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Apple vs. Microsoft Multi-Touch Mouse Comparison

blee37 writes "This is a side-by-side comparison of the Apple and Microsoft multi-touch mice. It includes video demonstrations of using the mice in applications, first-person shooters and 3D manipulation. It also has new photos of the internals of all the mice."

10 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Touch screens and the like by peragrin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Onsidering my iPhone is easy to clean and I don't need tactile feedback for the on screen keyboard I would say it is something some people will work easily with and others won't. Your results will vary.

    As a side note if your eating that mess if food at your computer and not using napkins or towels your keyboard has to be disgusting

    --
    i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  2. Re:Touch screens and the like by sirdankus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The dirt issue seems much worse with normal scroll mice. Bacon remnants are fairly easy to wipe (or indeed, lick) off a smooth surface like a touch pad. Once any amount of dirt gets into the mechanical bits of a scroll wheel, you're left with the option of putting up with a sticky scroll wheel, or buying a new mouse.

    The tactile feedback part is exactly how I feel, though.

  3. So many choices by Nerdfest · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Personally, I'd buy one that provided solid Linux support. The Apple mouse looks pretty, and sounds functional, but I haven't heard of any Linux drivers. Anyone?

  4. Re:Touch screens and the like by odin84gk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    New capacitive sensors will work, even if it is covered in a layer of crap. You don't need to physically touch the surface to get it to work.

    The real issue is this: How can you make it intuitive enough to work and become widely accepted? There are some people who still struggle with the right-click, let alone anything more complicated.

  5. An alternative to the Magic Mouse by chrysalis · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you love the "touch" aspect of the Magic Mouse, an alternative is the Wacom Bamboo Touch tablet.

    It's roughly the same price as a Magic Mouse, it supports gestures just fine, the area makes it more comfortable than a mouse and best of all, you can also use it as a tablet.

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    {{.sig}}
  6. What??? by sean.peters · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Dude, without any kind of tactile feedback, you have to look at the keyboard, instead of looking at the text you're typing. How can that not be a problem? Reasonable people can disagree over whether that means tactile feedback is "nice-to-have" or "critical", but let's not pretend the issue doesn't even exist.

    1. Re:What??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I don't understand why you have to look at the keyboard instead of the text.

      By Looking at the text, you see what you're entering; what does looking at the keyboard tell you that the screen does not? Unless you're comparing someone who can type without looking in the first place to someone who has too, in which case the argument seems strange to me.

  7. Re:Touch screens and the like by Starayo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Insightful my ass. I type almost as fast with my iPhone as I do with my keyboard. Feedback is available both visually (letter pops up to show which button you pressed) and audibly (click sounds). The odd slip of the finger is generally fixed by the iPhone's autocorrect too.

    The only people who continually raise the issue with this are people who haven't used the product, or have and are easily frustrated. Or they're too old to learn a slightly new trick. Even my dad can type quickly with an iPhone when he uses one, and says it's much better and easier than typing on the blackberry storm which also provides the physical feedback, but then again, the storm (first version at least) is an embarrassment of a phone.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  8. How to prevent finger movement = mouse movement? by wowbagger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The title of this comment should be "How do these mice prevent finger movement from causing mouse movement", but due to the limits /. places on comment titles....

    OK, so let us say I have the Mac Mouse, and I swipe my fingers over the surface to do a horizontal scroll of a document.
    * How do I prevent my finger motion from moving the mouse itself, and thus the pointer of the mouse?
    * Does the mouse have such a high coefficient of static friction that the CoF between my fingers and the shell * the force my fingers apply is too small to break the mouse loose?
    * What does that imply about normal mouse usage?
    ** Will I lose the ability to move the mouse by small amounts due to the stiction?
    ** Will I have to completely change my grip on the mouse to transition from mousing to swiping?

  9. I sold my magic mouse :O by dindi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So here is the deal: I ordered a Magic mouse and after an hour of use I put it back in the packaging and sold it to a colleague.

    Why ?

    The idea is great, the functions are not. Not being able to pinch, rotate and zoom without a key is one (stupid) thing, considering that the mouse can track 4 fingers.

    Accidental actions (scroll mostly) is annoying. A button or ball moves when you move it, this thing tracks every touch, that annoyed me to hell.

    Having no 3rd button however is an absolute deal breaker. I would live with a 3-finger touch, or 2 finger tap, but the lack of buttons just made me pack it and sell it.

    And do not get me wrong, I use the Mightly mouse and several Logi trackballs and only Mac aluminium keyboards (except on my Macbook)...

    I think the hardware is awesome but the drivers absolutely SUCK!

    Just my 2c.

    ps: the optical touch tracking looks interesting on the videos... maybe I would try that next... .or just stay with my logis.