First Look: Apple's wireless, multitouch Magic Mouse - Page 3

Hot corners are really good when mouse tracking is fast as well. I find OS X's native tracking speed to be atrocious. Even top speed is slow. Might be good for smaller screens, but when your MBP is driving a 24-inch display it becomes a pain.

Hot corners should ideally take no more than a quick flick to activate. Which is why I tend to recommend either a Terminal hack, or a 3rd party utility that does the Terminal hack for you, or a 3rd party utility with a range of mouse contril options, including control over tracking.

For a faster mousing experience:

http://www.usboverdrive.com/USBOverdrive/News.html

Developer is already working on Magic Mouse support. This guy is fast. I recommend this.

Or . . .

http://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/

Not bad, but I prefer USB Overdrive. Steermouse's developer seems to take a bit more time getting on the ball with major updates.

Both utilities offer a huge range of customizing options.

If you have any of these utilities you can (in most cases) forego 3rd party manufacturers' own drivers (most of which I can't stand), such as Logitech Control Centre.

USB Overdrive is great, no argument about that. I use it to set my iGesture to a high speed (120dpi) and very high acceleration. A one-inch movement can get me from one side of my 30" screen to the other. The disadvantage is that I do accidentally activate Exposé fairly often with an accidental flick to upper right. I wish Apple would include some kind of adjustable delay for activation, like virtually every third party app that uses hot corners.

Thanks -- that is better!

The zoom feature has been around since the days of Tiger and I use it nearly every day. It works with any mouse and is very useful for everything from tiny text on poorly designed websites that don't respond well to increasing text size to embedded videos.

With it's easy to hit default key (control), I often find it easier and faster to quickly zoom into a bit of text rather than increasing its size. it is also especially handy when you want to read an article but don't want to see the ads that clutter so many websites.

Finally, It is a great feature for people with vision difficulties or just plain old presbyopia. While not everyone will find this feature useful, plenty of people will and to call it a "novelty" is pretty short sighted.

Don't forget, people used to claim the Mac and the GUI were novelties, too.

Here's my review. Meh . . . I'm a bit disappointed.

http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=104365

I found this to be the case too (i.e. the surface was very grippy), but i found that after a few hours of use the surface became more and more easy to move my finger across, it was like there was some tiny film of grippy stuff and my fingers slowly wore it away. My mouse surface is very easy to move your fingers across now.

Slowly getting used to it. Still not as comfy as my Might Mouse but it certainly feels a lot more nimble and I can move it around more easily.

Yes, tthe surface feels better after some use, similar to the iPhone.

No middle click is still a killer, though.

However, the scrolling trumps Logitech scrolling technology by far.

Is it useful for Methodists too?

Exactly. I wonder why it is presented as a feature of the mouse itself. It's been a feature of OSX for some time now.

Magic Mouse scrolling is terrible. Choppy and slow. i have a relatively fast machine, and scrolling through iTunes is disgusting. Safari is not much better.

An update better be imminent or this pos is going back.

Because it does almost nothing else? Theres one multitouch gesture. Scrolling, as I mentioned, sucks.

Maximum sensitivity is likewise way too slow. This mouse does NOT have much going for it...yet. Thats what I like about Apple, the ability to improve things via software update. This had better be one of those things.

Are you running 10.6.x or 10.5.x? You only get momentum under 10.6, which I found makes a huge difference to how fast the scrolling feels.

10.6.1 w/ the special magic mouse update applied. Safari seems to be a little better than before, but iTunes really lags in grid view if the scroll speed is even respectably high.

UPDATE: Given it a little more time and Safari seems to have gotten used to the new mouse, if that makes any sense. iTunes is still slow because iTunes is slow, nothing really to do with the mouse. I'm happy with it so far, except that clicking feels like a 15 year old original iMac mouse click. AKA Not good. Clunky. Thick. Should be much softer.

This mouse had BETTER see some added multitouch features. At the very least, enable tap to click.

Finally had a chance to try out this mouse. I'm sorry... but to me at least... it's another huge failure. The profile is ridiculously thin making it not just difficult to "kick" the mouse with the back of your palm... but literally impossible. The only way to use this mouse is with the fingers. The scrolling is very cool and smooth. Works well. And it's great that you can now pick up a clicked mouse (unlike the Mighty Mouse which was next to impossible to pick up and reposition while clicked due to the button wrapping all the way down the sides of the mouse).

That's where the good new ends however. Again... impossible to palm or even "kick" with the palm. Ridiculously thin. And the swipe gesture is very awkward. Also... unlike a trackpad which has a slippery matte surface... the Magic Mouse has a high gloss finish... so your fingers actually tend to drag / stick. A matte finish would have been much more "slippery" and usable. But of course, not nearly as sexy. And as unsexy as a small thumb button is for forward and back (like on a normal mouse)... it's a million times simpler, easier and more ergonomic than that awkward swipe gesture. You don't even had to move a finger with a thumb button. The button would be right under your thumb and just requires the slightest little click (like the MS 7000 Laser or Logitech Revolution). And there's no way to assign a button or gesture to increase font size. Something I do a lot. Also... right clicking is ridiculous. Just absolutely ridiculous. You have to re-teach your fingers to make sure your index finger is UP IN THE AIR in order to right click. If the index finger is even slightly brushing the top of the mouse... ever so slightly... by like... a whisper... you get a regular click.

Sorry. Looks pretty. But from a usability point of view... as usual for Apple... this mouse is yet another failure. Useless. The scrolling is brilliant. But that's about it.

If all you need in a mouse is scrolling... and if you don't mind using a "finger" mouse (and never use your palm)... and if right clicking makes your brain hurt (or you don't mind re-learning years of muscle memory)... then by all means. Buy it. Otherwise... don't waste your money. It would be okay for my Mom... but not for a professional (say a designer or developer). Not by a long shot. And maybe that was the goal in any case.

I love the Magic Mouse!!! I own an iphone and this just feels so natural to use. I don't understand the camplaints, the thing works very well! Glad i bought it and now i can control movie viewing on my 30" display from several feet away and scroll redculously fast or slow or however i want. Right click is sweet. I cannot complain about a darn thing on the mouse. Oh, wait, the price, i laughed as it wrung up at $73 for the little mouse. I thought i must really be crazy! Still after using it i would def pay $73 without batting an eye!

I snagged this Mouse for $61, but the tracking speed is horrible. Very horrible. I feel like I'm scraping a piece of jagged glass against another piece of glass when I move it. It's a very eloquent mouse, but it's going back.. as in right now.

I think you mean "elegant". And yes, Apple has set the maximum tracking speed too low for those of you who have anything bigger than a 13" MacBook. But that's something that's easy to fix with a quick free download.

Excellent device, Apple! Made for my hand and for my manner of stroking computer mouse. Top product, just the best one.
How did you know, btw?