Bluetooth Keyboard/Mouse Support in Panther?

[MacRumors]

Rumors and speculation of an Apple Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboard has been a popular topic of conversation ever since Apple's inclusion of Bluetooth support.

It appears Apple has built or is starting to build Bluetooth keyboard/mouse support into Panther. The following options are included in a special "Bluetooth" tab in the Keyboard/Mouse control panel:

- Show Bluetooth Status in Menu Bar
- Bluetooth Devices May Wake Up this Computer
- Show Battery Status in the Menu Bar

But wait... Before you go looking in Panther's control panel -- curiously, the option is not present in the English build. Only the foreign language builds. (German screenshot).

Unfortunately, the implications of this is left to speculation and certainly, by itself, doesn't guarantee Apple-branded bluetooth devices. It may simply represent support for 3rd party devices. It's omission may represent an incomplete attempt to remove the feature from the public build -- or may simply represent an incomplete/canceled feature-set that will never make it into Panther.

[fef]

I was watching the new 'learn more' video of the New Power Mac G5 (http://www.apple.com/powermac/video/) for the 8th time... (sorry i just couldn't help it!).. and at 00:05:15 I noticed that the keyboard nor the mouse weren't attached to the tower! not even to the Cinema Display!

Does this mean that bluetooth will finally come to Apple's own peripherals?

Who knows....

[arn]

Originally posted by fef
I was watching the new 'learn more' video of the New Power Mac G5 (http://www.apple.com/powermac/video/) for the 8th time... (sorry i just couldn't help it!).. and at 00:05:15 I noticed that the keyboard nor the mouse weren't attached to the tower! not even to the Cinema Display!

some people had pointed that out... but I would just attribute that to photography/videography.

they try to make things look pretty.

ie. no cables etc...

arn

[mykuki]

it's in most other localizations than english.
you can just switch your language in the "international" control panel to see it.

i guess that clearly states bluetooth keyboards and mice only for those who are not allowed to use the music store right now.

ok, apple so let's be friends again...

[Pete_Hoover]

They probably just Photoshop'd it out to make the image look more clean. Then again, maybe we have stumbled on a gold mine, but I doubt it.

[Bram]

I don't get it. Why would this be an indication for Apple branded bluetooth keyboard and mice? Apple is clearly stating that Panther is supporting Bluetooth in general here. These options don't suggest keyboards or mice specifically.

[P-Worm]

As for the video, if they are going bluetooth, I bet they would completely redesign the keyboard and mouse.

I don't think that this means an Apple Bluetooth keyboard or mouse because it could just be like Inkwell. I mean how many Apple Tablet/PDA's did that feature spawn anyway? Apple just likes compatibility.

I personally don't like they idea of changing batteries on something I use so often, but that's just me.

P-Worm

[AppleMatt]

The 10.2.5 update provided "support for some Microsoft bluetooth mice and keyboards"

AppleMatt

[mykuki]

Originally posted by Bram
I don't get it. Why would this be an indication for Apple branded bluetooth keyboard and mice? Apple is clearly stating that Panther is supporting Bluetooth in general here. These options don't suggest keyboards or mice specifically.

you're right about this not being an indication for anything apple branded.

but at least apple seems to have a reason to hide those features. either they are not sure whether to include those in final panther or they just don't want us to know yet.

this could be the indication.

of course, if apple is soon to deliver new pro-keyboards without bluetooth, they wouldn't want us to speculate on this as well at this time.

let's say it's at least an indication for something.

[mattalici]

They are going this way for sure. Steve likes cleanliness... it's next to Godliness, and that means no wires or cables anywhere they can get rid of them. We have already seen how crazy he is about creating quiet com 'puting environments. the next step is minimal footprint and clutter. (A la the forthcoming displays.)

And they will be super awesome, rechargeable, via firewire. There will be an indicator light on the menu bar to tell you when you need to plug it in. A quick 30 minute charge will give you days of use.



Next.

[Pete_Hoover]

Originally posted by P-Worm
As for the video, if they are going bluetooth, I bet they would completely redesign the keyboard and mouse.

I don't think that this means an Apple Bluetooth keyboard or mouse because it could just be like Inkwell. I mean how many Apple Tablet/PDA's did that feature spawn anyway? Apple just likes compatibility.

I personally don't like they idea of changing batteries on something I use so often, but that's just me.

P-Worm

Maybe they could be rechargable, like most other bluetooth devices. Just set the mouse and keyboard on a little rechargable dock, like the ipod.

[TwitchOSX]

Since when does Apple build support for 3rd party hardware directly into the System Prefs? Just to get more USB control over 3rd party USB devices, you have to download other software that installs itself into the System Prefs and allows you other options. I think apple is working on something. The current mice dont really cut it. Sure they look great, but thats not everything.

[jeffberg]

Sort of off topic, but in the bottom left of that screenshot and when I switch my system german there is a checkbox labeled "Foo." What does that mean?

[Nightstalker]

i really like that "foo" option, though i don't know what it means.
it's probably just a substitute for something else and derives from "foobar / fubar" wich is wwII language for "****ed up beyond all recognition".

Nightstalker

EDIT:
I should add that i am a native german speaker and there is no german word such as "foo".

[mod. edit - Don't circumvent the profanity filter.]

[elo]

I'm surprised that people haven't picked up on a couple of clues that Apple plans to introduce a new keyboard and mouse with the G5. First, Steve *never* actually displayed either with the computer itself. When he used these devices with the prototype machine, they were not shown on the larger screens or highlighted in any way. Second, the keyboards and mouses attached to the few working prototypes *did not match.* The white color appears nowhere in the tower's design. With any other designer, this might be a cost-cutting measure, but not with Ive. This would simply not pass. Third, read carefully the Panther Preview site--every word of it. The virtues of multi-button mouses are mentioned not once but *several times." Where depicted visually, they are third-party products, but the support for them is not merely present, but heavily advertised. This is a huge hint, and it's there on purpose.

