Not the ball that needs cleaning, actually, but the rollers. It is possible to clean, if you're dextrous enough to crack the bezel off without destroying it, and willing to use adhesives. But yes, a piss-poor design. Great interface, but short-lived. Not everything Apple does is insanely great. But enough is.
Since I have three unused ones here, and the subject has been revived, I may take one down to the shop and see about removing some plastic around the ball. If that can be done without otherwise damaging it, it may be a way to get the darn thing working again.
I said the ball, because without taking the entire thing apart, the only thing that you can get at with the solvent is the ball, which then carries it down inside to the rollers. Then the dirt comes up on the surface of the ball from which it can be removed. But it's a very long process. You do end up with a mouse that's still in one piece.
Ok. I went down to my shop. I selected a very narrow carbide cutter for one of my Dremels. The one with the foot pedal and the flex shaft.
Using the Dremel at SLOW speed, I carefully cut a very narrow amount from around the ball, holding the ball down with the thumb holding the mouse. It takes about ten minutes if you go carefully, so as to avoid nicking the ball. If you go slowly, at low speed, you're less likely to damage the ball with the cutter.
The idea is to cut just enough away so that with a small jeweler's screwdriver, you can pry the ball out of the hole. You can also use a flat screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit, or anything narrow, flat, and thin.
This way, when you finish cleaning, the ball will "pop" back in so that you won't lose it later.
The plastic is razor thin at the edges, but gets thicker as you move away. I removed about 3/64 around the ball. Try to keep the cutter as vertical as possible.
Turn the mouse over and smack it to get the small pieces of plastic to fall out. Remove any small strings of plastic still connected to the rim of the hole with tweezers. Then smooth down the plastic burr around the top of the hole with something hard, such as the screwdriver. Also inside, where it touches the ball, so it will turn smoothly.
I then used a Q-tip with glass cleaner to clean the four TINY (I mean that!) rollers and shafts. There was quite a bit of gunk there. It took a few minutes of doing that for them to completely clean out.
Then pop the ball back in.
It Works! scrolls up and down and back and forth again. You may have to press just a tiny bit more on the ball, as the plastic helps to hold it tight to the rollers. It depends on how much plastic you've removed.
The whole thing took less than 20 minutes, but now you can pop the ball out in about 15 seconds for cleaning, and the mouse is still intact. You can feel the slight opening around the ball, but it's not a big deal.
The ball mouse is the Mighty Mouse. I recall because it was an old favorite cartoon of mine.
Yeah, Sol already let me know. It was a slip. I thought I read Mighty Mouse, as that's what we're talking about. Ever since my eye operations, I occasionally seem to do that. It's very annoying.
Yeah, Sol already let me know. It was a slip. I thought I read Mighty Mouse, as that's what we're talking about. Ever since my eye operations, I occasionally seem to do that. It's very annoying.
Eye operations? That could explain how you might have misread what I wrote. But I'm not sure how you could have forgotten Ireland's whole hyperspaz of multiple redundant posts thrashing and ridiculing the Magic Mouse and those of us who actually like it, and not realized from context that that was what I was talking about. But also, how can your eye operations make you type the word "magic" on your keyboard instead of "mighty" in your initial response? Obviously, you had read the word "magic" correctly.
Apple sold a gazillion Magic Mice. Virtually no one who bought one has been displeased. They did not "mess up" with the Magic Mouse. Not for investors, not for users. Yet you were definitely negative.
They didn't sell "a gazillion". 'A gazillion' isn't even a number. Your second point is bullshit.
You just want me to not be honest with my feelings about it. If you take Apple Keyboards for example: I think they are the best keyboards on the market, in terms of looks, design and for typing. I have not one bad thing to say about them. I even think they are worth the price.
