Apple's Mighty Mouse: The Move to Multi-Button
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 4, 2005 8:10 PM EST- Posted in
- Mac
High Resolution LCD and Gaming Performance
One of the reasons why I originally switched to the Logitech MX1000 was because of my use of higher and higher resolution displays. I found that the larger the LCD I moved to, the more of a pain using low DPI optical mice became. When I first decided to leave my old Microsoft mouse behind, I bought two mice and did a little mini roundup for myself to determine which one I'd use for my main machine. The running was between the Logitech MX1000 and the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0. In a nutshell, my conclusions were that although I liked the ergonomics of the IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 better than the MX1000, the scroll wheel (I accidentally middle-clicked a lot with the IntelliMouse's wheel) and, most importantly, the tracking accuracy of the MX1000 was far better for my needs, especially on using very high resolution displays. So, the MX1000 became my work mouse and the IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 became my testbed mouse.
One of the areas where Logitech's mice are supposed to excel is in gaming. So, I fired up a few games and tried out Apple's latest just to see how mighty it was. However, it was in its gaming performance that I was actually the most disappointed. The tracking speed and accuracy were good enough for me; granted, my first-person shooter skills have atrophied over the past few years, so I'm not as dependent on the perfect mouse as I would have been before, but I would say for the majority of casual/recreational gamers, the tracking and accuracy won't be a problem. The major problem instead was an issue that I mentioned earlier in this review: the problem of right clicking when your left click finger (in my case, the index finger) is resting on the left side of the mouse.
When using the mouse for anything but gaming, I'm not usually alternating left and right clicks all that much, especially given how much of a keyboard-shortcut nut I am. But even when I am clicking a lot, the pace of my clicking isn't so great that I have problems remembering to lift my index finger before I go to right click. It's a pain, sure, but it's something that I can deal with. In games though, it's a very different story.
I fired up a game of Command & Conquerer: Generals, a real-time strategy game where left clicking will select your characters and right clicking deselects them. The reason why I picked this game in particular is because it involves a lot of alternating between left and right clicking, which was where the single-button design of the Mighty Mouse truly failed. Quickly switching between left and right clicks using the mouse had my hand doing a finger dance that it wasn't used to doing at such a fast pace; it went something like: index finger up, right click, index finger down, left click, combined with a lot of dragging and selecting. Although the Mac is far from a gaming platform, those of you who do happen to game on your Mac (or want to use the Mighty Mouse on your PC) should know of the mouse's shortcomings.
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Homer1946 - Sunday, March 19, 2006 - link
The review was reasonable and gave that persons subjective impressions. However most of the comments are extreme.I would strongly suggest that Apple has a good history of implementing good function WITH good form. OS X is largely an example of this. Certainly they have had some partial and complete misses as well. Also mice are very subjective and NO mouse will feel right for everybody. I have found that in evaluating new Apple products that Apple puts a lot of thought and effort into their designs (hardware and software) and in order to evaluate a new product or idea you need to use it with an open mind for at least a week. Often you find that it is actually a big improvement, sometimes not.
Anyway my two bits. Note that I am a longtime Mac user but have LONG since gone to using two button mice exclusively. I am picky (like most power users) and really like the feel of MS mice.
1) The trackball works great and has a nice feel. Horizontal scrolling works much better in Cocoa native applications.
2) I don't have problems with missing right clicks but I don't leave my finger resting in the mouse. (Just dumb luck.)
3) The side buttons are better thought out than it seems. You only have to press one and the buttons are placed so the users thumb should naturally lie over one of the buttons such that they can activate it with just the thumb and counter pressure from wherever their other fingers naturally lie.
3) Their are lots of little touches and evidence careful thought:
- The side buttons take a fair amount of pressure so you don't press them accidently while moving the mouse. When the mouse is picked up they require even more pressure to activate than they do when the mouse is not being held to help prevent accidental activation, but they can still be activated with adequate pressure.
- The scroll ball requires a little pressure to activate to prevent incidental movement from your finger brushing it but requires enough pressure to depress the mouse casing to active its button feature to allow scrolling without pressing that button by accident (not that other mice have problems with this either)
- For most (all?) buttons a quick click will act normally but a click->hold->release will toggle the linked function. For example with the default behavior of having the scroll ball button activate dashboard just clicking it normally brings up dashboard, but clicking and holding brings out dashboard and then closes it when you release.
My overall impression.
A very good mouse. The trackball is great, better than the MS mice scroll wheel (although they are very nice as well). I think the side buttons are awkward but I feel that way about ALL side buttons on mice.
Although the cord is perfect for use with Apple keyboards, it is too short otherwise. I wish they had included an extender. (I note that the new MacBook Pros have USB ports on both sides.) I personally like the size and shape of the larger MS mouse better.
The Apple mice (and most other mice) are a little small for me. Others I know think the opposite. Apple should IMHO add the ability to map a key combination to a button as part if its standard preferences. I think this would greatly expand the flexibility for a number of users without overly complicating the interface.
This mouse is not perfect (nothing ever is) and not for everybody. However Apple is trying to re-think this, at least a little, and it is going to take some experimenting and some revisions. To those people who actually say 'Two button mice are already good enough and Apple is stupid to attempt to improve on it' I say this: The difference between Apple and the others is Apple understanding of how wrong that thinking is.
