mini pod click wheel? the new mouse

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
wasn't there a speculation when apple applied for the patents for the click wheel a while back that they might put it on a mouse as a scroll wheel/2nd button, would there be any chance of that happening now?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26
    baumanbauman Posts: 1,248member
    Heh, good catch.



    I think it was simply speculation based upon the applied-for patent. Now we know what it was meant for: the iPod mini.... not a mouse.



    By the way, welcome to AI.
  • Reply 2 of 26
    i don't see why they couldn't use it for a mouse too!!!!



    they want ultra simple, minimalistic hardware right? well the new mouse can use the touch sensitive pad as a scroll and the click as a 2nd button.



    aha



    great catch!
  • Reply 3 of 26
    Wasn't there also talk of utilizing the iPod to move all your data around so any Mac would act like your own personal machine? Could this iPod mini evolve into such a "smart mouse"?
  • Reply 4 of 26
    Well, this is a first. A first time poster starts a new thread and it's actually good? Are you sure this is AI?







    I'd love to see the iPod mini scroll wheel on a mouse.
  • Reply 5 of 26
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mr.plow

    Wasn't there also talk of utilizing the iPod to move all your data around so any Mac would act like your own personal machine? Could this iPod mini evolve into such a "smart mouse"?





    just use a backup program to automatically backup a folder to your pod and you're set (like your home or desktop folder)
  • Reply 6 of 26
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mr.plow

    Wasn't there also talk of utilizing the iPod to move all your data around so any Mac would act like your own personal machine? Could this iPod mini evolve into such a "smart mouse"?



    Apple is still working on that. I believe it was called Home on iPod or something like that. It was just as you say, you could take your iPod to any machine, plug it in, and log on just like it was your home machine. However, I don't see the mini iPod evolving into a mouse...that just doesn't seem like a great idea. There is a mouse out there that uses tech similar to apple's solid state scroll wheel as the scroll wheel for the mouse, but I've heard nothing but bad things. Maybe we'll see it in the future, but I don't think a two button mouse is anywhere in the plan.
  • Reply 7 of 26
    Quote:

    Originally posted by DMBand0026

    Apple is still working on that. I believe it was called Home on iPod or something like that. It was just as you say, you could take your iPod to any machine, plug it in, and log on just like it was your home machine. However, I don't see the mini iPod evolving into a mouse...that just doesn't seem like a great idea. There is a mouse out there that uses tech similar to apple's solid state scroll wheel as the scroll wheel for the mouse, but I've heard nothing but bad things. Maybe we'll see it in the future, but I don't think a two button mouse is anywhere in the plan.



    DMBand is correct. Despite what Apple's commercials irresponsibly imply, shaking iPods around isn't a good idea. They would not work as mice.
  • Reply 8 of 26
    jadejade Posts: 379member
    or maybe just utilize the click wheen in a mouse...



    clockwise for scrolling down, couter clock wise for up, and left and right clicking at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Eaily adjustable for lefties. and ofcourss it will sit on an optical mouse like..... the click-wheel crossed with the



    studiomouse
  • Reply 9 of 26
    knappaknappa Posts: 106member
    If I get this right, it would mean that while I am holding the mouse I should make a circular movement to scroll through pages ?

    That doesn't seem right ergonomically. A scroll wheel is easy to use because the movement is in the axe of the finger.

    Just my 2 cents
  • Reply 10 of 26
    You're right knappa, what might make more sense is a joystick like those found on IBM thinkpads and the like, limited to movement in four directions to eliminate accidental diagonal scrolling, unless the user asked for it. Might be kinda cool. Heck, you might even be able to program that stick to do other things like manipulate Q-filters in audio programs, control movement in games, i dunno, might just work.



    I'm applying for the patent now...

  • Reply 11 of 26
    knappaknappa Posts: 106member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Composer

    You're right knappa, what might make more sense is a joystick like those found on IBM thinkpads and the like, limited to movement in four directions to eliminate accidental diagonal scrolling, unless the user asked for it. Might be kinda cool. Heck, you might even be able to program that stick to do other things like manipulate Q-filters in audio programs, control movement in games, i dunno, might just work.



    I'm applying for the patent now...







    The idea isn't bad, but as before I don't think it to be ergonomically correct if you would put it on top of the mouse. On the side seems feasible, especially with everybody using a cell phone to type messages. That way you could use it with your thumb.



    Does anybody feel like making a mock-up ?



