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Apple Introduces Mighty Mouse

Well I couldn't wait for a BT version so went out and got one today.

I got it from the Bluewater shop and they had a fair few in stock, which could be interesting for those of you who tried and failed at the Regent street store.

I tried it out first in the store and liked it pretty much immediately. Scrolling is fine, the right click works for me as I naturally raise my left finger anyway when doing so and I actually found that I had to reduce the pressure I was placing on the side side buttons which were programmed for dashboard as Dashboard kept appearing and disappearing immediately. A gentle squeeze got the desired result.

Now I have it at home I have the side buttons programmed for expose and clicking on the nipple for dashboard.

All in all its a very nice, elegant solution, I just wish it was BT. If and when they produce a BT version I'll probably get that though, sucker as I am for new Apple stuff.

Vanilla
 
Does this mean that Apple finally made a two button mouse that they will finally make a two button trackpad in a portable? I sure hope so. What if they put the scroll ball thing inside of a portable?! :eek:
 
I ordered mine Tuesday, when it was announced, but it got delayed. Finally shipped today (Saturday), which means it won't actually make progress until Monday, but I have overnight, so it should be here Tuesday.
 
got mine today:

while the scroll wheel 'ball' works great, it feels a little flimsy, could have had more body to it. and the right click, doesn't work so well. it you have to not cover the left side and click and hold down the right button to make it work right i find.

so so

i'm not completely plesed but the scroll ball as a button and the side buttons aren't bad. Expecially to use with dashboard or expose.

works well but it takes some getting used to.

if i repeated anything previously mentioned its cos i didn't really the 1186 post befor me ;)
 
i would like it a lot better without the ugly wheel in the middle of nowhere. it will take some getting used to, but im sure it will grow on me. (just like my imac)
 
Resolution?

I didn't read through all of the posts, but I was shocked that i couldn't find anything about the optical sensor revolution. I would love to try out this mouse but I have an 800 DPI BT mouse that I use on the go so I want a wired mouse that has the same or better. I am concerned because I know the old pro mice were only 400 DPI a noticeable difference in accuracy. Other than that, I would not spend that kind of money without testing it out in the store first. but I live 20 min from one, so I'm in luck. When I try it out I will re-post.
 
Scroll wheel - Can it move the cursor?

Dear Folks:

Someone on here said something about the scroll wheel being able to move the cursor about the screen. That would be great but I don't think it actually does that...

Anyone know?

Anyone know of a nice roll ball mouse for Mac to save my poor wrist?

:eek:

Raoul
 
Oh my g.....

This is indeed groundbreaking from Apple, not so much on the tech side, but a huge change in attitude, for years refusing to introduce two buttons or more..
I got arround with one button for ages, I might fall for the Mighty though....

but the scroll button is not realy new, for one IBM laptops used to have these wedged somewhere in the middle of their keypads (to move the mouse pointer) , as opposed to a trackpad..... Apple is just putting it a in new place..and using it is slightly different ways...
 
ccroo said:
Dear Folks:

Someone on here said something about the scroll wheel being able to move the cursor about the screen. That would be great but I don't think it actually does that...

Anyone know?

Anyone know of a nice roll ball mouse for Mac to save my poor wrist?

:eek:

Raoul
Click to expand...


Good idea! And my post with the idea that you could build in an iPod like interface around the scrollball seems to have gone AWOL...think about it you could navigate the finder (in its current form) exactly the same way as the iPod if you had a scroll wheel interface built into this mouse.
 
Hm, sensors istead of of microswitches...

One would think that apple leans from the mistakes, made with the ipod 3rd generation - all full of sensors, working as often as not correcctly. I can hardly stomace that on an Ipod - got a 4th gen with the click wheel because of that.
Now reading from people that a right click is interpreted as left click when leaving the fingers on the buttons - is exactly the worst possible behaviour for me. I have my (15 euro logi wheel mouse) set to be extremely sesible, thus moving my hand only very sligtly, the buttons are convinient, and they click when I click them, and I'm sure that it gets the right button, too.

