Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Introduces Mighty Mouse

rog said:
Wow, over 900 posts for a mouse. Well, it sounds like overpriced junk so far, unfortunately. Why would the makey the side buttons not independent and programmable. The whole purpose of those buttons is to go forward and backward in web browsers.
Click to expand...
This doesn't have forward/back buttons. Lots of mice don't have forward/back buttons. (Do people really often use side buttons that way? I can't imagine that being a common need--sounds like a gimmicky excuse to sell people more buttons.)

What this DOES have is a squeeze function. Those aren't buttons, they are force sensors that detect a squeeze. The squeeze function IS programmable. But no, you can't squeeze from just one side--that wouldn't make sense.

Therefore this is a 4-"button" mouse, not a 5-button. Are all mice with less than 5 buttons worthless junk? Even the ones with scroll balls?


rog said:
Couldn't they have updated the shape so that it wasn't designed for 8 year old Asian girls? It's too small for normal people to use without getting hand cramps.
Click to expand...
AppleInsider's review said the main con was that the Mighty Mouse is too LARGE. Bottom line: different people have different desires. If you want a huge mouse, there are many to choose from. Including many that are much smaller than Apple's, or much larger.

I prefer a small mouse I can move with my fingertips--one that doesn't bear the full weight of my hand and force me to move my whole arm. THAT gives me cramps. Apple's mouse is the best shape I've tried--but I can imagine an even smaller mouse working great. Bigger? Not for me. I have a big "ergonomic" mouse, and I tolerate it at best.

To each his own. Choice is good.
 
Bob Knob said:
But as soon as I point out that it doesn't matter which side button they click, everything is fine.

Try it for yourself.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the report. The way I see it, those things aren't traditional buttons as such, they are squeeze forcer sensors--and positioned where someone is likely to hit at least one of them while giving a squeeze. Makes sense to me.


Lacero said:
Overblown or fraudulent Apple PR. It's not really touch sensitive. Ars Technica has a review of the MM.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is. That's how it knows which "button" you clicked. It's touch-sensitive sensors COMBINED with a physical hinge--which is just as it should be. Touch sensors alone would not have the expected click feel, and people would hate that.
 
I think it's funny how everyone going on about how many posts there are about a mouse are creating more posts.... about a mouse lol.

Wow! x posts about a mouse! Well, x - 1 since this post is really a post about posts about mice. Ok, x - y since there are quite a few people making posts about posts.... wait... how many posts are there about the mouse?

:p
 
nagromme said:
This doesn't have forward/back buttons. Lots of mice don't have forward/back buttons. (Do people really often use side buttons that way? I can't imagine that being a common need--sounds like a gimmicky excuse to sell people more buttons.)
Click to expand...

My Logitech Laser Mouse has forward/back buttons and I use them constantly. They are indispensible. The only really compelling feature on the new Apple mouse, in my view, is the scroll ball. That's pretty frekkin' awesome and I'd LOVE to have it for Photoshop. But other than that innovation, there are far better mice out there. Ergonomically, the Mighty Mouse is really poor. I was hoping they would ditch the pro mouse shape. Apple has not had a good mouse since the classic ADB II mouse. Then they made the puck and the only slightly better shaped pro mouse. The back should be slightly raised and the side buttons are too small and don't sit under the thumb and ring finger properly (I've use a pro mouse, so I'm speaking from experience). In order to give those buttons proper placement however, Apple would have to give up on it's symetrical design... and they wouldn't dare scarifice aesthetics to make the mouse more usable. Look, I love the Apple design aesthetic... I love my G5 iMac and the iPod etc... but when it comes to something that fits in your hand and is used for navigating and clicking etc... ergonomics need to be the starting point... not aesthetics.
 
mac-er said:
Okay, Andre the Giant, sure.

mightymouse3r.jpg
Click to expand...
Coming from a small Asian girl, thank you mac-er for putting the Apple mouse into perspective! It really does feel big (the not-so-Mighty-Mouse, at least).
 
nagromme said:
AppleInsider's review said the main con was that the Mighty Mouse is too LARGE. Bottom line: different people have different desires. If you want a huge mouse, there are many to choose from.
Click to expand...

