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Apple Investigating Mulittouch Mouse

Brian Hickman said:
Honestly, I can see something like this working with a laptop trackpad, but not a mouse. The curvature of the mouse casing would make it very difficult to use.

Now, if apple created a flat "mouse" that was essentially a slightly larger than the average trackpad, they could have something. You could think of it as a small, finger operated, Wacom tablet.

Hickman
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Exactly as I was thinking...kinda. If Apple were to design something like this, they might as well create an add-on trackpad for use with a desktop. Or instead of buttons on a mouse, replace them with the trackpad, or a touchscreen.
 
raggedjimmi said:
I really love my BT MightyMouse as it works better in OSX than any of my Microsoft or Razer mice
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Each to their own, but I think the MM is junk. Microsoft really make good mice.

gifford said:
Watching many people slate Apples one button philosophy for years.
I have always thought they were simply thinking ahead. As forcing everyone to develop for one button mouse would mean that in the future (now) a single finger would suffice.
It would be cumbersome & hard to recognize a 'right click' gesture without forfeiting the two fingered scroll and enlarge.
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You're either joking or the biggest Apple fanboy ever to grace this forum! I've always thought the one-button malarkey is ridiculous as you always end up using ctrl click & :apple:click as the extra buttons, albeit in a very very user-unfriendly way.
 
Digitaljim said:
You're either joking or the biggest Apple fanboy ever to grace this forum! I've always thought the one-button malarkey is ridiculous as you always end up using ctrl click & :apple:click as the extra buttons, albeit in a very very user-unfriendly way.
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One button with a two-finger right-click on a laptop is brillopads - on a PC laptop I cannot guarantee 100% of the time that I am going to hit the correct button without looking, now I just move my finger down :)
 
I bet we might see a multi-touch pad that you could run with your left hand in conjunction with operating your mouse with your right (or vice versa for you southpaws). This would diminish the need for key commands allowing us to work even faster.

However, I think incorporating multi-touch into your mouse would have to be done very carefully, to keep it from thinking you want to zoom when you're trying to select an object, etc.

If anyone can do it, Apple can.
 
Forget the mouse. Just plug the iPhone into your computer for the gestures and pinching. Or better yet, let it communicate wirelessly as an input device. :apple:
 
Digitaljim said:
You're either joking or the biggest Apple fanboy ever to grace this forum! I've always thought the one-button malarkey is ridiculous as you always end up using ctrl click & :apple:click as the extra buttons, albeit in a very very user-unfriendly way.
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Nope, not joking! Before getting an Apple I had an Atari ST which had two buttons, when i got my first Mac the lack of extra buttons did my head in at first, but after a while i grew to love it.
And thanks to their forward thinking Apple are left with more options open and an easier transition to the next era of computer interaction.
I'm a lazy person, the less key commands i have to know the better. IMO its the OS's job to graphically display the information in the most simplistic way so I dont have to look through manuals.
 
bigbadnewill said:
just been rubbing my mouse in the fashion that i imagine we would have to.
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Who else thinks the scroll ball on the mighty mouse feels like a clitoris when you have greasy fingers? :eek:

And I thought the Optimus Keyboard was cool. Now a multi-touch mouse makes sense, preferably with a multi-touch screen. Imagine the mighty mouse (minus the clitoris) having a screen on the whole surface. Should be possible with OLEDs. have two fingers rest on it like on a normal mouse, apply more pressure on the right finger for right click (the touching surface of the right finger will then be larger), pinch for zooming, scroll with 2 fingers like on the trackpads. Add some optional gestures for additional triggers like expose etc.

Attach it to a laptop and have it display a number pad on its surface. Have it display status information (i.e. a selection of dock items) when the screen is off, so you know when you have Mail for example. Or better even: make Growl display messages on the mouse when the screen is off. Ok, let's keep real, it's apple, so it will probably be limited in its uses so this paragraph is pure dream.

EDIT: Would multitouch wireless mouse replace the Apple remote? Having a touch keyboard to enter searches on AppleTV would be useful.
 
psychofreak said:
One button with a two-finger right-click on a laptop is brillopads - on a PC laptop I cannot guarantee 100% of the time that I am going to hit the correct button without looking, now I just move my finger down :)
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I love my Macbook.
Left click -> anywhere on the big button (or tap once, but it gets clumsy for drag and drop)
right click -> tap 2 fingers on the trackpad.
 
Digitaljim said:
Each to their own, but I think the MM is junk. Microsoft really make good mice.

You're either joking or the biggest Apple fanboy ever to grace this forum! I've always thought the one-button malarkey is ridiculous as you always end up using ctrl click & :apple:click as the extra buttons, albeit in a very very user-unfriendly way.
Click to expand...

Microsift makes excellent hardware.
 
oscuh said:
I bet we might see a multi-touch pad that you could run with your left hand in conjunction with operating your mouse with your right (or vice versa for you southpaws). This would diminish the need for key commands allowing us to work even faster.

However, I think incorporating multi-touch into your mouse would have to be done very carefully, to keep it from thinking you want to zoom when you're trying to select an object, etc.

If anyone can do it, Apple can.
Click to expand...

I want my Macbook's trackpad to do the pinch for zooming. Multitouch-Pad for laptops would be neat.
 
uhh.. no thanks. That's just going to be awkward to use.

Additionally, Apple ****ing sucks at designing mice, so I doubt it will be any good.
 
So you could set up a stroking gesture to play a squeaking sound?
 
Great.

Cant wait to replace my faulty mighty mice. I have one for my desktop and another one for my MBP. I like the idea of not having a ball that gets dirty and filled with dust clogging up the wheel and not being able to scroll correctly. I also hope that Apple makes a better wireless mouse that can charge through a small USB plug in the front like the ones sold at RadTech.us. so that I don't have to keep feeding the thing batteries.
 
Regardless if its necessary or not this is why I love Apple. Always improving or making a better product.
 
It better be pretty damn awesome. I still use and love my 1999 Microsoft Optical Trackball for the thumb. All the mice since have been second string.
 
Doubt This Will Work For Most Due To Accidental "Gestures"

dashboard said:
While I agree that the multi-touch mouse might be hard to use at first, it is probably a much better/easier alternative to having a multi-touch screen, as that might require a redesign of the ergonomic layout of apple's desktops
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I don't think this will ever catch on due to the following comment:
whooleytoo said:
I'm willing to bet this is one of those patents that goes nowhere.

I can't see how this would work well.. most people rest their hands on the mouse, they'd have to lift them off to perform a pinch/flick, then back resting on the mouse again. Plus, unlike an iPhone screen, the potential for accidental gestures is fairly high.
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I agree wholeheartedly. Too many odds against this ever working because we all move our fingers over the mouse and buttons all the time without intending any action on the screen.
 
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