Having to explain right-click to someone with the Magic Mouse, and I had had to a few times, tells you there's a design issue with it. Not to mention tracking is slow and how effective those swipe-guestures are highly dependent on your desks surface. If it's too shiny then the mouse keeps moving, and the action isn't even comfortable when it works correctly. About the only thing I like about the magic mouse is scrolling. Everyone knows Apple don't make the best mice, yet you have trouble with this. And you especially have trouble with me saying it. You say I'm: "definitely negative".
You obviously want me to be positive about something I don't like. That's just not going to happen. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt they would fix the right-click issue, where they would add some sort of intelligent pressure sensitivity mechanism under the shell so when someone legitimately decided to right-click they wouldn't be punished for not lifting their index finger. I hate to break it to you, but that's bad design. However you slice it it's a bad design. And when you have to explain that to someone, like I've had to a few times, it's not just bad design conceptually, but also in practice. I love me iMac, I love my Apple keyboard, and I love my Logitech MX Revolution.
Eye operations? That could explain how you might have misread what I wrote. But I'm not sure how you could have forgotten Ireland's whole hyperspaz of multiple redundant posts thrashing and ridiculing the Magic Mouse and those of us who actually like it, and not realized from context that that was what I was talking about. But also, how can your eye operations make you type the word "magic" on your keyboard instead of "mighty" in your initial response? Obviously, you had read the word "magic" correctly.
It's complicated to explain that. My psych. degree was in 1974, so my explanations aren't as precise as they should be, but the eye is actually part of the brain. It's not just an organ connected to it. We were talking about the dirty ball of the Mighty Mouse. I read Magic Mouse as Mighty mouse, but when I typed it, the subliminal recognition of the word Magic is what my fingers typed.
I did say Mighty Mouse in my post explaining how I fixed it.
There's no point in belaboring it. I said I made a mistake. No, I haven't read this entire thread.
It's complicated to explain that. My psych. degree was in 1974, so my explanations aren't as precise as they should be, but the eye is actually part of the brain. It's not just an organ connected to it. We were talking about the dirty ball of the Mighty Mouse. I read Magic Mouse as Mighty mouse, but when I typed it, the subliminal recognition of the word Magic is what my fingers typed.
I did say Mighty Mouse in my post explaining how I fixed it.
There's no point in belaboring it. I said I made a mistake. No, I haven't read this entire thread.
Understood. Sorry for the questioning attitude, I didn't mean to sound standoffish.
They didn't sell "a gazillion". 'A gazillion' isn't even a number. Your second point is bullshit.
You just want me to not be honest with my feelings about it. If you take Apple Keyboards for example: I think they are the best keyboards on the market, in terms of looks, design and for typing. I have not one bad thing to say about them. I even think they are worth the price.
Having to explain right-click to someone with the Magic Mouse, and I had had to a few times, tells you there's a design issue with it. Not to mention tracking is slow and how effective those swipe-guestures are highly dependent on your desks surface. If it's too shiny then the mouse keeps moving, and the action isn't even comfortable when it works correctly. About the only thing I like about the magic mouse is scrolling. Everyone knows Apple don't make the best mice, yet you have trouble with this. And you especially have trouble with me saying it. You say I'm: "definitely negative".
You obviously want me to be positive about something I don't like. That's just not going to happen. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt they would fix the right-click issue, where they would add some sort of intelligent pressure sensitivity mechanism under the shell so when someone legitimately decided to right-click they wouldn't be punished for not lifting their index finger. I hate to break it to you, but that's bad design. However you slice it it's a bad design. And when you have to explain that to someone, like I've had to a few times, it's not just bad design conceptually, but also in practice. I love me iMac, I love my Apple keyboard, and I love my Logitech MX Revolution.
You know what I hate? Those twist-to-open ball-point pens. You know the ones... they're commonly made by premium pen manufacturers like Cross and Waterman. It really seems like I cannot write out a single sentence without the pen starting to close half way or worse. But I won't ridicule people who enjoy using them because they don't experience that problem.
That's also the first and last time I will post my opinion on that subject. I don't feel the need to troll pen forums to express my opinion.