Now, I do like the idea of a multi button mouse, and I esp. like the scroll ball, but damn - I'm not going to change my mouse clicking behaviour because of an apple design.

I migt eventually test one to see if it's really as bad as I fear, but this is definately not a deal to be made unseen.
 
k2k koos said:
but the scroll button is not realy new, for one IBM laptops used to have these wedged somewhere in the middle of their keypads (to move the mouse pointer) , as opposed to a trackpad..... Apple is just putting it a in new place..and using it is slightly different ways...
Click to expand...

I disagree... I've never seen this kind of scroll ball anywhere else besides a trackball... The one you mention has fairly bad tactile feedback, as you are not actually moving an object along any sort of axis. All the little nub did on the IBM's was sense which direction you were pushing it and based the distance on how much pressure was applied. Compared to a trackpad or trackball you can get some sort of direction & distance feedback from how far you move your finger. Same with apples new scroll ball. It might be the same size as those IBM mouse thingies, but the mechanism is completely different.

I definitely agree about falling for the Mighty Mouse. I use Maya, Illustrator, and Photoshop all day long, and having a 3+ button mouse is a GODSEND (especially with Maya). Currently I use the Apple BT mouse, and it definitely gets the job done. But having a multidirection scroll and a few extra buttons will be very nice!! I am going to pick this mouse up tomorrow!
 
from_the_link_to_the_article_above said:
My money says that we'll see two-button support similar to the mighty mouse implementation in the PowerBook and iBook line just as soon as they switch to Intel. And then things get really interesting.
Click to expand...
One more reason for me to wait until the intel switch to buy a new PowerBook! :D This would be awesome!
 
It is still a one button mouse - but better.

I have been using the new Mighty Mouse for the last two days. I like it. Since I can walk and chew gum at the same time, I have no touble right clicking. About still being a "one Button" mouse; the mouse click, whether left, right or center is the same click as the old mouse. This is what makes it different than all the other multi-buttons mouses. It is the sensors which decide what action will be taken based on the position of the fingers when the mouse is clicked. I think this is unique and innovative, just what you would expect from Apple.
 
Awesome mouse

I purchased the Mighty Mouse this weekend after trying it out in the local Apple store. I must say that I like the mouse and it continues to grow on me. I am replacing a Microsoft Blue Wheel Mouse Optical. My only complaint is that you can't use the side buttons without changing the placement of your hands on the mouse.

The scroll ball is absolutely cool. It works flawlessly.

Your mileage may vary.

Todd Sellers
PowerMac G5 Dual 1.8GHz, OSX 10.4.2
 
I got one...but when I click the (left) mouse button down, it doesn't click back up until 3 seconds later....and it doesn't sound too good, like something is stuck. Gotta return it....

BTW who is Mitsui? Do they manufacture other Apple electronics?
 
robotrenegade said:
Why not BT?
Click to expand...

Marketing. With a new product, you want to sell a basic no-frills model for starters, as people will buy it regardless (as has already been proven!) - people will buy it because it is something new. Then, a few months later, you release an "upgraded" one (i.e. BT) and cash in on more sales. And then you play around with the price points - either releasing the BT version for the same price, and reducing the price of the corded version, or leaving the corded at the same price and offer the BT version for more money. There are benefits of executing both strategies.

That, and also there are many people who don't have/like/want BT, so if their only option was BT mouse, they may love the concept, but would be unable to buy it. Apple wouldn't want to alienate potential customers in this manner, so instead they opted to just temporarily alienate the BT users until the near future when the BT version is released as well. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to release the "luxury" version first (BT) then release the standard version (corded) later - again, partly a Marketing thing. :cool:
 
Its always apeared that its the apple apologists, not Apple, who make the excuse that grandma can use one button more easily. I think the real reason is design and style. Apple has focused more on how the computer looks than on how easy it is to use.