-R
softonero - Friday, August 19, 2005 - link
First of all... I'm from Argentina, so please excuse me if my english is too bad ;)I've readed the article, all the comments and even tried the mouse (on an apple reseller near my home) but didn't buy it, i have a MX500 thas is very good and the "mighty" is too for my buck... 1 dollar = 3 pesos :(
But I think it's very important for Apple the double functionality (1-button or 2-button) just look at this page: http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=444">http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=444, there are a lot of people who still wants a 1 button mouse from Apple (I have a few in my family), and this means that apple is thinking in it as the possible next "apple mouse" (the one who ships with macs)... possibly with "MacIntels"? So it would be nice to see it in all new Macs. Even better, you will have the Apple Pro Mouse... perhaps THIS is the mouse you are looking for (the one who wants Anand) at least, this is the beginning.
SuperTyphoon - Saturday, November 19, 2005 - link
Crap. Complete crap. Just buy a regular PC mouse with two buttons and a scroll, and save money.When clicking right and other buttons, it sometimes clicks the standard one. They don't feel separated enough.
The scroll wheel is pathetic, too small, and hard to use.
The smooth, slippery surface gets very slippery with sweat over time.
The shape of the mouse is hard to use and uncomfortable compared to many pc mouses.
soosy - Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - link
Nice review. I haven't used the Mightly Mouse in person yet...- Just to be clear for those who don't know, you can use 3rd party two button mice on Macs. The first page of the review wasn't totally clear on that I thought.
- The article mentions a lack of control for how many lines are scrolled yet also mentions the slow/fast scrolling setting. Is there a difference? The beef really seems to be that the "fast" setting isn't fast enough. This should be built in but there is a program called USB Overdrive that many use to adjust mouse speed settings beyond what is built in.
- I love the shape of Apple mice. Where the side buttons are now there used to be panels that you would grip to pickup up the mouse and move it since every where else on the mouse is essentially part of the main button. So using those panels as buttons makes a lot of sense to me. They obviously can't be seperate buttons because they are directly opposite each other and pushing one would mean pushing the other. So you end up with 4 buttons instead of 5 but I think it's a fine trade-off to keep the excellent existing shape/form and single button/multi-button versatility.
- Other reviews have said you only have to push one of the side buttons, not both at once.
- The track ball looks very cool to me as opposed to the bulkier scroll wheel that has resistant clicks on my current MS Intellimouse.
- I have used multi-button and single button mice with my Mac back and forth. For a while, I went back to using a single button mouse but had to go back to a multi-button because of World of Warcraft. That game just isn't designed very well for a single button mouse. I'm very sympathetic to the Application Design argument for single button mice. Mac users are mostly fine with single button mice because using a single button is no big deal. Contextual menus are merely convenience. On Windows, too often the only way to do something is to right click.
- The one thing I am dissappointed with is the having to lift up your left finger to right click. I notice I mostly lift up my left finger anyway... but even if I don't just 1% of the time... it will be annoying.
jbezdek - Tuesday, August 9, 2005 - link
Apple has created something truly innovative with the Mighty Mouse: a single piece of hardware that can function as a 1-button mouse or a 2-button mouse. Personally (as a Mac power user), I find this to be brilliant. I can use the mouse in 2-button mode, while my wife, child, and any other user who prefers the 1-button mode can use that.In the many comments I've seen posted about the Mighty Mouse, I note one thing: those people who don't see any value in a 1-button mouse to begin with, don't see anything noteworthy about a mouse that can be 1-button or 2-button. ("1-button mice suck! Who cares if the mouse works in 1-button mode. Just give it 2-buttons and be done!") Those people who _do_ see the value of a 1-button mouse (better usability, encourages better application design, easier for average/inexperienced users to use) see a lot of value in a dual function mouse. You can have your cake and eat it too.
On an unrelated note, in your section on "Ergonomics," you should note that the Mighty Mouse (and all of Apple's mice, for that matter) work equally well for right-handed and left-handed users. The other mice you compare it to work only for right-handed users. That is certainly an ergonomic plus.
MCSim - Thursday, August 11, 2005 - link
Ergonimics has very little to do with that, but all how it fits to your hand with minimal strain. You just can't make better ergonomics for mice that can be used by left or right hand. In other words you have to make compromises. When the mouse is perfecly fitted to left/right hand it's pretty much better than the "hybrid" ;)
Only ~10% of the humans are left-handed. It's quite big compromise. But again those are who should get that mouse. ;)
SuperTyphoon - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
apple has finally made the break through in the two button mouse!!! its a miracle! that mouse must suck big time for games.Windaria - Monday, August 8, 2005 - link
I don't think that I could stand anything less than 5 anymore. I mean, 4 buttons? You mean I have to give up a function? NO!Oh well... I have never understood Apple's hardware anyway. The only thing that they made that was better than anyone else was the Apple Cinema displays, ant that may even be eclipsed by the Dell monitors entirely soon, even though they are in certain aspects already.
Everything else... bah.
toot - Saturday, August 6, 2005 - link
Doesn't it look just a bit phalic? :pJalf - Sunday, August 7, 2005 - link
Just a bit... :)At least, the little logo thing for the article does