Apple Mighty Mouse

Good idea about the scroll wheel, though.

I'll try one out I guess....

How is a new user supposed to explain why clicking (apparently) the same button does two different things? Hmph.

USE DIFFERENT FINGERS.

It also has an audio "click" like the iPod click. Maybe it uses a different tone for the right click?

USE DIFFERENT FINGERS.
I don't want to know how to work the mouse, I understand that. But for Apple people and new users who are expecting a one-button mouse (where different fingers do exactly the same thing) and *see* a one-button mouse, it's crap that there's no obvious way of telling this isn't a one-button mouse.

seriously: the more buttons and widgets a mouse has, the more fucking annoying it is.

pah. i'm off to live in a cave in the woods, you traitors.

now that's a mighty mouse.

HELLO RSI

I'd like a touch pad type device integrated in with the keyboard located directly below the space bar that I would use with my thumbs. This would prevent a lot of wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain.

HELLO POWERBOOK

I say this without a hint of joking -- you have no idea what the fuck you are talking about.

Also:
the future of computer input devices, part three

!!!

At the other end of the spectrum: the super-sweet nerdboard with absolutely NOTHING printed on the keys.

I don't know much that much about the technical stuff involved but I know some devices (computer keyboards for example) use chips that scan a matrix of keys and therefore can only have one output at a time. I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case here.

And jeah, use keyboard shortcuts! Seriously, once you learn a few good ones, you'll wonder why you ever bothered with a mouse to begin with. So much faster and easier.

YES

http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/

One thing I notice is that it has a non-mac style really long mouse cord rather than a short one to plug into the side of the keyboard, I am not keen on that development, too much clutter, roll on the bluetooth version.

this is what happened with the iPod: on the evening of the day it was launched, i went from "that's gonna be shit" to "actually ..." to ordering one within the space of four pints.

still: given that i absolutely point-blank refuse to update from 10.3, i guess i'm not gonna be able to use it anyway.

spotlight is pretty cool i guess, but again like stet said, it's poorly implemented.

Works fine with XP and 2000 according to the Apple site. Sideways scrolling appears not to be supported, I'm sure someone will hack it soon. I'm sure a bluetooth version will come soon.

After a half-hour of use I've already tossed out my aging (and too big) Microsoft 5-button mouse that was giving me early stages of carpal tunnel. The tiny track ball takes some getting used to. I can't seem to find a happy medium between finer and large-scale scrolling. Still tweaking around the settings...

Some apps respond rilly weird to the sideways scrolling and I never need it in the apps that appear to use it right, so that's also maddening and i'm tempted to turn it off except that its so frikin cool.

Also, in general, the white/clear design attracts dirt like no tomoorow (same goes for apple's keyboard and etc. too, tho). All that said however, I find it totally ergonomic (rather than leaving my whole hand on it flat, i sort of cup it and hover with my middle finger on the scrollwheel) and intuitive and generally can't imagine living without it or at least a standard two-button/scrollwheel equiv. Far more than right clicking the power of the 3rd button is what gets to me -- the "open in new tab" functionality in firefox and safari, the scrolling itself, etc. (I was always a click and dragger before, reading through selected text) Also the utility for when I'm working in X11 is immense -- dunno how I'd copy/paste properly otherwise.

Still haven't found a use for the fourth button that satisfies. Expose all windows was mildly handy, but there's a big where if you're dragging and accidentally activate it (easy to do while dragging) the dock process running expose freaks out and steals focus from the screen to nowhereland. Could only regain control by ctrl-tabbing to Terminal (or using Quicksilver) and running a killall Dock. So now I have it set to expose desktop, but given that I'm runing a virtual desktop program this isn't all that handy.

I also have a problem in that apple's keyboard cord is tiny and doesn't quite work with my setup but if i switch to a bluetooth keyboard then where do i plug the frikin nonbluetooth mouse?

look is it worth dropping $70 on this thing? The reviews on the apple website are appalling. i just need a precise mouse that will work wirelessly with my macbook pro.

They're worth the $$ to me, but ymmv. Best practice for extending scroll-ball life: keep your hands impeccably clean before sitting down to the computer.

i would not recommend the mighty mouse. the scroll ball (*aka nipple) is flaky. i work in an office with about 8 of them and they've all failed.