Apple's site says "Single buttons looks, multi-button charm". This suggests that the one button thing has more to do with *looks* and design, than functionality. There was the recent no-button mouse by Apple; pretty but a pain to use. There was the infamous iMac gimee-carpal-tunnel-hockey-puck that stylisticaly was a good match for the iMac but, this was definitely not designed for human hands.

The statement from the site, "for the best of both form and function", suggests this is true:single button=pretty, multi-button=functional.

From the site, "Stick with single-button simplicity or click with multibutton efficiency." *suggests* that they've known all along that the single button is less efficient.

However, raw efficiency is not the only consideration though. For example, it'd be more "efficient" to do away with the mouse and use an elaborate keyboard region system to do image editing. But, the mouse is a nice, easy to use interface that maps well to several kinds of input devices.

It's not just about efficiency. The best products also look good and feel natural. Look at the popularity of a wikipedia. Certainly, a targetted web application with lots of software agents to assist and a core team would be more efficient, but Wikipedias social dynamics and interface encourage so many people to use it that it ends up being a better product despite being less efficient.

Clicking the "Design" link takes us to a page with the statement "Who has time for intuitive, elegant design when there is so much clicking to do", again suggesting that the primary driving force for the mouse has been form over function.
 
Lacero said:
Its always apeared that its the apple apologists, not Apple, who make the excuse that grandma can use one button more easily.
Click to expand...

No apology. In many cases it's absolutely true. Look. My dad is heading into his 80's and he's pretty much stuck in, oh, about 1930-1950's thinking. Anything beyond that is too high-tec for him. He can barely remember to double-click when using the computer. A two-button mouse would be pointless where he's concerned. It would be just one more thing to learn that he doesn't want to learn.

Now I won't say that my dad is represenative of most men in his age group. Here on line, I've gotten advice on how to navigate trouble on my computer from men and women his age and older. So I'm well aware that just *being* of that grandma/grandpa age doesn't qualify one for a one-button mouse. All I'm saying is that it's not, necessarily, a fallacy. There are folk out there who don't use the computer much and don't want to--they use it because they have to. This world of ours makes it easier if they do--like telling them they'll have to pay a fee if they call for Airline tickets, but they won't if they get them on-line. Given that they sometimes HAVE to use the computer, these people want things as simple as possible when they do. One button to push is simple. Two, three, four bottons...now it's getting ridiculous--or so they think.

In the end, I make no apologies. I think Apple *should* have come out with such a mouse before...but I also know Apple. I know that they don't do things just because they're "wanted." They care about making an item that captures the eye and is pleasing to use, that is elegant and reliable. They don't say, "Let's do this" and then toss out a cheap mock up. That's what I like about them. Sometimes, I believe, Apple waits so long to bring out such things because they're waiting for the technology to catch up with their design sense. Certainly this Mighty Mouse requires technology that wasn't around when the first two-button mouses hit the market.

There was a point at which Apple could have come out with the two-button mouse. They held off, either because they were foolish, or the technology wasn't there to give them what they really wanted, or both. And then the market was flooded with cheap mice that could work on Macs, so why bother? Now, however, they're moving in a new direction and the technology is there so they can create the mouse of *their* dreams. So they have.

It's a pity that anyone ever thinks they have to apologize for such things.
 
OK, just got back from the apple store and promptly installed my Mighty Mouse! I love this thing!! The scroll ball is incredibly accurate... Instead of scrolling 3 or more lines, it works just the same as the mouse going pixel by pixel with just the right amount of acceleration. Best of all I don't have to give up the feel and accuracy of the apple mouse tracking and I get a 3 button mouse!

Since I use so many graphic apps, I think it's safe to say this product is a must for anyone who doesn't already have a 3 button solution. Already it has increased my productivity a lot, and the mouse feels great!
 
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