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More Bluetooth Accessory Confirmation?
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Eh ... even if this were true .. I think I would just stick with my current wired keyboard and mouse.
Unless, of course, the mouse has two+ buttons and a scroll wheel...
but now lets consider the feasability of both a 2-button mouse AND that it's "ready to go"...
Unless, of course, the mouse has two+ buttons and a scroll wheel...
but now lets consider the feasability of both a 2-button mouse AND that it's "ready to go"...
for some reason, a bluetooth keyboard and mouse really aren't doing anything for me. dunno why. i'm not really trying to take my keyboard that far away from my machine. (shrug)
what's a good scenario for these bluetooth peripherals?
what's a good scenario for these bluetooth peripherals?
jbomber:
Let's say you have an aluminum PowerBook. You bring your laptop home after a long day on the road. Instead of having to reattach a full-size keyboard and/or mouse to your laptop to turn it into your desktop machine, you just come within Bluetooth range.
Combine that with Airport Extreme, and about the only things left that you might want to plug in are headphones/speakers and the AC adapter. Much more convenient, isn't it?
Let's say you have an aluminum PowerBook. You bring your laptop home after a long day on the road. Instead of having to reattach a full-size keyboard and/or mouse to your laptop to turn it into your desktop machine, you just come within Bluetooth range.
Combine that with Airport Extreme, and about the only things left that you might want to plug in are headphones/speakers and the AC adapter. Much more convenient, isn't it?
I would much rather see other developments or improvements. Don't ask me what else because I'm not sure. But that's how unimportant this is to me. I'm not criticizing those who are excited or find it important, but it does nothing for me.
Where desktops are concerned, I, for one, will take USB/Firewire cables over batteries any day. I don't want my keyboard conking out and becoming useless because I've got no batteries around.
(Now, if it were Bluetooth AND had a cable connection (such that the cable could be unplugged on both ends when not in use), we might be in business.)
(Now, if it were Bluetooth AND had a cable connection (such that the cable could be unplugged on both ends when not in use), we might be in business.)
A big advantage of BT is also the fact that there are no ugly wires running from your computer to your machine. I don't know about y'all but I get annoyed by my mouse and keyboard wires, I would much prefer to keep my desk as wire-free as possible.
I will be angry if apple ships the current pro mouse and keyboard or the regular mouse and keyboard with the G5. I want something that matches my system. It is ugly enough as is.... THe least apple can do is give us a mouse and keyboard that matches.
It would just be dumb for apple to continue using a 1 button mouse.
I don't want this to change into another mouse debate though.
scem0
I will be angry if apple ships the current pro mouse and keyboard or the regular mouse and keyboard with the G5. I want something that matches my system. It is ugly enough as is.... THe least apple can do is give us a mouse and keyboard that matches.
It would just be dumb for apple to continue using a 1 button mouse.
I don't want this to change into another mouse debate though.
scem0
I think this its really great that apple is finally making stuff for bluetooth. I have used wireless mouse before (for my powerpoint presentation in college) and the infered signal is really bad. I mean you have to use point-to-point. THe mouse pratically has to be aiming toward the receiver inorder to get a signal. With bluetooth all you have to do is be in range. Obviously it's no where near the range of 802.11/Radio Signals (RF), but still quite a step up from infered.
When this is going to come out, no one (but Apple) really knows for sure. But I think that we can guess a few specs...
1 - Rechargable Batteries: Apple isn't going to ship a Bluetooth Mouse or Keyboard that runs out of juice and stops working unless you go to the store and buy some replacement Energizers! The items will come with a cable to connect them to the FireWire port of your computer to recharge when necessary, just like the iPod.
2 - Multi-Button Mouse: OS X is a full fledged Unix-based OS. And ever since the days of yore, "Unix Machines" have shipped with a 3-button mouse. Sun did it, even NeXT did it. If Apple really has designed a brand new mouse and keyboard for Bluetooth use, I'd be amazed if it was still one button. Jobs himself used the term "right-click" during his WWDC keynote. And there has been mounting evidence supporting this idea, such as the Panther Mouse Preferences supporting a mouse with up to FIVE buttons. We're going to be surprised...
Nothing is revolutionary about this...it will just be one more thing on the list of "Apple either did it first, or Apple did it RIGHT first"...and that in itself is cool.
1 - Rechargable Batteries: Apple isn't going to ship a Bluetooth Mouse or Keyboard that runs out of juice and stops working unless you go to the store and buy some replacement Energizers! The items will come with a cable to connect them to the FireWire port of your computer to recharge when necessary, just like the iPod.