Can't recommend it. Went back to a wired mouse.

okay. thats the vibe i got from the customer reviews. any other mouse suggestions?

I use one of these:

Logitech Bluetooth Mouse V470 White

In white, obviously. Not terribly precise and it's slow to wake up, but I like it because it doesn't require a USB receiver, as USB ports on Apple laptops are precious enough as is.

i would not recommend the mighty mouse. the scroll ball (*aka nipple) is flaky. i work in an office with about 8 of them and they've all failed.

― brotherlovesdub, Monday, July 20, 2009 6:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I have noticed the less work an employee actually does the more likely his or her mighty mouse is to survive beyond a year or two! Use mighty mouse replacement frequency during your next round of layoffs!

I still use Logitech trackballs - the $30 one with a small ball controlled by your thumb, two buttons and a scroller.

Yeah, don't get this. The ball gets messed up so fast, plus the right-click behavior is annoying.

junk scrap

5$ dells with scroll wheels ftw.

we've started ordering the cheapest possible optical mouse with scroll wheel and i'm sure we pay less than 10 bucks per. i certainly won't buy another mighty mouse.

I keep the receipts an have the Apple Store swap it for a new one every four months or so. They must know how awful they are.

Are any non-Apple mice programmable in OSX?

I still use Logitech trackballs - the $30 one with a small ball controlled by your thumb, two buttons and a scroller.

― My vagina has a dress code. (milo z), Tuesday, July 21, 2009 12:37 PM Bookmark

Haha, me too. I think I found my last one next to some dusty old peanut brittle cans on a lower shelf.

Pretty much every mouse works well in OS X, although some (like Logitechs) tell you to install drivers you may or may not need.

The logitech drivers had a history of being bad news -- patching the system and installing extensions that then crashed. Don't know if they still do that.

btw I've had the current mighty mouse for at least 18 months now. the scroll ball is not that hard to keep clean and rolling smoothly unless you're a filthy disgusting savage imo

I think the logitech drivers are better now, but I remember after one system patch (or maybe upgrade to 10.4 or somesuch) they would crash on boot.

WmC - I run logitech drivers on my system (latest version of Leopard) and have no problems. Been running Logitech drivers since 10.4 and haven't had a single issue. Buttons are programmable to any keyboard shortcut you want.

Can you switch the left/right buttons? That is, make the right side primary and left side secondary? Because the way I hold the mouse, that's what works for me.

How the hell do you hold your mouse?

Posting pics will be better than describing it -- I'll get my wife to shoot one or two later. But index finger is on the scroll ball and middle finger does the primary-button clicking. Ergonomically it feels great, and I'm at the computer 15 hrs/day some days.

WmC: System Preferences > Keyboard and Mouse > Mouse

If you don't care to buy a new mouse but your Mighty Mouse is all gunked up, this worked for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jet7488UoSE

I'd say skip the last step, though, where you glue the plastic ring back on to the bottom. It serves no major function. The mouse snaps back together and works just fine without it, and odds are you're going to have to do this again in a few months. So fuck gluing it back.

And to be fair, when the Mighty Mouse works, it's great. 360 scrolling gets to be a habit pretty quickly. (Not that you can't do that with a nice fat Logitech trackball.) I am happy again with my mouse, and my voided warranty.

Um, err, uh, you haven't been reading my posts closely enough. I know about mouse prefs, I was just wondering if non-Apple mice would do the primary/secondary switch.

And also "I've had the current mighty mouse for at least 18 months now. the scroll ball is not that hard to keep clean and rolling smoothly"

take that, kenan

Oh sorry about the prefs. Yeah, that would have been a pretty dumb question.

The second one, I read. Loved the part where you basically said that people who have trouble with their mouse are dirty people.

IT WAS A JOKE
WHY THE FUCK AREN'T YOU LAUGHING, THIS IS ILX, WE PICK ON EACH OTHER 25/8

It's too late. I'm deeply hurt, and I may never get over it.

But in all seriousness -- don't hesitate to bust out the tweezers and crack that motherhumper open. It's alarming what builds up around that track ball after a couple years.

