Apple Mouse Patent = iPod Mini Scroll Wheel?
Has anyone thought that the mouse patent (http://www.macobserver.com/columns/d...20030425.shtml) that Apple got a while back could have something to do with the iPod Mini's scroll wheel? (or am I just smoking something? 
)
The scroll wheel could be modified into a shape that would fit nicely onto a mouse (not perfectly round, but maybe a little more square or something). The mouse left/right buttons could be the current mini's back/fwd click buttons and the mouse page up/down buttons could be the current mini's menu/play click buttons. The rotary feature could still be used for scrolling or something else...
)The scroll wheel could be modified into a shape that would fit nicely onto a mouse (not perfectly round, but maybe a little more square or something). The mouse left/right buttons could be the current mini's back/fwd click buttons and the mouse page up/down buttons could be the current mini's menu/play click buttons. The rotary feature could still be used for scrolling or something else...
Comments
***Edit*** Did not realize you meant just for scrolling or whatever. My bad.
Originally posted by Jeremiah Rich
I would hate a mouse that did not have a tactile feel to it personally....
Why would a mouse with the clicker scroll wheel of the iPod mini not have a tactile feel to it? Maybe I'm just not quite understanding what you mean...
Originally posted by fulmer
Has anyone thought that the mouse patent (http://www.macobserver.com/columns/d...20030425.shtml) that Apple got a while back could have something to do with the iPod Mini's scroll wheel? (or am I just smoking something?
This is old news. There is however an update in this year. It is in french and it says briefly that Apple has a patent, n°_20040046741 of September 9 2002, published on Mars 11 2004, entitled 'Mouse having an optically-based scrolling feature'. An automated translation is here.
Originally posted by PB
This is old news. There is however an update in this year. It is in french and it says briefly that Apple has a patent, n°_20040046741 of September 9 2002, published on Mars 11 2004, entitled 'Mouse having an optically-based scrolling feature'. An automated translation is here.
How is this old news? I know the mouse patent is old, but I haven't seen anyone post anything about the mouse/ipod mini before?
Originally posted by fulmer
How is this old news? I know the mouse patent is old, but I haven't seen anyone post anything about the mouse/ipod mini before?
Look for example:
this thread
or
this one.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=39439
Originally posted by nevoz
... and here
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=39439
Yeah, I missed this one, although I was sure that the topic had been recently discussed.
Kensington has the Expert Mouse with this feature already
not the same
if you read carefully the link of PB, www.macplus.org, you will notice that they are talking of an optical device that reflects finger movements. In the Kensington the optical device detects the movement of the trackball.. in the apple mouse cited by macplus, the the optical device detects the movement of the finger..
if this is true, the new apple mouse could be something very different...
Originally posted by nevoz
not the same
if you read carefully the link of PB, www.macplus.org, you will notice that they are talking of an optical device that reflects finger movements. In the Kensington the optical device detects the movement of the trackball.. in the apple mouse cited by macplus, the the optical device detects the movement of the finger. . .
From the first post, which started the thread, the point of the discussion is an iPod like scroll wheel added to a mouse. Maybe you missed the scroll wheel in the article, quote:
"In any event, Kensington finally caught me in their trap. I tossed aside my Turbo Mouse for an Expert Mouse, which replaces the silly scroll wheel above the ball with a scroll ring around the circumference of the ball. It's a world of difference, and for the first time I'm using that scroll wheel technology the kids are so wild about."
My point is that a scroll wheel is already used in a pointing device. In this case it is a track ball, not a mouse. The details on how the scroll wheel is implemented is another matter.
My point is that a scroll wheel is already used in a pointing device. In this case it is a track ball, not a mouse. The details on how the scroll wheel is implemented is another matter.
So why a new patent?
Dated 11 03 2004?
I think that could be a new mouse with optical sensor of the finger so apple could build a mouse identical to the current mouse with normal abilities but with a sensor so if you move your finger, it detects the movement through the trasparent plastic so you can scroll up, down, left and right or link different behavior to different movement of the finger.
It is not a trackball but a mouse with an elegant design without wheel or multibuttons... it is not an ugly MS mouse but the same beautiful apple mouse with scrolling features and even more...
The great idea is that optical sensors go through transparent plastic!
Please read carefully the patent..
There's nothing about the patent that requires Apple to deploy the technology in a mouse.
Originally posted by Amorph
Keep in mind that Apple disguised the patent on the iPod's scroll wheel/select button mechanism as a mouse.
There's nothing about the patent that requires Apple to deploy the technology in a mouse.
Excellent point. Sneaky bastards.