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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."
Problem with this, like with many other touch screen like devices, is that you don't get physical feedback when you're clicking or scrolling or doing anything. There's a reason why you actually need to push the mouse button a little bit so it clicks. Not much, but it actually feels like a click. Keyboard presses need to be the same way too - you need the feedback.
Another example is the scroll in mouses. My Logitech MX Revolution mouse has both seamless and non-seamless mode that you can activate for different apps. Seamless mode was activated by default for IE and I had to take it off, because mouse scroll also needs to "tick" and feel back when you're scrolling. The Apple video shows that you can scroll faster by moving your finger rapidly - guess what, you can do that with a normal scroll too, just by rapidly firing the scroller to either direction (the logitech software actually releases the tick for a bit so it works even better)
Other thing to consider is how quickly the touch area gets dirty and less functional. I sometimes like to eat a great three story cheese bacon hamburger filled with majonese, chipotle ketchup and delicious cheese with deep fried french fries, topped with a cold beer and chocolate ice cream with strawberries and chocolate dipping. Lets face it, the touch area is going to get dirty. Will it function the same way after that and can you clean it as easily?
I don't think anyone is denying that Microsoft R&D can churn out some interesting concepts from time to time, but there's a big difference between shipping an actual product with most of the details worked out, and merely mocking up a few prototypes that are nowhere close to being ready for actual sale. I'd be curious to see what prototypes Apple came up with before shipping the Magic Mouse. That'd be a more interesting comparison.
Which multi-touch mouse do you want the most? Or are they all gimmicks?
Nice card-forcing there.
I like Microsoft's basic wheel mouse on Windows and Mac, and HP's 3-button optical mouse on X11.
No, seriously, they post crap like that on the Internet?
This is a comparison of a finished product that is shipping today, against a number of prototypes, none of which you can buy anywhere and most of which you will never be able to buy. Most importantly, none of which are finished and ready for use. We're all living in the tech world. We've all seen at least a hundred videos of prototypes that we were really looking forward to - and the final product either never arrived or wasn't half as good as the demo had led us believe.
Make a comparison when they're both shipping. Everything else is dumb, and creating false expectations.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
"I'm a mac" (Justin Long touches himself)
"I'm a PC" (John Hodgeman touches himself)
So instead of having only one mouse button, Apple is getting rid of all of them?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Show me on the doll where Microsoft and Apple multi-touched you inappropriately.
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.
{{.sig}}
So with my current mouse I can rest my finger on the mouse button, and press down when I want to click.
With these new mice, when I want to click I have to lift my finger up from the surface of the mouse and then press down (if the video in the article is indicative of how it functions). I think constantly lifting my finger would become tiring.
From TFA:
...and by "tame" we mean "already living peacefully in people's houses." And by "radical" we mean "awesome in theory."
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.
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.