Lion gestures, trackpad, magic mouse...

[javimm]

Hi. First time poster, but I've been reading the forums everyday since I bought my iMac in june 2009, so long time lurker

I think this question is more related to the Lion forums instead of the hardware forums.

With the release of Lion, I'd like to know if it's worth to upgrade my "mighty" mouse to the magic mouse or buy a Trackpad and compliment the mouse I have, which in my opinion, sucks big time.

I'm asking this because I keep reading about all the gestures that the user is going to be able to do to perform some tasks in Lion, and I think I'll be missing some functionality if I can't perform them.

I've been pondering replacing the mouse for some time now, as I really dislike it, so maybe the magic mouse is the solution. Is it a good mouse?. Can I do gestures with it?. Do they sell it with a wire instead of the Bluetooth version?.

My first thought was buying a wired mouse like a logitech or something similar, with a proper right click button and the multi-directional scrolling ball, but I don't know if something like that exists.

Cheers.
Thanks.

 

[PaulWog]

Hi. First time poster, but I've been reading the forums everyday since I bought my iMac in june 2009, so long time lurker

I think this question is more related to the Lion forums instead of the hardware forums.

With the release of Lion, I'd like to know if it's worth to upgrade my "mighty" mouse to the magic mouse or buy a Trackpad and compliment the mouse I have, which in my opinion, sucks big time.

I'm asking this because I keep reading about all the gestures that the user is going to be able to do to perform some tasks in Lion, and I think I'll be missing some functionality if I can't perform them.

I've been pondering replacing the mouse for some time now, as I really dislike it, so maybe the magic mouse is the solution. Is it a good mouse?. Can I do gestures with it?. Do they sell it with a wire instead of the Bluetooth version?.

My first thought was buying a wired mouse like a logitech or something similar, with a proper right click button and the multi-directional scrolling ball, but I don't know if something like that exists.

Cheers.
Thanks.

I neither own the Magic Mouse nor do I own the magic trackpad. However, I've been looking into the Magic Mouse and I have been doing a ton of research (reading up on other peoples' qualitative analyses, and official reviews).

Based on everything I've read, I've seen very mixed reviews.

What I would recommend to you is to visit your local Apple store, or a store which sells Apple products and has them on display, and check out the Magic Mouse and/or Magic Trackpad for yourself. That way you can get a feel for the hardware and see whether you really like it or not. (Obviously if you want to test it on Lion, you'd want to wait until Lion is released to be able to do that test in-store).

My opinion: The Magic Trackpad would likely be the way to go if you simply want touch gestures. The Magic Mouse really doesn't offer any benefit over the Magic Trackpad + Mighty Mouse, other than the convenience factor and aesthetics. If you like the Magic Trackpad, however you want the Magic Mouse for its aesthetics, then you might as well get both; that is, however, assuming that either or both products are to your liking after having tested them.

 

[PurrBall]

I (personally) find the Magic Mouse even more uncomfortable than the Mighty Mouse. The gestures it can do are fairly limited as well.

After getting a MacBook Pro and using one of Apple's multi-touch trackpads extensively, I'm thinking of getting a Magic Trackpad myself for my iMac. Having gestures up to 4 fingers really helps productivity tremendously (for me, at least.)

 

[javimm]

I neither own the Magic Mouse nor do I own the magic trackpad. However, I've been looking into the Magic Mouse and I have been doing a ton of research (reading up on other peoples' qualitative analyses, and official reviews).

Based on everything I've read, I've seen very mixed reviews.

What I would recommend to you is to visit your local Apple store, or a store which sells Apple products and has them on display, and check out the Magic Mouse and/or Magic Trackpad for yourself. That way you can get a feel for the hardware and see whether you really like it or not. (Obviously if you want to test it on Lion, you'd want to wait until Lion is released to be able to do that test in-store).

My opinion: The Magic Trackpad would likely be the way to go if you simply want touch gestures. The Magic Mouse really doesn't offer any benefit over the Magic Trackpad + Mighty Mouse, other than the convenience factor and aesthetics. If you like the Magic Trackpad, however you want the Magic Mouse for its aesthetics, then you might as well get both; that is, however, assuming that either or both products are to your liking after having tested them.

Thanks for your answer.
I usually try both in Apple stores whenever I visit one. The trackpad was a bit strange to use, and I don't know if I'd be able to replace a mouse with it. It is less precise than a mouse. The magic mouse felt a bit better than the might one, but the lack of real buttons annoys me. That's why I was thinking about buying some kind of "gaming" mouse with a scroll ball and forget about Apple mices altogether.

Can I use a non Apple wired mouse and a Trackpad at the same time?.