2 - Multi-Button Mouse: OS X is a full fledged Unix-based OS. And ever since the days of yore, "Unix Machines" have shipped with a 3-button mouse. Sun did it, even NeXT did it. If Apple really has designed a brand new mouse and keyboard for Bluetooth use, I'd be amazed if it was still one button. Jobs himself used the term "right-click" during his WWDC keynote. And there has been mounting evidence supporting this idea, such as the Panther Mouse Preferences supporting a mouse with up to FIVE buttons. We're going to be surprised...
Nothing is revolutionary about this...it will just be one more thing on the list of "Apple either did it first, or Apple did it RIGHT first"...and that in itself is cool.
We all know that when Apple does something, they do it BIG. How do think Apple can make a good thing like Bluetooth better?
it would be cool if you could set your mouse on your case and could charge...hey it's all aluminum, right?
I really think that Apple will do something revolutionary with the mouse...
Inkwell seems so understated for its great functionality...
just some random thoughts on a boring day
by the way, i NEED the new powerbooK!!!
it would be cool if you could set your mouse on your case and could charge...hey it's all aluminum, right?
I really think that Apple will do something revolutionary with the mouse...
Inkwell seems so understated for its great functionality...
just some random thoughts on a boring day
by the way, i NEED the new powerbooK!!!
I've been using microsoft's bluetooth mouse with my 17" powerbook for a while now and it is terrifically conveinient.
I can bring my mouse with me any where I go without any wire getting tangled up, all I have to do is pull it out and use it. It works flawlessly.
I have found the batteries can be mildly frustrating. Battery life isn't terrific, and occasionally the batteries crap out in the middle of playing a game or something like that.
But other than that it's terrific.
Josh
I can bring my mouse with me any where I go without any wire getting tangled up, all I have to do is pull it out and use it. It works flawlessly.
I have found the batteries can be mildly frustrating. Battery life isn't terrific, and occasionally the batteries crap out in the middle of playing a game or something like that.
But other than that it's terrific.
Josh
I for one am excited about the release of a new mouse only if there are certain ergonimic and functional improvements. If the bluetooth mouse is the same design as the current pro mouse, I'm not interested. Most "Pro" users use the pro mouse for the first day and then go out and buy a microsoft or logitech or just simply use a mouse they already have. This was the same case with the original round imac mouse. Ergonomic mice can be made to look just as cool as the rest of Apple's hardware.
Originally posted by scem0
It would just be dumb for apple to continue using a 1 button mouse.
I don't want this to change into another mouse debate though.
scem0
Herein lies the problem:
Bluetooth mice are fairly expensive.
Up to now, despite the fact that Apple's mice are sold at horrendously high price points (I mean, they aren't that great!), a replacement with better features is very cheap (even as low as $10 if you want really cheap).
But, Bluetooth mice are expensive. Makes just "discarding" the shipped Apple mouse much harder (and yet, still necessary ... development work with a single-button mouse is next to impossible).
Personally, if Apple continues with the single-button mouse I for one would much rather they just keep the old model and not waste money on developing and shipping a new model. Yeah, it adds only about $20 to Apple's per-machine cost, but I'd rather save that for a third-party implementation with enough buttons to do my work and a nice wireless setup. I just hate to see this effort wasted, and for the vast majority of "switchers" (be that from Windows or Unix), any one-button mouse implementation is just plain wasted effort.
Now, as for the wireless keyboard ... I don't see the advantage there (a mouse cord gets in the way at times ... my keyboard just sits there on the desk regardless of what I'm doing, it's cord never moving ...) and see many problems (keeping battery charge, security, hijacking possibilities, etc).
Maybe Apple will come out with something to blow my socks off, but the basic idea of shipping a BT keyboard/mouse combo frightens me.
Re: More Bluetooth Accessory Confirmation?
Somehow, I suspect that their "sources" are a certain French rumor site ... seems like there was at least one other rumor that curiously echoed MacBid's rumors (and didn't come true IIRC).
Somehow, I suspect that their "sources" are a certain French rumor site ... seems like there was at least one other rumor that curiously echoed MacBid's rumors (and didn't come true IIRC).
LoopRumors is only claiming this because of the recent price cuts and "Wired Keyboard" rumors.
I seriously doubt they actually have a source.
I seriously doubt they actually have a source.
Loopyrumors says BT mice and keyboards are ready to go, but in their Q & A on Panther, they state (FWIW):
"Will the G5 launch with the eMac keyboard and mouse?
Yes. Apple is working on wireless versions of both, but the first G5s to ship will include the standard "wired" Apple Pro Mouse and Keyboard."
"Will the G5 launch with the eMac keyboard and mouse?
