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The Mighty Mouse Has Lost Its Tail
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)."
Here I come to point and click!
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
bad link, use this instead... BTW how is this news!!??
http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/
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
It's there... you have to lift up ou index finger and then click to "right click", it's a pain it use.
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
The Mighty Mouse HAS a second button - and many more, in fact. They're just not divided up into obvious, externally visible buttons. But click on the right part of the mouse, and it'll function like a control-click, if you have the mouse configured that way. There are also 'buttons' on the sides of the mouse, etc.
I've always wondered if the Mighty Mouse doesn't violate a lot of Apple's user design principles. I don't mean with the one-button vs. multi-button design, per se... one of Apple's reasons for having a default of one-button (Macs have supported multi-button mice, and programs for graphic designers, etc.) is to ensure that software designers didn't hide functionality behind right-clicks, etc. Everything should be visible, and accessible through menus at the top of the screen or icons on the screen.
So Apple has this principle of visibility... then they HIDE the buttons on the mouse? This may be excusable when you only have one button - people just get used to pressing the top of the mouse, and it clicks - but when there are multiple buttons that you can't see on the top of the mouse? That doesn't make any sense. I mean, even experienced computer users (Mac users) who weren't familiar with the mighty mouse could end up right-clicking without realizing that they COULD right click.
Now, it IS just a mouse, and so you do get used to it very quickly... it would have been cool, though, if Apple could, say, have had small LEDs for each button. They could be activated (or de-activated if activated by default) to emit a small light for each button. You could even make them multi-coloured and it'd be an easy way to explain operation of a computer - or for that matter, you could code icons/menus so that to use function X in photoshop, highlighted in red, you press the red button.
But alas, Apple doesn't seem to think so.
Tim
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.
I think it means you need your accent mark, Exposé since "squeeze to expose" sounds like a maneuver employed by child molesters....
Monstar L
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.
Really short cord
Mouse is really designed to be plugged in to the USB hub of the keyboard next to it. You know, the Apple Pro with the 6 foot cable?
the ball sometimes doesn't work (push really really hard and roll to fix it)
Better way to fix it; Alcohol on the roller ball, copious amounts. Roll the ball on a clean cloth. You'll be surprised how much crap it has gathered off your fingers.
Best way. Slice the retaining ring off the bottom shell of your mouse. Pop the darn thing apart. Two press fit ribbons and a small phillips, then you can clean the scrollball better. It just snaps apart, and the magnetic rollers only go in one way.
the side buttons only act as 1 button.
Its only a four button mouse. Right, left, both, side button(s). You might be better off buying a 5 button mouse, the buttons on the Apple mouse are nearly impossible to get an accurate single side click on. It's more like a four finger squeeze. (Ring and thumb, middle and fore aloft)
I use a Mighty Mouse. Bought it launch day. Went in to see what a PPC Mini was running after 'partner' discount, as I wanted to replace an antique RS PPC machine. Love the damn thing to death. Second best mouse I have owned, and the first best is heavily colored by the fact it was my *first* one 25 years ago.
.sig: Now legally binding!
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).
There is no doubt that what you want is a RadTech BT500. I bought one when I bought my PowerBook early last year. It's a tiny little mouse, and it's easy to carry around. That said, it is comfortable and works great. It looks nice too. Looking at the product page, they've changed it since I bought it. Mine is powered by two AAA batteries, and it lasts a long time. The new once comes with two NiMH AAAs and can be recharged with an included USB cable, which would be nice to have.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
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.