Apple plans Mighty Mouse makeover - Page 3

Apple could spend millions on developing the perfect mouse. And as demonstrated here and virtually everywhere, there is no such thing as, "just right."

Glove, hats and shoes are the most difficult to buy. Too many variables. Too many functions. Too many sizes to choose from. Same for mice.

And as the adage goes, 'the more choices one has, the longer it takes to make a decision.'

As I have said before, I can walk into any computer lab or clients offices, invariably I won't find two users with the same mouse. And now, I have clients that are telling there employees and even teachers to keep your mouse to yourself because of the flu issues.

In the near thirty years on Mac, I can't remember the last time I every picked up and felt comfortable using a client's/colleague's/student's/friend's mouse. And they have expressed the same as well.

Like my car, boat, entertainment system or sports equipment, there are many things and accessories that just fit/work/look better than offered from the original manufacturer.

For one thing, Logitech, MacAlly, Microsoft, etc., make some great mice. Thank heavens they do because they haven't made a great computer or OS to shove it into ours faces.

That was the old way of the Mac. Taking whatever they feel like we should have is the new way.

Mighty Mouse is one of Apple's poorly designed products. The scroll ball gets squirrelly when a speck of dust casts its shadow on it but worse than that is the unreliability of the right click. Sometimes it works, sometimes it functions as a left click. The best mouse I've ever used on a Mac is a product with the unwieldy name "The Mouse" by MacMice. Didn't have the screwy right click and looked right at home next to a Mac.

Apple works differently than other companies and their design philosophy reflects that.

Macs have historically included every port necessary so that you can ADD third-party peripherals to "complete" your system as YOU desire.

Why build in something that only a small percentage of users will use, when that function can be added simply and easily with the purchase of a $25 peripheral?

That's why Apple doesn't build in a bunch of marginally useful ports and such.

The opposite of that philosophy is exactly why so many Windows laptops come festooned with a zillion bells, lights, whistles, buttons and ports and tend to be MUCH thicker and heavier than Mac laptops, or the iMac for that matter. If I only need a thing sometimes or ever, why would I want to not only pay for it, but also lug it around everywhere I go?

With Apple's small market share it makes a lot of sense and which is why Apple's product line is small and focussed.

That happens if you don't lift your index finger up when doing a right click.

It's never changed. And it's exactly the same as far as the shitty Apple mice go.
The last good mouse Apple made was the old ADB Mouse.

I want a fixed scroll ball please, other then that the mouse is already perfect. Maybe get rid of having to lift your finger to right click.

Please don't turn turn the mouse into a multitouch pad though, i would be pretty pissed if that happened.

Wow, this is a hot(-mouse)-button issue!

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just find a mouse that has the features we want and use that?

Wait...we can do that?

Dude.

First things first. I actually JUST registered on the AppleInsider forum SO THAT I could leave this reply for you.

It's like an hour later and I'm still catching myself snickering under my breath muttering "shitty clog-ball" under my breath.

Genius. That's totally been added to my lexicon. I'm confident it will be used by me too much very soon. "Shitty clog-ball."

I'm gonna learn to play an instrument JUST so I can start a band called "Shitty clog-ball."

I could go on and on. Sufficed to say, thank you for brightening my day with the shitty clog-ball.

Fuckin' genius.

RH

I don't think you get what charlituna is suggesting.

The average IQ of AI forum members just lowered a few points.

IQ tests can't correctly measure intelligence. Intelligence comes in difference forms.

Since you joined, of course.

Indeed. I can color inside the lines, for instance.

Zing!

Have you ever used a Logitech or Microsoft mouse/keyboard, especially recent ones? They are in fact quite nice to use. I own a Logitech G11 keyboard and a Microsoft Sidewinder X8 mouse and have no complaints. In fact, the mouse table in this article depicts the X8, all the way to the right. It feels like butter in my hand. Much better than the MM, and Logitech's keyboards are far better than the flat slab of aluminum that Apple offers, IMO.

You see, you have great dexterity.

not MJ.

I like Apples keyboards, I like the button spacing and the short keystroke required. I use one with my PC. The Mighty Mouse is foreign to me, but based on what I've heard about it, that is a good thing. For me to consider any mouse now, it has to have something like logitechs "frictionless" scroll wheel. I can't live without that thing.

I'm glad to see this, because while the scroll ball on the Mighty Mouse was a great idea, its implementation was UTTER FAIL. They have not been good in a work environment at all. Good riddance!

