Alternative OS X Mouse

[arn]

Fuji Sartono writes:


I was at a local computer store, in Singapore, when I found a mouse that is PERFECT for Macs .. It has a clear glass design with white base (similar to the new white Apple Pro Mouse), it has USB connection & optical technology, a 'buttonless' left click AND right click, and an ultra cool illuminated blue light scroll mouse ..

The best part is that is it plug and play on OS X !!!

It sells for S$65 (about US$35) and it seems to be from a Japanese manufacturer.

I've put up some pictures for you to see .. Check it out at:

http://homepage.mac.com/sartono/PhotoAlbum21.html

[krossfyter]

pretty cool! just stick an apple sticker right on top of it and we are good to go!:D

[blakespot]

Looks like a one-button mouse (unless the scrollwheel is also a button)? Or am I not clearly seeing a divid between two up-front buttons (other than the scrollwheel)?? I want one for my QuickSilver!


blakespot

[sartono]

FUJI SARTONO says:

I've been using it for a few days now and it ROCKS ... don't know if this thing is available for sale online or not .. if you're really interested, maybe i can get it and send it to you ...

Let me know ...

[theranch]

That is really nice! Let us know about the two button option....does the body rock to the right and left?

[mmanfrey]

Found a bit of info. It does indeed have 2 clicks enable by a rocking action.

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/hardware/gadgetboy/0,39001770,38023590,00.htm

[sartono]

FUJI SARTONO wrote:

yes the left & right click is done by rocking the body to the left and to the right ... awkward at first but second nature after just a few hours ...

[mmanfrey]

Found the website. Needed to use Altavista Babelfish to translate.

http://www.justy.co.jp/search.asp?num=UMN10MG

[IndyGopher]

That would certainly be an improvement over the stock Apple mouse, but I have some reservations about how well the right and left rocking would work. With Apple's mouse, the front third of the mouse rocks down, and you have some tactile feedback (you can even adjust the pressure) but even then it doesn't "feel" right, at least to me. Rocking this from side to side would seem even less intuitive.. and as the C-Net reviewer pointed out, double-clicking on this mouse would be... something to get used to at least. Great idea, though.. I hope they show up in some of the mac catalogs.. lots of people that want multi-button mice would jump all over this one.

For myself, my desktop is too full for mice, I use trackballs. (Kensington Expert Mouse Pro and Microsoft Trackball Explorer Optical) The Kensington is not a particularly good trackball.. nowhere near as good as their older ones... 11 buttons on a mouse/trackball is more than simple-minded rodents like me can make proper use of.. So in the spirit of the thread (Alternate Mice) what trackball would you folks suggest? Is there anything better than the Microsoft one? Sure would rather give my money to someone else.

[MacAztec]

Thats Awesome! I am on a Logitech Wireless Mouse here in X, and it is also really cool.

[rekras]

i want one of those!

[Berko]

That is totally cool...I have been looking to see if they had a white version of this mouse for my new iMac. For those of you who are interested, you can get a blue and a black version of this mouse at this location:

http://store.yahoo.com/colorcase-store/crysopmous.html

Word of warning, the left/right click motion is not as natural as it may sound. This mouse requires a left and right roll of the hand and will take a bit of time to get used to. When I first tried it, I figured any pressure to the left side of the mouse (like a standard left button mouse click) would work. It doesn't, or at least not well.

[blackpeter]

Looks better than any other alternative (save the standard Pro Mouse), but for the same money I'm going to stick with my Logitech Cordless Mouseman Optical.

4-Button Design
Scroll Wheel
Plug & Play OSX

Show me something better and I'll switch...

[GyroFX]

as great as this mouse sound and look...i still have my doubts. This mouse would be a super cool aesthetic piece to compliment the imac or tower. But, in functionality, it's rather a step back than a step beyound. we're thinking about the ease of use here, not just eye candy. The mouse is, to say the least, NOT for gamers period. The rocking motion would be too tedious and strenuous on all different levels. Think about playing Quake with a mouse like that? You'd have to Rock to the left and move the mouse while holding that position. That would be truely a pain in the A$$! Anyway, if you get it just for show and to compliment your computer, go for it. It's even cool if you just use it for normal Word operations and stuff like that. But if you intend of playing games i suppose you'd have to switch the mouse evey time...hmmm...don't know if that's worth it.