You see, it's not about being positive about something you don't like. It's about refraining from being redundantly negative, as if your life depends on winning the argument against someone who has a differing viewpoint. This is exactly what SpotOn was doing.
You don't need to comment about the iPhone antenna issue in every thread about the iPhone, even those threads, like this one, that have nothing to do with the antenna issue. You don't need to comment about how much the Magic Mouse sucks on every thread about the Magic Mouse and in many threads that weren't even about the Magic Mouse to begin with. Yet you do. That's why you're being labeled a troll.
By the way, the twisty ball pens are not for everyone. Neither are Magic Mice. But neither of them are flawed designs. The Mighty Mouse and the puck mouse were flawed designs.
Comments
They kind of did mess up with the Magic Mouse.
While it works well when new, it's almost impossible to clean the ball...
Isn't the magic mouse the multitouch one without the ball?
I do agree that the one with the little ball can be problematic to maintain though.
Not the ball that needs cleaning, actually, but the rollers. It is possible to clean, if you're dextrous enough to crack the bezel off without destroying it, and willing to use adhesives. But yes, a piss-poor design. Great interface, but short-lived. Not everything Apple does is insanely great. But enough is.
Since I have three unused ones here, and the subject has been revived, I may take one down to the shop and see about removing some plastic around the ball. If that can be done without otherwise damaging it, it may be a way to get the darn thing working again.
I said the ball, because without taking the entire thing apart, the only thing that you can get at with the solvent is the ball, which then carries it down inside to the rollers. Then the dirt comes up on the surface of the ball from which it can be removed. But it's a very long process. You do end up with a mouse that's still in one piece.
Isn't the magic mouse the multitouch one without the ball?
I do agree that the one with the little ball can be problematic to maintain though.
No. The ball model is the Magic Mouse.
No. The ball model is the Magic Mouse.
¿Que?
No. The ball model is the Magic Mouse.
The ball mouse is the Mighty Mouse. I recall because it was an old favorite cartoon of mine.
Using the Dremel at SLOW speed, I carefully cut a very narrow amount from around the ball, holding the ball down with the thumb holding the mouse. It takes about ten minutes if you go carefully, so as to avoid nicking the ball. If you go slowly, at low speed, you're less likely to damage the ball with the cutter.
The idea is to cut just enough away so that with a small jeweler's screwdriver, you can pry the ball out of the hole. You can also use a flat screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit, or anything narrow, flat, and thin.
This way, when you finish cleaning, the ball will "pop" back in so that you won't lose it later.
The plastic is razor thin at the edges, but gets thicker as you move away. I removed about 3/64 around the ball. Try to keep the cutter as vertical as possible.
Turn the mouse over and smack it to get the small pieces of plastic to fall out. Remove any small strings of plastic still connected to the rim of the hole with tweezers. Then smooth down the plastic burr around the top of the hole with something hard, such as the screwdriver. Also inside, where it touches the ball, so it will turn smoothly.
I then used a Q-tip with glass cleaner to clean the four TINY (I mean that!) rollers and shafts. There was quite a bit of gunk there. It took a few minutes of doing that for them to completely clean out.
Then pop the ball back in.
It Works! scrolls up and down and back and forth again. You may have to press just a tiny bit more on the ball, as the plastic helps to hold it tight to the rollers. It depends on how much plastic you've removed.
The whole thing took less than 20 minutes, but now you can pop the ball out in about 15 seconds for cleaning, and the mouse is still intact. You can feel the slight opening around the ball, but it's not a big deal.
¿Que?
Oops! We're talking about the Mighty mouse. When I read Magic mouse, it didn't compute.
Thanks for the correction.
The ball mouse is the Mighty Mouse. I recall because it was an old favorite cartoon of mine.
Yeah, Sol already let me know. It was a slip. I thought I read Mighty Mouse, as that's what we're talking about. Ever since my eye operations, I occasionally seem to do that. It's very annoying.