So why not show them with the machine? Marketing. Think about the news reports we heard after the G5 announcement. Now think about the news if the machines had been shown with multi-button mouses. Apple wouldn't have received more press coverage. Instead, some of the G5's existing coverage (possibly *most* of that coverage) would have focused on the mouse itself. The one-button mouse has been such an emblem of the "old" Apple, that its demise, and not the speed of the new machines would have been the focus of every article.

News flash: Apple doesn't like the one-button mouse any more than we do. Steve, in particular, is not glued to it (NeXT boxes had two-button mouses). The introduction of the G5 seemed the perfect time to make this break with the past. But Apple has a press problem here. Introducing a multi-button mouse this late in the game could potentially open up Apple and its users (some of whom have absurdly defended the one button mouse for its "simplicity"--a position Apple hasn't taken in a long time) to ridicule. The solution, I believe, is to ship the new machines with a new mouse, but to start a long process of hinting and leaking this fact to blunt this potential black eye. The idea is that by the time the announcement is actually made, it will seem somewhat like old news.

All the hints are there already. Showing the beautiful aluminum G5 with a mismatched white keyboard and mouse was very, very intentional.

elo

[maler]

Originally posted by TwitchOSX
Since when does Apple build support for 3rd party hardware directly into the System Prefs? Just to get more USB control over 3rd party USB devices, you have to download other software that installs itself into the System Prefs and allows you other options. I think apple is working on something. The current mice dont really cut it. Sure they look great, but thats not everything.

a) Run "Set up Bluetooth device" in bluetooth menu under 10.2.5 - do you se option Mouse and Keyboard? i see...

b) for example with Expose under Panther, i can use mouse buton 3,4 and 5, which usualy have just 3rd party vendors (or to be specific, JUST such a vendors.)

[Chef Ramen]

i used a logitech optical wireless now, and i love it. i will never go back to a corded mouse...the convenience is much too great, although popping the batteries out is really hard. id prefer an apple solution any day (provided it has multiple buttons + scrolling)

[Flowbee]

Originally posted by elo
I'm surprised that people haven't picked up on a couple of clues that Apple plans to introduce a new keyboard and mouse with the G5.

It struck me as odd, too, when Steve mentioned Panther features that could be accessed by a multi-button mouse (I think it was during the Expose demo).

Apple needs to recognize that the 'simplicity' of the single button mouse is at odds with the 'pro' user who is the target market for the G5. Anyone that needs dual 2gig G5's, probably has a need for the second button.

Apple may continue to ship the single-button mouse with consumer level machines, while shipping a 2 or 3 button mouse with the Power Macs. That way, they meet the needs of the pro user while saving face over the 1 button mouse issue.

[cb911]

i hope Panther will support Bluetooth mouse and keyboards... that would be really good. with my TiBook i used to use an external keyboard and mouse quite often. i was thinking about getting a wireless keyboard and mouse, but then you need the transmitter/receiver for it, and that just takes up more desk space.

if Apple released a keyboard and mouse that didn't need a receiver or anything but the internal Bluetooth stuff, that would be awesome!!

[alia]

This might be a long shot but since it's a developer edition of the OS, it's worth mentioning. "Foo" is just a word a lot of developers use when they are writing apps and testing. They might not have their variable, function or field names set yet, so they just put "foo" in there as a temp name. At least, that's how it's always been at the places I've worked.

If you go to Think Geek (http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/coder/28f4/), they even have a t-shirt dedicated to "kung foo," or good programming skills. Anyway, that might explain the use of the word foo... it's just an option that they haven't quite set up yet, maybe?

Alia

[harmless]

Originally posted by arn
some people had pointed that out... but I would just attribute that to photography/videography.

Actually, it is somewhat strange. That's definitely not an Apple Pro Keyboard. It could be the Apple Keyboard introduced with eMac. But why would they use that one? And shouldn't you see the acrylic side(s)?

The mouse looks a bit strange, too. It does not seem to be transparent. If it were, the Apple logo had to sit more to the bottom/front of the picture. And it isn't as reflective as I'd expect for the current mouse.

Looking at the Apple Store, even the non-pro mouse seems to be transparent.

So maybe these are indeed new devices.

On the other hand - it could also be just the lighting. :}


bye. Andreas.

[harmless]

... explicitly state an "USB keyboard extension cable" as hardware accessoires for the G5.

So at least a bluetooth keyboard seems unlikely.


bye. Andreas.

[macdong]

Originally posted by Pete_Hoover
Maybe they could be rechargable, like most other bluetooth devices. Just set the mouse and keyboard on a little rechargable dock, like the ipod.

here is an idea.
remember the keyboard previously mention that has all the plugs in the back?
well i think the back of the keyboard is actually a charging bay.
and you can detach the keyboard and bring it everywhere, or you can hook the keyboard up to the charging bay to charge up.

[thebimbo]

>> NeXT boxes had three-button mouses

Nope 2 buttons only and I know this 'cos I had a couple of NeXTs

=thebimbo

[ipman]

Originally posted by harmless
... explicitly state an "USB keyboard extension cable" as hardware accessoires for the G5.

So at least a bluetooth keyboard seems unlikely.


bye. Andreas.

Could it be that the USB cable is to be used for recharging? USB does IIRC supply some power... alternatively it might be for when you run out of power and still want to use it, from somewhere a normal cable won't stretch cuz you'll be so used to wireless ;^D