It is a very nice piece of hardware though. The thing looks great! especially with that blue scroll wheel on top! But for now, i'm happy with my dual optical Logitech. Maybe i'll consider getting this cool looking mouse just because it's so cool looking...i'll just have 2 mice laying around connected at the same time. Actually...hahahaha...i take my post back. If you want, just get it. The mouse is cool...you can always plug as many mice in your USB ports as you want...forgot about that. Anyway...haha...

[Xapplimatic]

Wow! I like it.. Looks very Apple themed.. Hopefully it's built better than my Kensington optical mouse which I liked very much until the right button started going out in the middle of hold clicks selecting menu choices I didn't want and driving me crazy!

[AmbitiousLemon]

it looks great! with all these tabbed windows in mozilla ive been wanting an easier second click. and it says you can program the scroll wheel for a third or to eliminate the weird tilting options. seems pretty nice. if i bought a desktop (been tempted by a deal i found for the top imac for $1600). id definitely consider buying one of these babies.

but as usual i try to find ways to make it better. so here are my ideas:
1) wireless
2) perhaps instead of rocking left and right (or in addition to) and option for front and back clicking. the front click would feel about as same as a normal click. the back click would be a little awkward at first but since it is used less and isnt used while clicking and dragging it might end up being better than a left right movement. just a though.

peace

[elgruga]

There has to be a dissenting view - here it is.

"Lusty" is that the name of this thing - its bloody ugly.
And as for rocking it side to side - that just seems silly to me.

I think we are getting a bit excited about a poorly-designed after-market mouse are we not?

[Hemingray]

My pro mouse just died, and thanks to Apple's ****** 90-day warranty, I'm screwed. Woohoo! I get to go shell out another $59! This mouse sounds a lot better.

[AmbitiousLemon]

ah yes, the infamous apple warranty. personally i never go for it, because its $300 (i know you didnt get the apple plan, im just ranting on it because the standard 90 day plan you have just reminded me) and 9 times out of 10 apple will tell you the problem/damage is not covered by the apple warranty. and to make it worse they will try to charge you $100+ just because they had to look at it in order to tell you they wouldnt fix it.

of course i can choose the option not to buy such a plan because i or my friends can fix anything that happens (its great to have friends at apple). but most repairs will never cost you as much as the $300 apple plan costs, in fact most major hardware failures will occur after the 3 year plan and will cost between $100-$400. and apple would never have fixed most of those expensive problems anyway. but thats just based on my own experience, there are a number of people here who swear by the apple plan (and im guessing that its based on personal experience as well). i just needed a good rant. deep breath.

[CHess]

Well, if we're going to bring up warranty issues, I have to say that I am an absolute believer in dishing out the extra money for Applecare, at least for iMac users. It's $150 more and you get a lot of extra piece of mind. I had purchased it for an iMac shortly after the 90 day phone support period ended, so I could keep bugging Apple any time I had problems. Two years later, = the computer just up and died. I forgot that I still had Applecare coverage and took the computer in to a shop, they suggested that it might not even be worth repairing as they weren't sure if the repair they wanted to make would really do the trick AND it was going to cost about $300.

I found my Applecare paperwork and the repair was free (well, less the initial investment).

As for other computers, you might be right when it comes to towers, though you'll pay through the nose for laptop repairs. Still, after my experiences, I recommend Applecare to every iMac buyer I talk to.

[millia]

My brother's over there, and would love to get one of these. Is it available somewhere in SimLim, or in Funan, or somewhere else?

For those who haven't been, SimLim is a hardware hacker's dream. I was in cable heaven- there are multiple stores that have every imaginable kind of cable you could need.

[vimac]

Hi there :)

I called that yahoo store, the sales person said that it wasn't compatible with Mac, provided that he knew what he was talking about. Otherwise, it seems like it ships on the same day. I would really love to get one of those.

Especially the scroll wheel seems nice, I guess I can get any mouse with a scroll wheel but they are all too PC looking. This one is really cool.

[Rower_CPU]

I hate to post something postive abut Microsoft, but here goes:

They make excellent mice. Multiple button support (even more once they make some OS X drivers), scroll wheel, good optical sensors, good ergonomics. My 2 cents.

[richards_jp]

I've managed to find somewhere in the UK to get hold of this mouse. It's branded as Lindy over in the UK and the scroll wheel is red - current price is £25 inc VAT, look at the lindy site and search for Crystal:

http://www.lindy.co.uk/

I'll be putting my order in soon, an excellent alternative to the Apple Pro Mouse at a good price.