The ball mouse is the Mighty Mouse. I recall because it was an old favorite cartoon of mine.
OK! Just to clarify!
The Magic Mouse has no balls!
The Mighty Mouse has just 1 ball, but it has rollers!
... just trying' to help!
.
Yeah, Sol already let me know. It was a slip. I thought I read Mighty Mouse, as that's what we're talking about. Ever since my eye operations, I occasionally seem to do that. It's very annoying.
Eye operations? That could explain how you might have misread what I wrote. But I'm not sure how you could have forgotten Ireland's whole hyperspaz of multiple redundant posts thrashing and ridiculing the Magic Mouse and those of us who actually like it, and not realized from context that that was what I was talking about. But also, how can your eye operations make you type the word "magic" on your keyboard instead of "mighty" in your initial response? Obviously, you had read the word "magic" correctly.
Apple sold a gazillion Magic Mice. Virtually no one who bought one has been displeased. They did not "mess up" with the Magic Mouse. Not for investors, not for users. Yet you were definitely negative.
They didn't sell "a gazillion". 'A gazillion' isn't even a number. Your second point is bullshit.
You just want me to not be honest with my feelings about it. If you take Apple Keyboards for example: I think they are the best keyboards on the market, in terms of looks, design and for typing. I have not one bad thing to say about them. I even think they are worth the price.
Having to explain right-click to someone with the Magic Mouse, and I had had to a few times, tells you there's a design issue with it. Not to mention tracking is slow and how effective those swipe-guestures are highly dependent on your desks surface. If it's too shiny then the mouse keeps moving, and the action isn't even comfortable when it works correctly. About the only thing I like about the magic mouse is scrolling. Everyone knows Apple don't make the best mice, yet you have trouble with this. And you especially have trouble with me saying it. You say I'm: "definitely negative".
You obviously want me to be positive about something I don't like. That's just not going to happen. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt they would fix the right-click issue, where they would add some sort of intelligent pressure sensitivity mechanism under the shell so when someone legitimately decided to right-click they wouldn't be punished for not lifting their index finger. I hate to break it to you, but that's bad design. However you slice it it's a bad design. And when you have to explain that to someone, like I've had to a few times, it's not just bad design conceptually, but also in practice. I love me iMac, I love my Apple keyboard, and I love my Logitech MX Revolution.
They didn't sell "a gazillion". 'A gazillion' isn't even a number.
:sigh: You honestly can't infer what he means by the use of the gazillion? Perhaps it's just a US phrase, but it's quite common this side of the pond.
Eye operations? That could explain how you might have misread what I wrote. But I'm not sure how you could have forgotten Ireland's whole hyperspaz of multiple redundant posts thrashing and ridiculing the Magic Mouse and those of us who actually like it, and not realized from context that that was what I was talking about. But also, how can your eye operations make you type the word "magic" on your keyboard instead of "mighty" in your initial response? Obviously, you had read the word "magic" correctly.
It's complicated to explain that. My psych. degree was in 1974, so my explanations aren't as precise as they should be, but the eye is actually part of the brain. It's not just an organ connected to it. We were talking about the dirty ball of the Mighty Mouse. I read Magic Mouse as Mighty mouse, but when I typed it, the subliminal recognition of the word Magic is what my fingers typed.
I did say Mighty Mouse in my post explaining how I fixed it.
There's no point in belaboring it. I said I made a mistake. No, I haven't read this entire thread.
:sigh: You honestly can't infer what he means by the use of the gazillion? Perhaps it's just a US phrase, but it's quite common this side of the pond.
Yeah. Anyway, let's get back on topic guys. I'm sick of having to defend my opinion of the Magic Mouse.
It's complicated to explain that. My psych. degree was in 1974, so my explanations aren't as precise as they should be, but the eye is actually part of the brain. It's not just an organ connected to it. We were talking about the dirty ball of the Mighty Mouse. I read Magic Mouse as Mighty mouse, but when I typed it, the subliminal recognition of the word Magic is what my fingers typed.