WmC - Just checked, and yes you can switch primary/secondary. Confused me greatly as I was trying to switch it back.

The only other issue I've had is that very occasionally the mouse will stay connected to the computer but the Logitech software won't recognize it, so you lose all functionality except right/left click. Usually this is fixed by opening up System Pref's and opening the Logitech pane, and all of a sudden everything works.

I suppose system purists will be aghast at the thought of having to run Logitech software in the background, but I think most recent Macs have more than enough horsepower to spare.

kenan - I've taken apart a few keyboards and, my God, the number of science fairs I could win.

I did surgery on my first MM and never could get it put back together properly. Shifted my focus to preventative maintenance.

dyao, thx for info on that

Those tiny little rollers around the mouse that make it go are a bitch to get back in. Tweezers are u+k. I got them back in as best I could, and they were a bit squirrelly until I used it for an hour or so, and then they settled back into place nicely.

around the trackball, should have said.

The mighty mouse is horrible. The little ball gets stuck really easy. It irritated my finger. I had to move my hand so much and exert more force than I like to just right click. I don't know why I stuck with one so long. It's the worst mouse apple has made since the hockey puck.

total apple fanboi but might mouse blows. they need to suck it up and make a two button mouse.

God, what a pain. I'm not sure I'd want to do all that.

If you hold the mouse upside down and go over the little ball with cotton swab that has some isopropanol on it, pressing upward quite firmly so some of the isopropanol gets up into the socket (I don't know why holding it upside works better but it does) you will sometimes be able to use it for a month or two without needing to clean it again.

Also I hate working on other people's mighty mouse equipped computers, people who haven't deactivated the side buttons (always in the way, always set to Exposé, always triggered accidentally).

Yeh, these are not exactly impossible to clean. I've had mine a year or so and probably had to attack it with cotton buds three times at most. Not ideal, no, but hardly the end of the world.

these are not good mice, never mind good value for money

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/WDYMHLL0709.jpg

The MM crossover move -- middle finger does the clicking, index finger diddles the little hard-rubber clitoris.

I have two of these and they live at the bottom of my junk drawer

kinda wish in '84, they'd spent the extra $$ and went for light pen tablets instead of mice.

Lady on a bike just got hit by a car turning into Jewel. And just like many of the other times this has happened, both the card and the pedestrian / biker are long gone when the cops show up. I suppose she's ok if she can get away that fast.

Was she going to change her mouse or sumt?

Don't think gunk-tastic mice are because of dirt, but eating at the desk doesn't help.

Wow, wrong thread. Let's just pretend the driver was cleaning his MM ball while driving. Soon to be illegal in Chicago.

Don't think gunk-tastic mice are because of dirt, but eating at the desk doesn't help.

I'd say it's mainly skin oil + ambient dust, with the occasional larger piece of grit.

Funny that using a Mighty Mouse has actually made me wash my hands more often. I have become paranoid about my oils, because when the track ball suddenly gets testy in the middle of something, it makes me want to pull my hair out.

If you hold the mouse upside down and go over the little ball with cotton swab that has some isopropanol on it, pressing upward quite firmly so some of the isopropanol gets up into the socket (I don't know why holding it upside works better but it does) you will sometimes be able to use it for a month or two without needing to clean it again.

I haven't heard that one. The quickie fix that I use is to put a drop of water on the trackball, turn it over, and roll it around medium-gently on a clean piece of white paper. You can often see it leaving gunk behind.

I don't want to use rubbing alcohol on it. Doesn't that melt plastic? Slightly, anyway?

Anyway, I know it's a really bad idea to clean a plastic bong with alcohol.

Alcohol cuts the mighty mouse grease so well though. I don't think it's getting melted.

AppleInsider link so feel free to use as many grains of salt as necessary.

Apple plans Mightier Mouse

Apple's latest twist on the venerable mouse could arrive as early as this year, possibly in conjunction with the imminent release of new iMacs, the company's flagship desktop computer. Existing iMacs are reported to be in short supply in many locations, according to people familiar with Apple's retail channel inventory.

The company's existing standalone Mighty Mouse product, which ships in both wired and wireless models, is also currently on a two week backorder through at least one of the Mac maker's direct fulfillment channels. Mighty Mouse availability hasn't been an issue within the past two years, people who deal in those channels say. This could be seen as further evidence that a new mouse may be hiding around the corner.