[dwebb]

The Contour Design MiniPRO Mouse is the only 2-button mouse I'm willing to use on my Mac:
http://www.contourdesign.com/minipro.htm

The reason is this: When I use a 1-button mouse, my index finger rests on the right side of the mouse. This is more comfortable than the "peace sign" that you have to make with your hand to use most 2-button mice.

The MiniPRO's second button sits behind the main button, and it's elevated a bit. I've found the second button to be quite comfortable and easy to use. Also, its optical tracking seems to be better than the Apple Pro mouse.

I thought I wouldn't like the size (it's designed for use with portables, so it's smaller), but I actually like using a smaller mouse.

Dan

[Jookbox]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I hate to post something postive abut Microsoft, but here goes:

They make excellent mice. Multiple button support (even more once they make some OS X drivers), scroll wheel, good optical sensors, good ergonomics. My 2 cents.

microsoft makes some of the best mice. however only 3 of the 5 buttons on the optical and explorer versions work.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Jookbox


microsoft makes some of the best mice. however only 3 of the 5 buttons on the optical and explorer versions work.

That's why I mentioned OS X drivers...

[julzmon]

I remember before the now used pro mouse came out there were rumors that Apple is working on a tilting mouse just like this one.
Strange to see this.
As cool at it might be i think that it will end up hurting/damaging your wrist.
I love that glowing scroll wheel !

[IndyGopher]

Originally posted by Jookbox


microsoft makes some of the best mice. however only 3 of the 5 buttons on the optical and explorer versions work.

USB Overdrive for X makes that little problem go away nicely. Best $20 piece of shareware out there... Apple needs to pay that guy a nice lucrative license and include that with OS X.

[buffsldr]

I have the MS Intellimouse Trackball Explorer and I love it. you guys say this USB Overdrive will make all the buttons work again? That would be rad

[laubennd]

USB Overdrive supports my MS Intellimouse quite nicely. It's still
in beta for X . . . but it's a public
beta and works as advertised.

[SPG]

Can you post the link for USB Overdrive?
thanks.

[SPG]

nevermind.....
http://www.usboverdrive.com/

[Quark]

I tried it with my MS(yuck!) Intellimouse Explorer and I wasn't able to program the side buttons to Minimize, Maximize, Close App, Close Window or anything else like that.

I uninstalled it/removed it (USB Overdrive) and my MS(yuck!) Intellimouse Explorer works great, other than the two buttons on the side.

The scroll wheel works fine, the scroll button works fine, the left and right mouse buttons work as expected.

Not sure why the USB Overdrive is supposed to be so great, but then again, I am new to Macs, so maybe there is alot that I just haven't figured out yet... didn't think this should be the case though...

Quark

[quanta]

i'm sorry to hear that Indy Gopher can't enjoy his ExpertMouse Pro. i love mine. i never really used the auto load homepage buttons, but to have a fully programmable set of four buttons plus the scroll wheel and the ultra smooth trackball glide right at your fingertips, now i curse having to use the one button snooze-mice in the computer lab.

One day i shall ride the trackballs of fortune back to glory!!!

Or something like that.

PS. The Justy looks like it kicks ass. Apple should make it standard to have 2 buttons. Alternatively we could do away with the mouse altogether and just have a 60 button key-mouse with optical retinal positioning. Oh and it would read your mind too.

[MacAztec]

Apple has been good with their service to me. I had a broken G3 Pismo Firewire Laptop, and it was just a week left of warrenty. They overnighted a box to me, and I sent in my machine. They put a new screen, new motherboard, new hard drive, new EVERYTHING but shell, and sent it back, and it still didnt work. I sent it back, and they put in a 512MB chip of RAM, replacing my 256, and that fixed it! My 256 was bad, and they never knew it, it was pretty cool.

[SubFredZero]

The mouse looks real nice, even better then then white pro mouse...

Does it work as good/better then the pro mouse ?

[macfreek57]

USB overdrive worked like crap for me.
i've a macally optinet: left and right bottons and a clickable scroll wheel
when i plugged it in for the first time, the scroll wheel worked most of the time (save dialoges and a few other places just don't work) and the right click (and left) worked.
i installed USB overdrive and it added absolutely no functionality. also, every once in a while, the bottons would stop working altogether.
i found the extension and deleted it. also, macally's beta driver didn't work.
now my mouse works fine with no drivers

[mroven]

If anyone is interested, I finally found a place to get a white "Crystal Optical Mouse". Mine just arrived today.

http://www.tryandbyte.com.au

Its a place in Austrailia, only cost about $34US. I just got mine, I dont know if I like it or not. It's pretty squirley, and really light weight. Looks very cool, though.