I have never been able to stand either the puck or mighty mouse. I Went with a trackball years ago and have never looked back.

How can a company that has done such good things with the trackpad produce such a poor mouse? Well, at least it is good for logitech and kensington. Maybe Apple has shares.

Except that history has changed in the past few years. Macs are no longer including "every port necessary" on them.

Repeated exposure of rubber parts to isopropyl alcohol will cause the rubber to harden and change shape. That could be why Apple's video on cleaning the scroll ball says to use a lint-free cloth dampened with water. If you absolutely have to use a solvent (and don't mind destroying the ozone layer), use carbon tetrachloride. It won't destroy the rubber as fast.

Edit: I take it back. Carbon tet might deteriorate the plastic and it is really unhealthy.

Hmm, kind of late to this party but I'll comment anyway.


I got a Mighty Mouse the day they were sold and mine was dysfunctional right away.

Since I'm many miles from the Apple Store and I didn't like it, I decided to dissect it and take high resolution pictures of it and state my feelings about it online.

"Mighty Mouse Dissected" jumped to the top of Google's search engine.

Low and behold my Dot Mac website jumped to near 100,000 visits, I got some fanboi hate mail but reading some of the comments here mimics what I said about problems with the device.


1: The scroll ball and rollers will get filled with human oils and dirt, there is no way to open the device and clean them.

2: The side buttons and their pre-programmed features are a hassle.

3: Two buttons is really not two buttons.

4: The tracking wasn't fine enough.

5: You couldn't scroll diagonally or at least mine couldn't due to the defect.


So I went out and got a Logitech laser mouse.

I love Apple, but it's a shame they don't do their homework sometimes.

I would be glad to test new Apple products before release and wouldn't have a problem signing a NDA and keeping my mouth shut if it meant Apple would consistently put out the best products money can buy.



And yes, Apple should consider offering more MATTE screen options to more of their computers, if they are interested in selling as many computers as possible.

If you make using a computer a hassle with crappy mice and glare prone screens, why should people they buy a Mac again?

Mighty Mouse is actually a dog - with fleas. Worst mouse I've used in the last 15-20 years. I'm using a Logitech mouse (wired - I HATE most wireless rodents) with simple scroll wheel, forward/back buttons at the thumb position (crucial for web browsing, Apple needs to adopt this concept), and a nice ergo shape. It's not that complicated - just emulate what works in other designs, make it look a little different, and voila. Aluminum look or finish? Meh. Real aluminum would be cold and clammy, plastic faux aluminum would just suck. How about basic black, which still will match the iMac, and make the keyboard keys black (and backlit!) at the same time? THAT would be a nice setup.

Agreed.

A. They pulled the ExpressCard/34 slot from the 15" MacBook Pro.
B. The MacBook Air is port-challenged; FireWire and Ethernet would have been no-brainers.
C. They dropped DVI for mini DisplayPort, but you can get adaptors for DVI and VG-LOL-A.

So, what else is missing?

the mighty mouse is great for me, esp. the wireless one, the expose feature on the sides is superb and the horizontal movement of the scroll button.

But, I 've been for a long time wondering why the advanced trackpad has not materialized for the desktop.

So, this is probably the greatest news we 've had lately, and it's come from somewhere we least expected.

My favorite Apple mouse was the one 3rd in from the left on the top row (ADB mouse). It was very robust and had a good click to it. The problem was the scroll ball on the bottom getting jammed.

I think simply putting a multi-touch pad where the square button is would work very well and have a state-of-the-art laser on the bottom. Right now, they have to compete with Logitech DarkField and Microsoft BluTrack.

You would move the mouse as normal but you'd do a two finger swipe over the button to scroll and two finger press for right-click or it could tell which side you pressed based on pressure. Mice where the whole body of the mouse moves to click don't work well because they release when you lift the mouse to move it.

1 x AA battery for ideal weight and multi-pairing bluetooth (auto-pairing would be nice - the machine just has to remember the mouse hardware id).

Trackpads aren't too bad and Wacom's touch pad is a nice idea but they aren't ideal in all cases. I don't think I'd mind a pad replacing a mouse. It would take a while to get used to but one advantage it would have is you could map your screen to the pad area so if you tap the top left, it moves the cursor right to the Apple menu without dragging, then tap again to click it.

I'm not holding my breath though. Apple do to mice what Intel do to graphics chips and both of them need to get with the freakin' program.

