Magic Mouse/Keyboard 2 - Likes/Dislikes / OS Question

I recently bought the late 2015 iMac and I went for the wired keyboard, i just prefer to have a numerical pad. I visited my local Apple store and tried the trackpad before purchasing but I couldn't get to grips with it! I've been using macs for over 25 years and to me the trackpad just felt a little alien so I went for the Magic Mouse 2.

Having said that, your Mac journey has just begun so you wont know the subtle differences between the trackpad and a mouse. A lot of people do prefer them so for you it might be a good time to invest in one.

Once purchased, Apple will email you and offer a "personal setup" service free of charge:-

"We can help you get the most out of your new device right in the comfort of your own home with Personal Setup. In this interactive online session*, an Apple Specialist will walk you through some key features and answer your questions. They’ll also point out some great apps, and help you personalise your device."

Might be worth you booking an appointment

 

Its a personal preference really , I have both magic mouse and Trackpad and much prefer the trackpad especially for gestures , I just find the mouse too small to comfortably do gestures on , plus I think thee are a couple of gestures in El Capitan that only work on the pad.

 

Not sure how in-depth it is, but I'm pretty sure it will cover off some basic stuff and get you up and going

--- Post Merged, May 31, 2016 ---

If you buy your iMac from the Apple store, you can choose whether to purchase the mouse or the Trackpad, however the trackpad (in the UK) costs £44 more.

 

No, the iMac has a 3.5mm jack input at the back so they should work fine.

 

In my opinion, the trackpad is far superior to the mouse. It does not make your hand hurt whilst using it. The Apple Keyboard is fine too, yes the additional number pad is better than numbers in a row, but given the amount of time spent using it, not having one is not a great issue.

That said, I have the v1 Magic Trackpad and Keyboard, which run on AA batteries. I am totally happy with them and cannot for the life of me see any benefit in the v2's with built in batteries, and much more expensive Trackpad. BUT, if I did not have these items and was starting out afresh, as you are, I would go for the standard Kbd and the Trackpad.

 

OMGoodness! I'm not the only one that their hand hurts when using the Magic Mouse 2. YES!

I'm buying the Logitech MX Master mouse today. Seriously my right hand hurt so bad, I was close to returning the iMac. And I'm merely in the process of 'moving' from Windows to Mac. Albeit I'm more making sure I learn the Mac OS and hardware to start supporting it at work.

 

Yes you will.... However it depends on which Harmon Kardon SoundSticks you have. I have 2 sets, one is the original set from years ago, which has a USB connection only. The newer set are the SoundSticks II or III (not sure which one) and it has a mini jack connection. These speakers and the sub unit come through the ceiling in the bathroom so I'm not sure if they have USB compatibility as well as mini jack. To my knowledge I don't think they do.

--- Post Merged, May 31, 2016 ---

I use both the AA battery version all day at work and the chargeable (version 2) at home. Both are fine and neither of them make my hand hurt.

 

First of all, I bought the 5K iMac with the wireless keyboard (Magic Keyboard) and the Magic Trackpad. I love the combination... but also have a Magic Mouse (purchased earlier/separately) in case I need it for anything. For me, it works well... pretty much the same setup as I had on my rMBP.

I made the switch from Windows to OS X in 2010... and I found a book that was pretty helpful. That book, by David Pogue is called Switching to the Mac - The Missing Manual. I have the Snow Leopard edition because that's what was current when I made the switch... but there are versions for El Capitan, as well.

Here's the TOC from the Snow Leopard version for you to review...

 

I work for a design/reprographics house and when we are really busy, I bring my work home at the weekends. I use the 3 main apps on Adobe Creative Cloud which are Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. We are now in the Go-Pro era and I've found I'm doing more and more video editing / encoding at home which I'm really getting into. Basically I wanted a machine which could handle anything I threw at it easily whilst I'm browsing the web or watching youtube videos etc. The reason I went for the SSD is that the machine I use at work has a 512GB SSD so there was no going back to a standard HD like i use to have prior to this machine nor did I want a fusion drive. 512GB wasnt enough so I went for the 1TB. The machine is fast anyway with it having the 4.0ghz i7 CPU, but having the SSD is what makes the machine super quick. The 32GB RAM was bought purely so I could have every app open at once.

I only buy a new Mac every 8-10 years, so when I'm in the market, I tend to purchase the best spec I can afford to future proof my investment. This time I was lucky enough to be able to afford the 5k iMac and spec it to the max, I'm really happy with it and hopefully it will stand the test of time.

It also looks good on a Quirky!!

 

Put it this way, in two weeks I can tell the difference in my hand\wrist. I think the arch\hump on the likes of Logitech and Microsoft mouse, I'm just used to that support. The Apple Magic Mouse is just so 'low'...

 

Yeah it is down to what the individual is used to. I've used both PC's and Apple mac mouses over the years and I don't feel any difference. A mouse is just a mouse to me i'm afraid!

 

I use v1 at work, have v2 at home.

I use a set of rechargeable AAs for v1 at work. They run out every two weeks or so and take 18 hours before they can be used again.

I have needed to recharge my v2 mouse twice in the last six months. Went for a run, came back and it was done. I think it finished within an hour from being at 20%. I recently charged the keyboard for the very first time (not including initial charging).

I am very happy with the new peripherals.

 

I had hand issues but learned to use my magic mouse left handed and my force touch track pad right handed. Going back and forth between the two have taken the pressure off both hands. No more issues.

I actually love both and splitting up usage seems to be the best option for me.

 

Apart from being able to open up all apps and use them, I wouldn't say the RAM speeds up the machine as such, the biggest factor on speed is the SSD, that makes the machine really quick. It takes about the same amount of time to boot up (approx 16 secs) with or with the additional RAM.

I'll admit that the RAM I have is probably overkill at the moment, but like I said I intend to keep this machine for a long time. As apps like photoshop etc and OS develop even further and become more memory intensive in years to come, the RAM will come into it's own.

If speed is a buying factor for you, then you are right to save up a bit longer for the 2TB fusion drive, because as you quite rightly stated, it has a bigger SSD partition than the 1TB fusion drive.

Going back to what I said earlier in relation to the personal setup assistant from Apple:-
This may only be offered to you if you actually buy the machine direct from Apple like I did. So if you are buying your machine from a 3rd party (which it looks like you may be doing), you should deffo ask them prior to buying if you would get the same offer from Apple.

 

The best part about the keyboard and trackpad is that you can continue using them while they charge. Not so with the MM2, but as I said, I don't use it much anyway.

 

The mouse charges so fast and works for so long between charges it's a non-issue for me.