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The Mighty Mouse Has Lost Its Tail

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the evolution-removing-another-tail dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It's all over the place - Apple has just released a Bluetooth version of the Mighty Mouse for $69. It features a new laser based tracking system and gets it power from either one or two (you decide) replaceable AA batteries, but does not work with Windows yet (no words on Linux)."

14 of 219 comments (clear)

  1. Any other bluetooth mice? by also-rr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I would really like to get hold of a small bluetooth mouse as my laptop has an internal bluetooth setup. Rather than carrying around a USB dongle (which I would have to find in the bottom of a laptop bag and plug in) it would be all integrated.

    Other than the Apple one, has anyone seen one that works with Linux? I did see a Microsoft made one *once* but never again.

    --
    Think of the Children; Sleep with your Sister
  2. Too bad it doesn't work with the PC... by Total_Wimp · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Bluetooth mice are not very comon in PC land. I've only seen one Logitech (not easy to find) and one Think Outside BT mouse that seemed suitable for notebook use, but you're unlikely to find either in Best Buy or CompUSA. Why hasn't this caught on?

    TW

    1. Re:Too bad it doesn't work with the PC... by Reaperducer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think it's more fear than reality about keeping the bluetooth mice powered. I think the batteries in my Bluetake mouse last at least six months. My wife has the original Apple wireless mouse, and I only have to replace her batteries every three or four months.

      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
  3. I never understood the point of the wireless mouse by mashuren · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Are people really using their mice that far away from the USB port on their computer? For me, the hassle of keeping fresh batteries in the thing would counterbalance whatever slight benefit I'd get from having a wireless mouse.

    Of course, I use a trackball, anyway, so really, that benefit would be "none". But I use a mouse on my work computer, and I'm never encumbered by having a cord.

    --
    An object at rest cannot be stopped.
  4. Why do they even need batteries in the thing? by krell · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Is bluetooth such an energy hog that it needs two AA batteries to send moose X,Y coords and button clicks for a distance of a few feet?

    Why not something similar to one of those shake-and-glow flashlights? A tiny battery charge from some kinetic motion device (like in the flashlights) or a tiny roller that is only there as a sort of generator?

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
    1. Re:Why do they even need batteries in the thing? by mkiwi · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Is bluetooth such an energy hog that it needs two AA batteries to send moose X,Y coords and button clicks for a distance of a few feet?


      The engineeer within me wishes to digress. There is an electronic component inside the Mighty Mouse that takes +1.5V and a -1.5V-- it is called an Operational Amplifier (Op Amp) and they are extermely efficient for signal processing especially at the 2.4Ghz range bluetooth works on. But the real question is: how you get that + 1.5V and - 1.5V from two batteries?

      Take 2 AA batteries put a wire between them. The center will measure 1.5V, the top 3V, and the bottom 0V. In this case, 1.5V is actually your "ground."

      There are several advantageous reasons for making a mouse this way, but the foremost is that, having a pseudo "split" supply, you make wireless communication and amplification much easier on the device.

  5. Re:Great Cycloptian Mouse Batman! by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've always wondered if the Mighty Mouse doesn't violate a lot of Apple's user design principles.

    I think their design principals are well represented in this mouse. By default it is a simple one-button mouse anyone can use with no training and which encourages app designers to behave properly. With a small bit of knowledge (for more advanced users) it can be a five button mouse. Simple by default, more complex and powerful for those who want it. The best part about this design is on a multi user system a grandmother and the kids can have a single button mouse, while the more advanced users can have multi button mice, without swapping out any hardware. Of course I don't have kids and am addicted to trackballs, so I'm not going to use this anyway, but it sounds great for other people.

  6. When people say it doesn't work with Windows... by nxtw · · Score: 2, Interesting

    have they actually tried it? I was unable to get my Apple Bluetooth keyboard working with the Widcomm Bluetooth drivers, but it works with the builtin Microsoft drivers, it works fine. Of course, Apple does not advertise the fact that it's a standard Bluetooth keyboard (minus the volume and eject key, which I have been unable to do anything with. On a USB Apple keyboard, the volume keys will work.)

  7. A warning: It's not a good mouse by Peter+Cooper · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm a big Apple fan and tend to buy most of their stuff. I bought the Mighty Mouse against my better judgement (simply because it was the cool thing to buy and my Mac friends kept saying it was great) and.. I forced myself to use it for a few months. I kinda got used to it, but eventually I caved in and switched back to my Microsoft Mouse.. Why?

    * Too small and painful. I have pretty small hands, but the MM is still too short. My hand was falling off the back and causing me to adopt an awkward position.

