, for instance.
Or consider that other people work differently than you do.
Or have other preferences.
It's not useful to have a preference and then call everyone with a different set of requirements a moron. I'd have to call you a moron for not using a trackball, for instance, but that's not helpful
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
It did have three buttons, which had, essentially, the following functions
select
move
activate
Which Apple confusingly replaced with "click" "drag" and "double click."
Personally, I'm so glad that most sane people have chosen to use multiple buttons. Can you imagine what it would be like if we had to "click twice in rapid succession" the way Apple would have us do? Or "hold down a button while moving?"
Give me my "activate" and "move" buttons anyday. Let those crazy Apple users "double click," I want no part of it.
It's basically a one button mouse that adapts to the multi-button OS. You can't click both at once? Sure, 99.99% of the time, not a big deal. But I know of at least a couple of games (yes on the mac even) that require multi-clicking. Zooming camera control in Black & White anyone?
What happens when I want to set my right click to Expose? Grab (left), drag, Expose (right), drop... Especially when there's really not all that many "buttons" there to begin with. I guess I'll stick with my logitech.
---k--
</stupid>
Apparently, yu can not use right "button" unless you lift up your left button finger. Utterly useless doodad, it is. So who cares about marketing mumbo-jumbo anyway.
<^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
This one?! http://www.olympus2.no-ip.com/usbvibe1.gif
Marky Mark Killed Jason Bourne!
So... "aural feedback" means the mouse makes a clicking sound, and "touch sensitivity" means it has buttons?
Since the beginning of time, or the mid-80s at least,
Mac users have looked upon the wonder of the IBM PC.
And though the PC is a sucky old louse,
One thing it had was a multibutton mouse.
Now long at last, though the hour is late,
And after some years, oh why did they wait?
Here's a mouse that cures all, all that was lost,
The only thing left is to ask will it run Microsoft?
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
You said it. A configurable multi-button mouse is a great tool for the power user. But with mandatory context menus á la Windows, the configurability is lost - or even more buttons are required.
The mac, relying on one click mode alone, offers more options because of conventions like option-click = copy/do different or command-click = new window as well as the Windows-common shift click for multiple selection. As long as Apple stick to their policy, all of these are free for those second, third and fourth buttons. Not to mention key presses!
I for one, when doing graphic design find it convenient to use option-click for the right button to easily duplicate graphic objects.
Though currently I'm with the no-button pro mouse. It's nice too...
There's no 'on' position on the Slacker switch!
I know this is slashdot and all, but there have got to be more "insightful", "iteresting", or maybe even "informative" comments in here.
Why all the talk about the second button being a big deal? Anyone notice they have a scroll wheel thingy too (as well as it acting as the third button)?
I know many of you cannot live without the second mouse button, but I'm one further. Once I learned to use the scroll wheel, I couldn't go back. The $50 Apple mouse with one button and no scrolling just wouldn't do (and it sucks that you have to pay for that useless thing when you buy a Mac).
Thank god Apple finally made scrolling (as well as a second and third button) standard on their mice, cuz we all know that even though you *can* buy a Logitech or Kensington mouse with multibuttons, most Apple users just stick with what they get from the box (much like most Windows sheepel stick with Internet Explorer cuz it's what they get out of the box).
So how long until this is built-in to their laptops? I use to have an iBook but couldn't stand the single button mouse, and yes there WERE times I couldn't just whip out an external mouse. Once this and either the G5 or Pentium M goes in the Powerbooks, I'm getting one. Till now, my G5 desktop with multi-button mouse will have to suit my Mac cravings.
The review remarks that Photoshop doesn't do diagonal scrolling, but goes horizontal or vertical alternately. I wonder if this is a Carbon/Cocoa thing? In Cocoa, the scroll wheel event is a single event, with both horizontal and vertical deltas sent simultaneously, and NSScrollView presumably works off both at the same time. In Carbon, scroll wheel events have separate H and V parameters and given the legacy of how scrolling is traditionally implemented, it probably can only do one or the other at a time. This might be something to watch out for if your favourite apps are Carbon, though to me the advantages of diagonal scrolling are not really all that compelling.
That's absurd, not insightful. I hardly think right-click context menus is up there with your examples, nor that not feeling a pressing need for it makes one a Luddite.
I'm left handed.
