Review of Apple's "Mighty Mouse"

hanser writes "Ars Technica is running an in-depth review of the new Apple "Mighty Mouse." From the review: "As it turns out, Apple blew the description of its "aural feedback" and "touch sensitivity" out of proportion and led most of us to believe that 1) there was some sort of speaker built into the mouse with synthetic mouse sounds coming out of it, and 2) the shell might be solid-state touch-sensitive like our beloved iPod wheels.""

detroit mac, as well

[MaximXygo]

Another review at DetroitMac: http://detroitmac.com/index.php?content=mightymous e [detroitmac.com]

Oh, the speaker... It exists...

[nuxx]

Also, I forgot to mention that the mouse very much does have a speaker built into it, but the only sound I've heard it make is a clicking as you spin the scroll ball. It's almost like the iPod scrolling sound, but a lot quieter. It's impossible to hear in a normal, noisy office, and in a quiet room it's easy to mistake it for the standard ratcheting sound made by the wheel in almost all other scrolling-type mice. The ARS Technica article seems to have overlooked or simply not noticed this.

Re:Did he even look at the apple website?

[sootman]

If the author of this review had even bothered to read the information on the Apple website, he would have found that there are no sounds associated with the mouse.

Then what, pray tell, is the meaning behind this [apple.com]?

Now Hear This
Mighty Mouse even sounds as good as it feels. The audio feedback built into Mighty Mouse provides an aural sensation that responds to your movements. When you scroll or click, Mighty Mouse produces subtle sound effects based on your actions.

Not as versatile as a normal multi-button mouse

[mrchaotica]

The "innovative" virtual button design is great for letting people use it as a single-button or multi-button mouse, but the consequence is that it doesn't do everything a normal multi-button mouse can do. Namely, it can't click both the left and right button at the same time, and register them as a (left+right) click. Instead, (according to the review) it just gets registered as a left click. Additionally, people who rest their fingers on the mouse buttons are going to be annoyed, because they have to lift their index finger in order to right-click.

Did you look at the Apple website?

[argent]

If the author of this review had even bothered to read the information on the Apple website, he would have found that there are no sounds associated with the mouse.

From the Apple website: "Mighty Mouse even sounds as good as it feels. The audio feedback built into Mighty Mouse provides an aural sensation that responds to your movements."
It is also obvious by simply looking at the mouse that it is not "solid-state touch-sensitive like our beloved iPod wheels."

From the Apple website: "Thanks to a smooth top shell with touch-sensitive technology beneath, Mighty Mouse allows you to right click without a right button. Capacitive sensors under Mighty Mouse's seamless top shell detect where your fingers are and predict your clicking intentions."

Also, one of the small features I love about Macintosh is the ability to plug your mouse into the keyboard, therefore getting rid of the need for a long mouse cord. Sounds like a guy who doesn't work on a Mac very often.

Um, what's your point? He didn't say this was a problem, he just noted it as one of the features of the mouse and that this was typical of Apple mice.

Sheesh.

Re:Not as versatile as a normal multi-button mouse

[Linus Torvaalds]

I cannot even imagine try to to explain to my grandmother how to "right-click" without her being able to SEE the right button.

The whole reason Apple has stayed with the one-button mouse for so long is because grandmas don't right-click. Why would you be explaining this to her?

The default setting for this mouse is to register a click anywhere on the mouse as a left click. This is exactly the same as the one button mouse Apple have shipped for the past umpteen years.

The value in this mouse is that it caters to the grandmas, while the advanced users who always whine about Apple not shipping a multi-button mouse can reconfigure it to suit their needs better. If you want a one-button mouse, that's what it is. If you want a multi-button mouse, then just change the settings. It's the best of both worlds.

Re:Bluetooth...

[ejacqui]

It's not a complaint, just a comment. Many people on Ars and the internet in general threw a fit when it came out that it did not have Bluetooth, so it was merely an acknowledgement of that.

Re:Did he even look at the apple website?

[Jables]

Well, he's a she, for starters. Did you even look at the review? ;) As for the short cable: 1) Many Mac users don't have Apple keyboards with USB hubs in them 2) iBook users have their USB ports on the left. Awkward for right handed users

Re:Isn't it ironic

[thatguywhoiam]

that the one thing MS does well is hardware? I own a Microsoft optical mouse, trackball, and two Microsoft split-key keyboards...

Not that ironic - MS doesn't actually make those peripherals, they are re-badged from other OEMs.

Re:Not as versatile as a normal multi-button mouse

[pomo monster]

That was true up to OS 9, but OS X has always supported multibutton clicks natively, straight from the events queue on up [apple.com].

Logitech MX1000

[ThinkFr33ly]

For $41 I can get the Logitech MX1000 laser mouse. [extremetech.com]

It uses a real laser (as opposed to a red LED and a camera) for tracking, has an ergonomic design, is wireless, has a recharging stand, battery indicator, 8 buttons (left, right, forward, back, "tasks", scroll up, scroll down), and a up/down/left/right tilt wheel.

I use this thing for everything from Photoshop to Counter Strike, and it is BY FAR the best mouse I've ever used, corded or not. Never jumps around. Is incredibly accurate. Extremely comfortable. Battery lasts a very long time. It's just great.

Can somebody tell me why I would want the Apple mouse? Oh... ya... because Apple made it. My bad.

get it for $46 shipped

[bradolson]

at amazon [amazon.com]. cheaper than getting it from apple.

Re: planned?

[gidds]

Ah, but they do do something on the old mouse: they let you keep the main button pressed while lifting the mouse off the desk. Which is vital if you need to drag something across the screen and run out of desk space.

Goodness knows how you do that with the new mouse...

Re:Well...

[laird]

"Only Apple thought they'd have to dumb it down to one because they thought their users couldn't count farther or whatever"

Actually, Apple made the decision to use one mouse button based on extensive user testing. The short summary is that it's very natural for people to point at and tap things, but not natural at all for people to have to decide which finger to use. So when novice users try to use multi-button mice they have no problem moving the pointer and clicking, but they have a terrible time picking between multiple buttons. By using one button, Apple eliminated the single largest cause of user confusion with mice, which is smart.

For anyone who is familiar enough with multi-button mice not to be confused, it's easy enough to buy and plug in a multi-button mouse. And since the OS and all applications support multiple mouse buttons, it all works just fine.