I'd like to know if gestures are that important to use in Lion, because if the functionality those gestures give are not that important, I'd rather buy a better non-Apple mouse and forget about the trackpad and gestures for now.

I'd say that I use SL and never had the need to perform a gesture to scroll, or change between apps, as I use keyboard shortcuts.

 

[javimm]

I (personally) find the Magic Mouse even more uncomfortable than the Mighty Mouse. The gestures it can do are fairly limited as well.

After getting a MacBook Pro and using one of Apple's multi-touch trackpads extensively, I'm thinking of getting a Magic Trackpad myself for my iMac. Having gestures up to 4 fingers really helps productivity tremendously (for me, at least.)

Seems that the best option is getting a better mouse first and then the trackpad if I really need it. Can I use both at the same time?.

 

[aussie_geek]

Get both.

Seems that the best option is getting a better mouse first and then the trackpad if I really need it. Can I use both at the same time?.

yeh, you can have both connected at the same time.

Get yourself a good wireless logitech mouse - like the logitech performance mx. I have one and it is great for fine work like photoshop or video editing where more control is needed.

I also have the Magic trackpad for general computing and taking advantage of the multitouch technology in Lion.

 

[javimm]

yeh, you can have both connected at the same time.

Get yourself a good wireless logitech mouse - like the logitech performance mx. I have one and it is great for fine work like photoshop or video editing where more control is needed.

I also have the Magic trackpad for general computing and taking advantage of the multitouch technology in Lion.

Is there a good/recommended WIRED mouse?. I really hate having to deal with battery changes. The iMac has so few cables that having one for the keyboard and one for the mouse doesn't bother me at all, and I prefer that to changing batteries.

Thanks.

EDITED TO ADD: Does the Logitech Performance MX allow to scroll to the left and right or just up and down?.

 

[aussie_geek]

Is there a good/recommended WIRED mouse?. I really hate having to deal with battery changes. The iMac has so few cables that having one for the keyboard and one for the mouse doesn't bother me at all, and I prefer that to changing batteries.

Thanks.

EDITED TO ADD: Does the Logitech Performance MX allow to scroll to the left and right or just up and down?.

Not too sure on the wired option. The MX does not have a side scroll wheel. See the product page here : logitechI went wireless years ago and havn't looked back. The MX has a rechargeable AA battery that charges off a little wall socket with extension lead. It lasts for at least 4 - 5 days between charges but all I do is plug it in when I turn off the Mac.

As for wired mice you could always look into Razer gaming mice. They have a great feel. None of them have the side scrolling feature like the mighty mouse's little ball on top.

As for the apple magic mouse I found it too uncomfortable for extended use. It is just way too flat.

 

[gregd33]

Disclosure: I am a Mac noob and my iMac is my first Mac product since I was a kid with my Apple II/e.


I cannot stand the magic mouse for a couple reasons. As others have said, the gestures the magic mouse can do are limited. My other complaint is the plastic/hard rubber on the bottom of the mouse. Sounds like it is scratching and scraping its way along the desk. I wont go back to a mousepad so those two issues alone were enough for me to despise it.

When I first tried the trackpad, I disliked it as well. After seeing all of the things it can do and the new stuff coming in Lion, I tried it again and decided to keep going with it. After two days of solid use, I was in love. Now, when I go to the office, I cannot stand using a regular mouse.

I do have another mouse hooked up for some gaming (WoW and Portal 2) but other than that, I am all about the trackpad.

Not sure if this was useful, but I hope it was.

 

[AlanShutko]

Just as a counterpoint, I like the Magic Mouse. In fact, I picked up one that I can use with my MBA, since it's very small and works well for travel.

If you get one, you should also get BetterTouchTool which allows you to define more gestures for the mouse. It's highly recommended.

 

[javimm]

So no lateral scroll is a deal breaker for me. Horizontal scrolling was one of the things I miss when using Windows. It's like "why can't M$ do that. Seems a natural thing to do, horizontal scrolling". When I bought my Mac it was like "Yes, a company that thinks about these little things".

Gregd23, your answer was helpful indeed, as I'm debating if I'd get used to the trackpad feel or not. I think the only way to know is buying it, using it and then seeing if it suits me.

I think the trackpad is the option for gestures as it seems, based on the opinions expressed that the Magic Maouse is not too good for gestures.

I'll give it another try in the store.

Thanks.

 

[ch02ce]

I was in the same boat as you. I opted to compliment the mighty mouse with a trackpad and think it was the right choice.

I find that I use the trackpad for everyday browsing as the inertial scrolling and gestures are hard to beat. When it is time for some precision mousing, the mighty mouse still lives up to the task. I actually find myself using both of them in tandem sometimes.

Best of both worlds in my opinion.