    PS: Doesn't IBM have some kind of patent on that joystick thingy ?



    edit: put the PS where it belongs: Post Scriptum
  • Reply 12 of 26
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    That's quite clever.



    They get everyone used to the idea on the iPod, and then introduce it on a mouse. By that point, the scroll wheel is like second nature to everyone anyway...



    This has got to be the best "first post" ever...



    Welcome to AI
  • Reply 13 of 26
    Okay, let's think this one through. We are talking about a mouse with an iPod mini click-wheel in position where your pointer finger rests (the traditional spot for two buttons and a scroll-wheel).



    On the click-wheel mouse you have 5 (five) possible clicks, plus the clockwise and counter-clockwise scroll action. Imagine the possiblities. A press on the center button could equal a regular click. Then the "right-click" or Mac "control-click" could be assigned to any of the other 4 directional clicks that are available. The other three could also become special clicks (double-click, click-lock, forward and back web paging, etc.) Plus, the action of scrolling around the wheel could equate the rotation of regular scroll wheels.



    This is COOL! This is revolutionary for mousing. But Apple will NOT produce it. It's far to complex as a mouse... for people to understand or decide what clicks are what. Just too much going on.....



    On second thought, MAYBE this would be a great "Pro" Mouse. We'll see... get it... "Wheel" see? Har har.
  • Reply 14 of 26
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Setting aside the sheer number of actions, and (on the other side of the issue) the loss of chording that traditional multi-button mice allow, the sort of circular movement this would require of your fingers is anti-ergonomic. It would make the two-button scroll-wheel mouse look like a miracle of usability engineering.



    The mouse was just a disguise for the real application of the technology. There's no reason to build this thing. RSI is epidemic among computer users as it is.
  • Reply 15 of 26
    aslan^aslan^ Posts: 599member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorph

    It would make the two-button scroll-wheel mouse look like a miracle of usability engineering.



    The two button, scroll-wheel mouse is a miracle of usability engineering !



    Whatever happened to those ergonomic mice that microsoft and Logitech used to make, I went shopping for a mouse the other day and there is a definate lack of 2001 (the year 2001) style mice on the market today. I did find the one I was looking for on ebay (logitech mouseman optical - the blue one, with the blue light on top, from around 2001) but stopped bidding when it went over $40.. a little too much for a second hand two year old mouse.



    Ill stick with my logitech trackball until I find my perfect mouse, maybe in one of those computer hardware stores that never sells anything and still has Adlib soundcards for sale.



    As for solid state technology on a mouse... if your hands get greasy that mouse will go out the window.
  • Reply 16 of 26
    an ipod-like scroll wheel actually makes a lot of sense. for the same reasons it makes sense on the ipod. having it flat allows you to scroll eternally without having to constantly lift your finger to reach the rescroll. imagine the ipod with a mouse-like scroll wheel. it would be painful to use.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    bartobarto Posts: 2,246member
    The Intellimouse Explorer 4 has recently been introduced. drool







    Unfortunately I can't justify the price when I already have an Intellimouse Explorer 3. Maybe if my mouse has an "accident"



    Barto
  • Reply 18 of 26
    don't for get, you can still have the clicking motion of the standard apple mouse as well, so that's six clickable buttons in total

    OR

    you could just have the left, center and right part of the wheel as three mouse buttons and the up and down is used as scroll, no need to move finger in awkward position as per scroll wheel, and the clockwise/anticlockwise scroll can be used for things like video jog/volume control a la griffin imate

    even better, 4 direction scrolling using the 4 up/down left/right and the middle button and the mouse body as two clicks, no need to confuse new user with left or right click, just the big click or small click, or leave the whole click wheel disabled for new user and have one mouse body button as one button mouse
  • Reply 19 of 26
    sorry, i meant the griffin powermate

    imagine, the click wheel could be fitted onto the existing mouse with no label and it won't confuse new user one bit, totally transparent the pro would know what to do and configure it to their own taste. it would be simple enough while offering the much needed functions to the pro
  • Reply 20 of 26
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    The only place the wheel makes any sense is on the side, where the thumb can get there. Your fingers are not designed to move that way. They aren't designed for the articulation used by a two-button scroll-wheel mouse either, which is a big reason why RSI is costing US industry billions a year (and why, therefore, that style of mouse is a usability disaster - injury is not useful).



    Pros might like having what amounts to two keyboards, but this particular pro also values his wrists. So I have my incredibly comfortable, effortlessly intuitive Apple Pro mouse, and I'm sticking to it.
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