"Only Apple thought they'd have to dumb it down to one because they thought their users couldn't count farther or whatever"
Actually, Apple made the decision to use one mouse button based on extensive user testing. The short summary is that it's very natural for people to point at and tap things, but not natural at all for people to have to decide which finger to use. So when novice users try to use multi-button mice they have no problem moving the pointer and clicking, but they have a terrible time picking between multiple buttons. By using one button, Apple eliminated the single largest cause of user confusion with mice, which is smart.
For anyone who is familiar enough with multi-button mice not to be confused, it's easy enough to buy and plug in a multi-button mouse. And since the OS and all applications support multiple mouse buttons, it all works just fine.
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
No! no! on the monitor! it always need a good rub once in a while.
;)
Perv!
Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
If you're left handed..
(or if you're like me and you're right handed but you use a mouse with the left hand to avoid RSI).
Logitech do NOT make any left handed mice (look in their FAQ). And none of the ambi-dextrous models are that special (no 2 axis scroll wheel for example).
I'm a perfectionist but I'm trying to cut back.
Mac OS 9 and OS X both support multiple-button mice.
And quit trolling, you can't get a Mac for $6000. They don't go far past $3000 for the highest G5
I believe this is the original mouse.
Oh for Smeg sake...
The one-button mouse is not for the benefit of the users. It's to force developers to actually use their brains when building an interface.
If you only have one button, then you can't go hiding features under contextual menus...
"Dave, I stand still--the conclusions jump to me!" - Bill McNeal, NewsRadio
Well, beware of Mouse Gestures then. You'll fall in the same trap. (WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE TO PRESS THE BACK BUTTON?)
Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
In under two weeks your hand-eye coordination gets to where you can put the pen on a spot on the screen without thinking about it. And it eliminates all of the carpel tunnel problems people have with mice. The only physical problem I've ever had was a case of writer's cramp after using it nonstop for several hours, and that only happened once. If you're going to just surf with it, the smaller, cheaper ones are best. If you actually want to draw, a slightly larger one is nice. I've never used the tracing feature. Where it really shines is picking out the edges of an object so you can change the background, or do a head swap.
"Is this Winkhorst a nova criminal?" "No just a technical sergeant wanted for interrogation."
Well, if they had tested it, they would have mentioned it, wouldn't they. Neither tester mentioned games, nor any special apps, and the "mouse setup applets" that come with the mouse nor the default one on the Mac show chording. And it hasn't even been shown by the tests that there is something that needs fixing. Which has been my fucking point: You guys simply don't comprehend what the tests said.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Haha, fanboy mod. Didn't see that one coming either.
Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices. -Theodor Adorno
Some people just don't need their mice to do all that stuff. Some people actually find computers confusing to use, with all the buttons and icons and crap (I'm thinking of my one uncle and my grandmother, personally. You probably know someone like that). They both have two button mice (with scroll wheel), and unless I'm working on their computers, they don't use anything but the left mouse button (hell, on my grandmothers machine, i've set it up so she doesn't have to double-click). Honestly, for her, at least, I sometimes wish I could get her a one button mouse.
You're a computer guy, and a gamer, so of course you would need a "better" mouse that you can program some of your more used tasks with. Other people, however, get confused if you give them too many buttons/options. Sometimes simplicity is the best thing.
Would someone who actually has one of these things please let me know the answer to this: Are the two side switches "AND"ed (have to press both simultaneously) or "OR"ed (pressing either switch will do the job)? Thanks.
THIS funny picture is a must see when seeing the apple mouse!
Hivemind harvest in progress..
Would someone who actually has one of these things please let me know the answer to this: Are the two side switches "AND"ed (have to press both simultaneously) or "OR"ed (pressing either switch will do the job)? Thanks.
Hell, would somebody just fire up X11 on their Mac, type "xev" into the xterm that opens and test the MightyMouse already. Just check if you see "state 0x500" there when you klick the mouse with fingers on both sides.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
it makes me laugh how stupid people are. the only truly ergonomic input device is the trackpad! everytime i see a laptop user with a mouse i laugh and say what an idiot! with trackpads you simply tap twice, hold on the 2nd tap, and a contextual menu appears, thus eliminating any buttons left or right whatsoever. no carpal tunnel syndrome. no reptititive stress injury. and with the new powerpooks, 3 fingers let u scroll. so 2 all u mouse users i give u the middle finger ! IAH "If a woman shall testify, her testimony shall be given half the weight of a man's." --Q'uran