I know... I thought that was a little weird. But they were comparing it to a mini mouse... which was the reviewers stated preferrance. Personally, I've tried those mini mice and I don't know how anyone could use them. I think the pro shape is fine in terms of it's footprint... the problem is that it's too low in the back... and the non-moving portions of the mouse (i.e. the side buttons) are too small and your thumb and ring finger don't fall on them in a natural way. I wish Apple had based the shape of the mouse on the human hand... instead of a visual aesthetic.
 
benpatient said:
i'm amazed at the number of people on this thread who think that there is a sizeable population of people out there who can't figure out left-click, right-click. The only people I've EVER met who didn't understand the concept were old-school Mac people who were like..."Right click?" A 4-year-old child knows what right-click means.
Click to expand...

That's funny, 'cause I've introduced quite a few people to computing (my parents, my wife's parents, brother-in-law, numerous children, etc), and almost to a single one they got caught up on "which mouse button?" I think your statement that you've never met people who were confused by two mouse buttons is more a testament to your lack of a social life than a valid anthropological observation.

Now, that having been said, the "confusion period" lasts about fifteen minutes for most young kids (3-4 year olds), but will generally last in the days-weeks range for adults (the length of that period increasing pretty dramatically with age). There are outliers, but that's my experience.

And no, none of these folks were introduced to computing on Macs, unfortunately. Would have been a lot easier if they had been, not the least due to the fact that I wouldn't constantly have to remind them that the button on the left of the mouse does stuff and the other button "looks at" stuff.
 
IN THE MEAN TIME...

does anyone realize that Powerbook 17 inch's waiting time has increased to 2-4 days? does anyone know what the reason for this might be?
 
jettredmont said:
Now, that having been said, the "confusion period" lasts about fifteen minutes for most young kids (3-4 year olds), but will generally last in the days-weeks range for adults (the length of that period increasing pretty dramatically with age). There are outliers, but that's my experience.
Click to expand...

Coming from a Help Desk job in my past. I've seen it all.
I've seen people do a Left Click and then immediately a Right Click because they weren't sure of what to do.

Until this day I still see people double clicking every thing. Even if a single click is all they need to do. And then they wonder why their computere is not responding.

It is very hard to generalize the behavior of people. There is always some one that will prove you wrong.
 
a17inchFuture said:
ok, maybe im wrong.

But do you disagree with my assessment that in ten years (give or take a few), no one will use a wired mouse?
Click to expand...

Assuming battery power is not a concern (battery technology is not advancing in leaps and bounds, if you haven't noticed), reliability issues all get magically solved (meaning, reliability of the connection, not reliability of the device; I know too many people who sometimes stall out for thirty seconds waiting for their BT mice to reconnect because someone across the building turned the microwave on or something), and someone comes up with a good device locator (half the time the cordless phone gets lost in my house ... it'd absolutely kill me if my mouse went missing between the sofa cushions for a few days!) ... then, sure, wireless everything, all the time!

But, given that none of that is true TODAY, it's not always the best solution.

Now, for me, personally, I'm willing to live with the various faults of BT mice for the benefit of being wireless. But the other dozen computer users I talk with daily would generally not. It would have been SIGNIFICANTLY more useless for Apple to have put out a wireless-only mouse than a wired-only mouse!
 
nagromme said:
What this DOES have is a squeeze function. Those aren't buttons, they are force sensors that detect a squeeze. The squeeze function IS programmable. But no, you can't squeeze from just one side--that wouldn't make sense.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Have you even used the mouse?
 
My 10 Minute Review

Was at the Apple store today and checked out the Mighty Mouse. The feel is very good. I right clicked about 20 times and the mouse got it right every time. The little ball is great. The side click worked like a charm to bring up expose. Overall if I had the money, I would buy this mouse.