Yes. Apple is working on wireless versions of both, but the first G5s to ship will include the standard "wired" Apple Pro Mouse and Keyboard."
I have them running under the desk, they are still ugly and annoying.
I have more than enough wires under my desk. I just wish everything was wireless
.scem0
hmmm.. it seems like the bluetooth mice and keyboards would have to be firewire rechargeable or something if they'd be shipping standard.
Apple wouldn't leave a user hanging out to dry because of a battery failure.
Either that or the bluetooth peripherals will be available as add-ons with 'wired' versions shipping shipping standard, because the user needs constant dependable input capabilities for the machine.
Apple wouldn't leave a user hanging out to dry because of a battery failure.
Either that or the bluetooth peripherals will be available as add-ons with 'wired' versions shipping shipping standard, because the user needs constant dependable input capabilities for the machine.
the mouse button issue is interesting.
Apple's been single button for so long, but with the current OS, there's a greater need for the ability to 'right click'. The fact that you can't readily create a new folder without 'right-clicking' or cntrl-clicking leads me to say rather definitively that apple would make the jump to 2 button mice.
-oh, and thanks to the people showing a few scenarios for bt keyboards. i've had a desktop and laptop for so long that it never really occured to me.
Apple's been single button for so long, but with the current OS, there's a greater need for the ability to 'right click'. The fact that you can't readily create a new folder without 'right-clicking' or cntrl-clicking leads me to say rather definitively that apple would make the jump to 2 button mice.
-oh, and thanks to the people showing a few scenarios for bt keyboards. i've had a desktop and laptop for so long that it never really occured to me.
I have the logitech elite duo (which is a wireless keyboard and mouse combo and love it. However, batteries can be a pain. I have rechargable ones so it's not too much of a hassle.
The problem with the logic of having to plug the devices into the computer defeats the purpose of having wireless devices. you'll always have that cord sticking out for you to charge it with or you could always reach in the back of your G5 and plug it in everytime. What have you gained by this? Or if you're playing (insert RPG game here) and your mouse battery dies and you die and you haven't saved for hours then what have you gained? In this situation also you'll still have two cords to charge your keyboard and mouse so there's nothing different than before.
Standard batteries are the perfect solution. They're cheap, you can get rechargable ones if you want and there are no docking stations or powercords for connection. Unfortunately, Apple is not one for using proven standards so who knows what will happen. It's not the perfect solution, because, for me, if I have to plug it occationally, it'll always be plugged in.
Therein lies the answer. you don't really need to have it be wireless.
Standard batteries would be the worst scenario. no one wants to constantly buy batteries for a device that really and truly doesn't NEED to be wireless. Essentially you're adding the expense of batteries to a device that has never needed them. any batteries or charging that will be require for these devices will have to be recharged via the machine - read: firewire. It's really the easiest and most convenient solution.
In any case, I think I'll be sticking with a regular keyboard. not enough justification for getting a bluetooth one with energy solutions presented thus far.
By the way... I heard devices... ok besides keyboards and mice (which have been using RF for a while) and select cellphones and PDAs (some/most have IrDA) what other devices are we talking about?
It's not fast enough for serious data transfer so portable data storage is not going to fly. You can't play stereo sound with it because it doesn't have the bandwidth. It would work for printers... if you were close enough... Cameras... Not fast enough.
I'm missing the point of all this hype. I mean if it was at least USB speed they could develop a bluetooth to USB router or include stereo capabilities... I mean if it was that fast besides power, I would have no other cables connected to my laptop. Bluetooth would have been hot about 5 to 7 years ago when wireless 768 KB/s was practically jaw dropping but now... it's like giving a guy a spoon when he needs a shovel.
It's not fast enough for serious data transfer so portable data storage is not going to fly. You can't play stereo sound with it because it doesn't have the bandwidth. It would work for printers... if you were close enough... Cameras... Not fast enough.
I'm missing the point of all this hype. I mean if it was at least USB speed they could develop a bluetooth to USB router or include stereo capabilities... I mean if it was that fast besides power, I would have no other cables connected to my laptop. Bluetooth would have been hot about 5 to 7 years ago when wireless 768 KB/s was practically jaw dropping but now... it's like giving a guy a spoon when he needs a shovel.
Well, I partially disagree with you. A mouse is a nice thing to have wireless because sometimes I'd like to surf with my left hand and write things down with my right (because i'm right handed). That gets hard to do with a cord. But a wireless keyboard is definitely pointless.
Agreed,
i have a huge Wacom tablet, and the mouse is wireless. It's cool because you can switch hands like you said.
Can't imagine too many other uses for the peripherals to be wireless tho.