I did say Mighty Mouse in my post explaining how I fixed it.
There's no point in belaboring it. I said I made a mistake. No, I haven't read this entire thread.
Understood. Sorry for the questioning attitude, I didn't mean to sound standoffish.
Understood. Sorry for the questioning attitude, I didn't mean to sound standoffish.
It's ok.
Especially since @melgross, a photography expert is here.
I let my 14-year-old granddaughter play with the iPhone 4 and asked her to shoot a video.
Here's what she came up with:
http://web.me.com/dicklacara/ForWeb/IMG_0317.mov
Be patient, it's my MobileMe site.
Anyway, I know you can do this carousel effect with any camera, but it is very easy and natural with the iPhone 4.
... wish she'd gone a little slower, tho... getting dizzy(er)...
.
They didn't sell "a gazillion". 'A gazillion' isn't even a number. Your second point is bullshit.
You just want me to not be honest with my feelings about it. If you take Apple Keyboards for example: I think they are the best keyboards on the market, in terms of looks, design and for typing. I have not one bad thing to say about them. I even think they are worth the price.
Having to explain right-click to someone with the Magic Mouse, and I had had to a few times, tells you there's a design issue with it. Not to mention tracking is slow and how effective those swipe-guestures are highly dependent on your desks surface. If it's too shiny then the mouse keeps moving, and the action isn't even comfortable when it works correctly. About the only thing I like about the magic mouse is scrolling. Everyone knows Apple don't make the best mice, yet you have trouble with this. And you especially have trouble with me saying it. You say I'm: "definitely negative".
You obviously want me to be positive about something I don't like. That's just not going to happen. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt they would fix the right-click issue, where they would add some sort of intelligent pressure sensitivity mechanism under the shell so when someone legitimately decided to right-click they wouldn't be punished for not lifting their index finger. I hate to break it to you, but that's bad design. However you slice it it's a bad design. And when you have to explain that to someone, like I've had to a few times, it's not just bad design conceptually, but also in practice. I love me iMac, I love my Apple keyboard, and I love my Logitech MX Revolution.
You know what I hate? Those twist-to-open ball-point pens. You know the ones... they're commonly made by premium pen manufacturers like Cross and Waterman. It really seems like I cannot write out a single sentence without the pen starting to close half way or worse. But I won't ridicule people who enjoy using them because they don't experience that problem.
That's also the first and last time I will post my opinion on that subject. I don't feel the need to troll pen forums to express my opinion.
You see, it's not about being positive about something you don't like. It's about refraining from being redundantly negative, as if your life depends on winning the argument against someone who has a differing viewpoint. This is exactly what SpotOn was doing.
You don't need to comment about the iPhone antenna issue in every thread about the iPhone, even those threads, like this one, that have nothing to do with the antenna issue. You don't need to comment about how much the Magic Mouse sucks on every thread about the Magic Mouse and in many threads that weren't even about the Magic Mouse to begin with. Yet you do. That's why you're being labeled a troll.
By the way, the twisty ball pens are not for everyone. Neither are Magic Mice. But neither of them are flawed designs. The Mighty Mouse and the puck mouse were flawed designs.
Yeah. Anyway, let's get back on topic guys. I'm sick of having to defend my opinion of the Magic Mouse.
Woah, I don't own a Magic Mouse so I never questioned your opinion of it.
Since we seem to be straying OT, I thought I 'd offer up something.
Especially since @melgross, a photography expert is here.
I let my 14-year-old granddaughter play with the iPhone 4 and asked her to shoot a video.
Here's what she came up with:
http://web.me.com/dicklacara/ForWeb/IMG_0317.mov
Be patient, it's my MobileMe site.
Anyway, I know you can do this carousel effect with any camera, but it is very easy and natural with the iPhone 4.
... wish she'd gone a little slower, tho... getting dizzy(er)...
.
That's very good, and she's gorgeous.