There is just one problem with the Apple Store. Each time I go there, I have to stop myself from drooling all over the Duel G5 PowerMac 2.7GHz hooked up to the 30" ACD. I love that setup. All I need is a lot of money to get that computer.
 
nagromme said:
This doesn't have forward/back buttons. Lots of mice don't have forward/back buttons. (Do people really often use side buttons that way? I can't imagine that being a common need--sounds like a gimmicky excuse to sell people more buttons.)
Click to expand...


I have a logitech mx510. Its got 7 buttons +scroll. I never use the the 3 buttons in the middle around the scroll. They're difficult to use and pretty worthless, at least to me. But I use the side forward and back buttons constantly. Very useful, to not have to move the pointer to hit the back or forward buttons when browsing, for example.

I thought they were gimmicky at first, but now I can't imagine not having them.
 
bodeh6 said:
There is just one problem with the Apple Store. Each time I go there, I have to stop myself from drooling all over the Duel G5 PowerMac 2.7GHz hooked up to the 30" ACD. I love that setup. All I need is a lot of money to get that computer.
Click to expand...


lol, the 30" acd is hypnotizing. I just mouse around on it. Feels like walking around a mansion. :)
 
tikibangout said:
I'm just going by what i've been told before, but if the name Mighty Mouse was copyrighted in 1942, couldn't its copyright expired?
Click to expand...

Nah, that "other" mouse came in and fixed the obviously broken copyright system so that copyrights never expire until 150 years after Walt Disney Corp ceases to exist. Whew! That was close!
 
wrxguy said:
i just hate the scroll ball cause it gets **** stuck in it and never works that great after 6 months...but atleast they are on the right track for the multibutton mouses!
Click to expand...

Wow. You've had a Mighty Mouse for 6 months?!? Was that six months of Earth time, or are you from another planet?
 
Maybe they got sick of seeing their apple computers under a desk, with a Microsoft mouse on top of the desk.

This is just more proof their going towards being a gadget company. Making the coolest mouse around that PC users will want. Now they'll have an apple logo on the desk of pc users.

I'll stick with my Kensington Optical Elite. Scrolls left/right, has 5 buttons, has a rubbery texture, and looks more like an apple mouse than the apple mouse. $19.95 Fits like the Microsoft mouse. A whole hand kind of feel.

Oh, yeah. And it clicks! If the new mouse doesn't click, yuk. They even switched the ipod back to a click after the G3 ipods were touch sensitive. Having to lift up your finger was more work. At least with a click I only push down, and the mouse lifts my finger back up.
 
devilot76 said:
Coming from a small Asian girl, thank you mac-er for putting the Apple mouse into perspective! It really does feel big (the not-so-Mighty-Mouse, at least).
Click to expand...

So did you get yours in the store? was it the SF one, cause i remember the sale told me that i bought the last two.
 
feakbeak said:
You roll your eyes, but nobody in this thread has yet to take up my offer and provide information about why this touch sensitive stuff is superior to traditional multi-button mice.
Click to expand...

1. Fewer moving parts to get fouled up with gunk.
2. No opening in the top aside from the space around the scroll ball for dust and grime to settle in.
3. Easier for newbies to start with one-button functionality and "graduate" to 2-button once they've got the basics of the computer down.
4. Purdy.
5. Guaranteed to draw conversation in airports.
6. Chicks dig it.

I could go on, but it gets goofy from there ...
 
Well I'm using one on Windows....

First impressions?? Nice mouse...

Scroll is very fast...And very nice....

The sensors need a little tweeking, or I just need to find the sweet spot...


The bottom 2 buttons, for me, should be back a little.....


Overall it's a great mouse. Better them most on the market today.


Tonight I'll see how it works on a G5 running tiger....



Cheers!!!


Captain Scarlet....................
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back