    * You can't press left and right buttons at the same time! Absolutely useless for gaming, although admittedly you don't need to do this anywhere else (that I'm aware of).

    * Squeeze click is too sensitive. I'm a light touch but I kept triggering it. I ended up removing the functionality of that 'button' to stop it annoying me.

    * Cable is ridiculously short. Fine with a Mac keyboard, but no good without an extension cable in most other configurations.

    On the plus side?

    * Mouse wheel. The middle wheel is very cool. It's great to be able to scroll in full 2D. And, um.. that's it.

    Oh, it's also expensive, but that's not a reason why I'd avoid it. I'll pay for something good, but it's simply not.

    1. Re:A warning: It's not a good mouse by flimflam · · Score: 2, Interesting
      * Too small and painful. I have pretty small hands, but the MM is still too short. My hand was falling off the back and causing me to adopt an awkward position.

      I actually like a small mouse - the key is not to rest your whole hand on it - just your fingers. This cuts down on arm and wrist strain (IMO)

      * You can't press left and right buttons at the same time! Absolutely useless for gaming, although admittedly you don't need to do this anywhere else (that I'm aware of).

      Agreed. Plus I find that I keep right clicking by accident for some reason - not sure why because if I try to consciously reproduce this it always seems to work normally.

      * Squeeze click is too sensitive. I'm a light touch but I kept triggering it. I ended up removing the functionality of that 'button' to stop it annoying me.

      Also agreed -- I hit the squeeze-click all the time if I try to reposition the mouse on my (little) mouse pad.

      * Cable is ridiculously short. Fine with a Mac keyboard, but no good without an extension cable in most other configurations.

      It's actually been OK for me -- I keep it plugged into my keyboard. Anyway, this issue obviously goes away in the bluetooth version.

      * Mouse wheel. The middle wheel is very cool. It's great to be able to scroll in full 2D. And, um.. that's it.

      Yeah, the wheel is quite good.

      --
      -- It only takes 20 minutes for a liberal to become a conservative thanks to our new outpatient surgical procedure!
    2. Re:A warning: It's not a good mouse by Jimithing+DMB · · Score: 2, Interesting
      It's the same size as Apple's Pro mouse, which they've been shipping since about 2000 or so (it's gone through a couple of minor revisions, but the same basic size/shape). It works for most people.

      I have larger hands than most people (though not compared to my size since I am 6'6"). The Apple mouse has been great for me. The thing about the Apple mouse is that you don't grip it like other mice. I don't (can't actually) move the mouse around on the pad with my hand squarely on top of it. What I do is rest the palm of my hand (except the heel) on the top of the mouse. I let my thumb and pinky rest on the mouse pad. My 3 middle fingers curl over the top of the mouse. The heel of my hand naturally curls over the back.

      Basically, it is very much like grabbing a ball. The other thing is that you will notice Apple's accelleration curves are fairly slow. Because of this, you tend to need to pick up the mouse from time to time to do a drag across the screen. The way the Apple mouse is shaped it's very easy to do this since you just sort of squeeze it. Unfortunately, some idiot at Apple decided to make that an action so every so often I inadvertently activate Exposé.

      Other than that, the Mighty Mouse and the Pro Mouse before it have been great.

  8. Re:Bad link by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The scroll is a useful feature and is the only reason I keep the Mighty Mouse. All the other competitors that scroll horizontally with the tilt wheel require a lot of force and is only an on/off button, not a proportional positioning device, with Mighty Mouse, it just rolls effortlessly.

    I thought the laser pointing was only introduced last year.

  9. Actually, I do need the extended range. by mmell · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My Linux box has an ATI TVWonder Pro card in it - I leave the desktop resolution at 800x600 and do all my computing from my couch. Granted, it took me a while to get used to the lack of screen real estate, but once I did it was great! Instead of having to shell out for a remote control for my TV card, I just use a wireless KB/Mouse combo (Microsoft's bottom-end -1000 series desktop - works great in Linux, okay in Windows).

  10. Re:Bad link by phayes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    > How is this news?

    Have you tried buying a bluetooth mouse without also having to buy an associated dongle recently? Bluetooth mice pretty much seem to have disapeared from the market. I'd like to buy the equivalent of my old Logitech MX900 except without the docking station for my Lattitude 810 that has integrated Bluetooth. However, bluetooth mice seem to have gone out of style and MK900 is no longer for sale by itself. I could only buy it if I was willing to buy their high end keyboard, USB docking station & mouse combo then toss the keyboard (whose multimedia extensions won't work with my Ubuntu installation) and the USB docking/recharging station.

    I'll likely be trying out Apple's Mighty mouse, and if it works acceptably with Ubuntu, buying one.

    --
    Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue