Apple debuting two-button mouse?

[JFreak]

You do the same thing in Apple programs like FCP. You have to right-click to fish for options. Sorry, but that argument doesn't fly.

if you have to "fish for options", then you clearly do not know what you are doing. after you have learnt what you do, you know what you want and how to get it. just think about it - is it the computer that tries to teach you or you that tries to teach the computer? i believe the wiser of the two is always the user.

 

[JFreak]

I just hope they don't put two buttons on the iBook and PowerBook trackpads.

me too! god, that'd be awful if they did...

 

[shemp9999]

"jaws will drop"

why do i think this phrase has nothing to do with a mouse?

 

[JFreak]

I dont know about you guys, but 2 buttons isnt enough for me. My MX700 provides a total of 8 buttons and I can still use more

maybe you should retrofit a mouse under your keyboard? that'd be a +100 button mouse

 

[gekko513]

The people at this forum, whether they choose to use a one button mouse or not are not the reason why a one button mouse is better than a two button mouse.

The one button mouse is better for computer illiterate people. Approximately 1/3 of the population is computer illiterate.

 

[JFreak]

C'mon why are people bitching about extra buttons

because if there is only one button for most users, then the software developers MUST design interfaces that are usable with only one button or touchscreen. this is one of the reasons why mac software feels so good to use.

(many power users use multi-button mice and such software that average users never use can be designed differently. but generally, one-button mouse is a great thing for everyone.)

 

[Squire]

(The problem with stories like this is that things get posted faster than you can read them...)

Single button mice are fine, and offer a rich user interface when combined with some timely keyboard shortcuts.
Multi-button scroll mice are equally fine.
People prefer one or the other.

Apple is smart if they offer the choice, particularly to switchers. Make the venerable one button mouse the default, and let people upgrade to a multi-button mouse for an upcharge. Sounds like the Apple way to me.

Sure, I'd be for that. I use my 2-button-plus-scrollwheel mouse with my PC and the one-button mouse with my iMac. I don't have any problem with the one-button mouse; it feels better than the 2-button mouse (which, by the way, is a cheap model) but is less convenient for copying and pasting text, in my opinion. I've been lusting after the MX700 and MX1000 from Logitech for a little while now.

As for the thread. How's this for wishful thinking? Gyroscopic. They should at least leave room for it, if they ever debut a TV-based product it would be the perfect Apple way to control it. Maybe I'm just obsessed with the gyroscopic pointers we have at work. 15 years ago, Apple would have made one... they made anything back then, just to say they did. Drop-loading CD-ROM drive/player that can run off of 8AA batteries? Sure! It's COOL! I miss all those random Apple-branded toys, even if they were market failures.

I think I'm going to go buy a gyro pointer now.

Paul, there already is one available.

http://www.gyration.com/ultragt.htm

This thread has made me want to buy a new mouse

Me, too.

What next? A decently priced Apple branded 17" LCD monitor to sell along with the Mac Mini? They should, because it isn't even funny how many people are buying the black Dell 17" LCD monitors to hook up to their Mac Minis. Blasphemy!

(...and, by the time you've quoted all the other people, you've forgotten what it was you wanted to say initially. )

Oh, yeah...I think we're seeing Apple change direction in a few areas these days. In one respect, there seems to be a greater desire to attract the potential switcher. A few examples have been mentioned already (iTunes/iPod on Windows, the Mac mini, the wording on the iPod box, the switch to USB 2.0). The iPod-touting Windows user is, in a lot of cases, sitting on the fence, or "on the ropes." Apple wants to go in for the knockout punch. They want to make the "halo effect" happen as opposed to waiting to let it happen. The other trend-- and it all started with the socks-- is Apple's realization that the accessory market is an uber lucrative one..and they want some of that pie. As far as I'm concerned, a multi-button mouse would stem from both of those desires.

Personally, I don't blame them. It makes financial sense. Why have Logitech, Belkin, Griffin, and the like take in hundreds of millions of dollars a year that could just as easily go in Apple's pockets?

Finally, I think that if they do make another mouse, it will be astounding. Perhaps they'll incorporate gyroscopic technology. Perhaps it will double as an iTunes remote. And perhaps it will have a laser. Who knows?

Squire

 

[redeye be]

jaws will drop - my € 0.2

A really nice up down/left right wheel or some sort of very cool and easy to use touch pad for same...they did patent that ipod wheel on the mouse remember...maybe this will be the new iTunes remote!

They're updating Airport Express as well, including a digital out. Maybe they will add some BT to. This way the new BT-clickwheel-mouse will be able to serve as a iTunes remote, a nice iTunes remote .

My jaw would drop, and my wallet would open.
I was planning on buying an AExpress anyhow, let's just sit it out a few months. It's not that i _need_ it

 

[JFreak]

The people at this forum, whether they choose to use a one button mouse or not are not the reason why a one button mouse is better than a two button mouse.

The one button mouse is better for computer illiterate people. Approximately 1/3 of the population is computer illiterate.

i am certainly not computer illiterate, but i definetely enjoy the ease of use that mac systems offer. take that away and there goes the reason to use a mac in the first place. whatever apple does, it must make sure the systems continue to be very intuitive and user-friendly - and while i'm sure apple itself would continue doing that even if the standard was a 10-button mouse, i'm just as sure that all other software developers would sooner or later choose the easier way out. and THAT, my friend, is why it is essential for apple to sell one-button mice with their systems; just to give software developers a reason to make their software better and better instead of a bit worse each time.

 

[tech4all]

Anybody on this thread who says that they love their one-button mouse has NEVER, and I mean NEVER used a 2-button scrollwheel mouse.

The funniest thing about that is that you are completely wrong. I have used a 2 button mouse before using a 1 button mouse. And I do like the 1 button. It doesn't bother me.

Because anybody using a 2-button scrolling mouse would NEVER go back.

I think a person can use any number of buttons at their desire. Some applications are better suited for 1 button where some are more suited for 2.

You guys have absolutely no idea how much productivity you're wasting by using a single button mouse.

I have not lost any productivity using 1 button. I fail to see how using 1 button can't hinder productivity

Furthermore, the one button mouse has actually PREVENTED many of my PC friends from getting Macs b/c they said they couldn't live without a two-button mouse

I think anyone can "live" without a 2 button mouse - it's not oxygen. And besides, didn't you tell them that OS X is compatible with 2 button mice?

But honestly folks, anybody who says they love a one-button mouse over a two-button mouse is either ignorant or just plain stupid.

Honestly, that was stupid and ignorant statement. You have NO right to label people who prefer 1 button over 2 buttons. Just because someone prefers 1 button over 2 does NOT make them ignorant or stupid. There is no right answer for the most here. It's a personal preference.

 

[cube]

Not enough

Well, I can go out and buy any multibutton mouse I want.
What is needed is 3-button laptops. How are you supposed to use X Window without 3 buttons?

BTW, the middle button does not work when connecting to an X Window machine via an intermediate VNC computer. (That is, the X windows pop up inside a VNC client window).

FIXED: see later posts

 

[dekator]

It's long overdue. At least it offers people a choice. Personally, I've never used a one-button rodent... Two buttons are minimum. Gosh, to think I'd had to hit the keyboard every time to invoke the contextual menu. Boy, this is so pathetic! 2+ mice are much more efficient. Only cool-aid drinkers will fool themselves into believing 'the original Apple thing one-button catastrophy' is any good.

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

I use a two button mouse for a very simple reason.

I am left-handed. On my PB keyboard the CTRL & Option keys are on the left hand side. If I use the mouse in my left hand then use my right hand to press either of those keys then I quite often brush the trackpad (with some bizarre results at times).

No I will not use the trackpad and get rid of the mouse altogether (for the same reason). No, I will not turn off the trackpad (I do actually use it often enough for it to be convenient). No, I will not use a mouse in my right hand.

My needs are met by a macally jr 2 button with wheel. Compact so it doesn't take up much room in the PB bag. Symmetrical so my left hand does not ache after using the so-called ergonomic asymmetrical mice (eg Intellimouse).

Suits me.

 

[beanregarder]

Why don't they just make a 1 button mouse, with 2 buttons and a scroll wheel? That way everyone is happy

 

[mhar4]

I don't see what the big issue is. I've got a 109 button mouse. Oh, wait, no, that's the keyboard.

 

[Neodym]

The Podmouse

It's long overdue. At least it offers people a choice. Personally, I've never used a one-button rodent... Two buttons are minimum. Gosh, to think I'd had to hit the keyboard every time to invoke the contextual menu. Boy, this is so pathetic! 2+ mice are much more efficient. Only cool-aid drinkers will fool themselves into believing 'the original Apple thing one-button catastrophy' is any good.

If you never used a single-button mouse how can you honestly judge it? Before i switched some years ago i always used 2- or 3-button mice and i loved the scrollwheel. When i got my Cube the Apple Pro Mouse came with it - i never had used a mouse feeling so good in the hand - and clicking with the whole mouse as one single button is very comfortable as well!
Really the only thing i do miss is a scrollwheel for it (Apple style of course, i.e.: not a mechnical scrollwheel, but a sensor-driven one ;-) *sigh* Guess i won't be getting such a mouse now...
However my guess is that the new mouse will sport a scrollwheel like the iPods have it - that way you can scroll endlessly without having to re-adjust your finger every other second. So in the end maybe i _will_ finally get my sensor-driven scrollwheel in an Apple mouse (even though the two-button solution might be disturbing the design...).