What do you mean "low and behold" as if you're blog was the cause of so many hits. You do realize that you got so many hits because of a cartoon right?

Just get yourself a good wireless mighty mouse and start using it instead of putting down a device you never actually really used to realise its benefits. Side buttons are not a hassle they are great and intuitive for expose. If you worry about grease and dirt try washing your fingers now and then, keyboard are mechanical too and get grease and dirt. Tracking is great. they don't have to have two buttons because they two buttons are automatically recognized with finger placement, which is much better aesthetically and easier to use...

just get a mighty mouse, try using it for a while, and enjoy.

My logitech mouse has tilt scrolling for side to side scrolling, not as good as a ball but a trade off I will make (any day) for the frictionless scroll wheel. Scrolling down long lists, be it webpages, excel sheets or my itunes library has never been easier. Furthermore, it has two perfectly placed thumb buttons I use for expose and show desktop, a button below the scroll wheel I use for dashboard, and a side scroll wheel I have bound for spaces (but don't use as I don't use spaces very often). On top of that, it fits my hand perfectly. I'd be willing to try a new mighty mouse, if the multitouch features prove to be useful though.

Wacom tablets are mapped to the screen by default. I've been using them for years.

When finger input isn't ideal, with the new Bamboo Pen & Touch tablet, there's the pressure sensitive pen. If you haven't had the pleasure of using a tablet, they're really fantastic.

Because the tablet is mapped to the screen, using the pen is really fast, accurate and incredibly intuitive (DUH). You never run out of cord or desk space, as you do with mice. There's a 2-position switch on the side of the stylus... mine is programmed for Control-Click and Double-Click.

I carry a small tablet with my MacBook Pro. It's flat, so it packs easily and the stylus goes in my pencil/pen box. It sits in my lap or on the next seat when on train/bus or plane.

The only real negative is using one with 2 monitors, but if you're using it more as a mouse replacement than drawing, it's not really a big problem. I'm not sure if it's possible to use it with only one monitor in a multi-monitor setup.

http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/bamboo_pen_touch.php

Mice? This is the aughts, man. So, what's all this talk about mice? Those are some weird input devices from the 1960's, right? Hello, computer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzRziK-kZtQ

I hope the mouse gets a lil makeover. It's nice but could not get so dirty so quickly lol.

I wrote a little article about the rumor here: http://gizmoelectronics.blogspot.com...in-my-day.html

Thank you for looking. http://www.stophighcosts.com

This part of this history is not quite correct I believe.

Steve and Co. visited Xerox PARC in 1979, so the computer they would have seen there was the Alto, not the Star. Also, it was the Alto which sold for $75,000. The Star was far less, less than 20 grand.

i hope to GOD that they get rid of that stupid mechanical scroll ball. my bluetooth mighty mouse was junked a long time ago - it became impossible to clean (and i tried so hard). come on - its 2009 - a nice sexy smooth groove on top that just knows when i am scrolling would be nice. and, would never ever requiring cleaning. no moving parts please! except for the "one" real button - cant give that up. or, that with some kind of awesome ALPS force feedback kicker. please!?!

One thing I have often noted in art museums is just how often artists color outside the lines.

More proof that everything they taught us in Kindergarten was wrong.

.

Aside from any "functionality" which will leave to others to discuss

Just look at the pictures of the Mighty Mouse compared to the Microsoft Gamer

.

Apple gives us the Jetsons with clean smooth Design of the Future, once again

(and will have any functionality *problems* worked out in time, no doubt)

.

Microsoft gives us a 1950's Buick

More Chrome, Bigger Bumpers, New Hood Ornament, and Longer Tail Fins

C'mon Microsoft - put a couple more "things" on there

Maybe a power antenna, or fine Simulated Leather Upholstery



.

Artists draw their own lines... or not.


Kindergarten was just the beginning of wrongness.

Ha, I was planning on making a joke about the "use a lot of alcohol" comment until I tried this on a mighty mouse that has been sitting in a draw for the last 5 months. It WORKED for me. So I'm going to go get a drink.

Thank you from me too,
John

At this point I'd like a trackpad I can use with my Mac Pro. They did it with the super drive to be used with the MBA, why can't they take the MBP trackpad and drop it in a housing and let us hook it up with USB or bluetooth? Exact same functionality as the MBP touchpad and I'd also have access to gestures with my Mac Pro, something the MM can't do.