Apple's next mouse is expected to do away with the Mighty Mouse's problematic mechanical roller ball, using expanded touch sensitive housing and "multipoint touch detection mechanism" technologies described in recent patent filings.

Given Apple's patented "inertia feedback" used on the iPod and iPhone, where item lists bounce when reaching the top or bottom and scrolling speeds accelerate in response to how the user touches the surface, the next Apple mouse is similarly expected to wed new hardware with sophisticated software to deliver an intuitive new feel in scroll navigation.

Should the new mouse arrive alongside revamped iMacs, it's also likely to drop the white plastic finish it formerly used to match previous Mac models. Informed speculation would suggest the new hardware could sport an aluminum appearance to fit in with Apple's current lineup of desktop computers and notebooks, though those familiar with the product have not commented either way. People familiar with the company's plans have indicated the new iMac will eventually receive a retooled IR remote that drops white plastic for an aluminum finish.

lol i never got one of these

using expanded touch sensitive housing and "multipoint touch detection mechanism"

You won't fool me twice, Mighty Mouse.

ya - can no longer scroll down. mighty crappy.

Mine's died, again. Am hoping this one has multitouch lunacy, but will basically settle for no scroll ball.

The Magic Mouse is a thing of beauty, as are the new iMacs.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=5072

Oh, and of course:
http://www.apple.com/imac/the-new-imac/

I'm skeptical. Apple's burned me before with mice.

Have they ever actually made a really good mouse?

Still no matte option for iMacs. F U Apple.

the video was tl;dw... what's good about it?

the mouse looks amazing though. you can spend extra cash so you can use your mouse as a touchpad? genius?

i don't trust it.
stet: no. not since the mid 80s.

I don't know which was worse, the mighty mouse, or the hockey puck:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Apple_iMac_USB_mouse.jpg

the hockey puck was the least ergonomic mouse ever created

I actually quite liked the hockey puck, because it fit how I use a mouse perfectly (hand suspended and still, fingers touching outsides and driving it) but I know everybody else hated it.

I just threw one away. If I'd known you liked them I would have sent it to you!

Thanks! Can't live without mouse scrolling now anyway, especially since IE5 died and took its quark-esque cmd-scroll grabber hand with it

I think mighty mouse is fine, when I switch it to only one button and don't use the squeeze the sides thing. I like the little trackball. But I only use it at work anyway, I use a kensington trackball at home. Not enough desk space for a mouse.

Have they ever actually made a really good mouse? - their standard weighted, wireless version that has been around for a few years now is very nice imo.

As much as i hate the Mighty Mouse, it gets an edge over the hockey puck because when the scroll ball actually worked, it was great.

yea when the ball works it's great

also, i love the side expose buttons, i use that all the time. hate it that windows doesn't have anything like that

The ball on the mighty mouse iritatted my finger for some reason. I like having side buttons, but wow, my hand would get tired from using them.

ugh - i was always squeezing those side thing by accident.

Played with this today. It's not great at first blush: it's like a trackpad in that it gets confused if you have multiple fingers on it doing it different things, so to scroll or right-click you have to take all your other fingers off the mouse. It has a go at scrolling when your other finger is on the mouse, but it's juddery and weird.

so to scroll or right-click you have to take all your other fingers off the mouse.

After looking at the video at Apple's site, that is what concerned me. Now I'm not sure I want one of these.

ugggh that was the annoying thing about the Mighty Mouse, having to lift my other finger into the air to right click, since it detects your non-clicking fingers being at rest...

hate the name! sideways scrolling is cool, but happy with the MBP pad for work purposes. have a mini microsoft bluetooth but only seem to use it for games in windows, which I never have time for now anyway, so ah, trackpad!

I love the magic mouse gestures, although I wish there were exposé ones but it is ridiculously unergonomic.

I love this little critter. No ergonomic problems here. They go through batteries at a pretty good clip though.

I just changed mine for the first time; bought it the first day it was available.

I just changed mine for the first time; bought it the first day it was available.

Rechargeable batteries were the second thing I bought that day.

I've got a big box of Duracell AAs left over from something or other.