Cheers
Neodym

 

[BakedBeans]

what is it with windows users (including ex-windows users), how can you sit there and say how much better a multi button mouse is than a single button - if we only used the mouse then you would be right, but its much more efficient to use the 100+ buttons simultaneously with the mouse than it is to have your left hand useless and use a multi button mouse,

my left hand does most of the stuff i want it to, in photoshop i use the keyboard all the time, as i do with fcp - using a mouse to search through menus/contextual menus is a waste of time and isn't productive

one of the first questions switches from Windows to Mac ask is, how to i copy and paste, its is much faster (if your familiar with it) to apple+c, click where you want to past then move your finger to v, than it is to highlight, right click, find copy, click, click where you want to paste, right click, find paste and then click,
its much easier in safari to apple+t to open a browser than it is to move your hand to the tab bar, right click, then find open new tab, then click it.
someone said about right clicking to remove stuff to trash, i think its harder to right click find delete then click than it is to drag it into the bin (this applies to Mac only because the bin is in the dock, unlike windows when its easier to right click)

i agree with jfreak about his theory of you knowing what you want to do.

i would buy a 2 buttoned scroll wheel from apple but i would never use the second button because there are faster, more efficient ways of doing things than scrambling around a contextual menu - i would however use the scroll wheel


i will always rest my hand on the keyboard though with my thumb on the apple button, having a multi button mouse wont be a huge deal but dont for a second think it will make anyone more productive because it wont, it will however kill of the way people connect with the os

 

[Montserrat]

I remember reading in one of the patent releases from Apple that they were planning on encorpating and iPod-like touch sensitive pad in their mouse to give it scroll functionality.

I still think that feature would be cool if done well. mmm

 

[Bern]

I'm sure it's just a rumour, but if Apple do release a 2 button mouse I will certainly get one.

 

[visor]

its not real - but wouldnt it be nice - instead of retirng the bundled mouse as soon as you can go out and buy a real one - actually get a value for the money you have to spend in the bundle.

ok - if they actually see that noone that buys a mac mini actually buys an apple mouse along with it - it might be true after all.

I actually installed sideTrack on my ibook, because the one buton trackpad didnt allow me to work decently in e.g. a vnc connection to a PC. now the right button is on the lower right corner of the trackpad - while the left edge emulates a scroll wheel. I like it.

 

[Abstract]

So you consider control-click to be intuitive?

Well OBVIOUSLY its going to be CTRL + click. What else could it be? Its almost like a born instinct....... ctrl + click. Ctrl + click. Eaaasy. Its so much more intuitive than the 2 button mouse that he doesn't find intuitive.

 

[tny]

And Solaris, HPUX, AIX, Linux, BeOS and just about any other OS with a GUI. But you knew that ...

Most UNIXes prefer 3-button mice, not 2 button - and the center button is important in most UNIX window managers. The advent of the clickable scroll wheel for Windows has made life much easier for especially Linux users - no more trouble finding a decent three-button mouse.

 

[tny]

Well, I can go out and buy any multibutton mouse I want.
What is needed is 3-button laptops. How are you supposed to use X Window without 3 buttons?

BTW, the middle button does not work when connecting to an X Window machine via an intermediate VNC computer. (That is, the X windows pop up inside a VNC client window).

Don't bother with VNC, then; tunnel X through ssh:

ssh -X -l username hostname.domain.tld

If you're on Windows and you use X, you should have Cygwin installed anyway.

 

[ncoffey]

I remember reading in one of the patent releases from Apple that they were planning on encorpating and iPod-like touch sensitive pad in their mouse to give it scroll functionality.

I still think that feature would be cool if done well. mmm

Oh man, if they did that I would buy the mouse in a heartbeat. I like the idea of the scroll mouse but i hate the clicking wheel that they use for it. That being said I kindof hope it's still single button because I really like the idea of a single button mouse.

It's funny to read some of the posts in this thread because I'm a windows user who uses the keyboard as much as possible. I do use the two-buttonness of the mouse when required but I always "Ctrl-C", "Ctrl-V" for copy/paste, hit tab to move to the next item, use the keyboard to switch between applications "Alt-Tab" etc. It just seems faster to me to use these combinations rather than move the mouse around all the time. I can't wait to get my Mac Mini (3/30 I hope) and learn similar keyboard shortcuts.

 

[Fender2112]

I agree that this would be a wise move in attracting switchers. They are used to two buttons and scroll a wheel. Having to relearn basic mouse skills would really be a turnoff for most folks.

I've been using a Kensington Turbo / Expert Mouse for years. While a two button mouse would be great, I still prefer the Expert Mouse. Trackballs work better with my limited desk space. Once I got used to the scroll ring, it was all over. I would never go back to a one button mouse as long as there are other choices.