[Kerrigan]

Negative reviews are coming from all over the net and the Wallstreet Journal chimed in today, highlighting the Mighty Mouse's many shortcomings (which is no surprise since most other Apple mice have been quite bad).

So here is a poll, is the mighty mouse total crap or is it good?

[teknopimp]

[turtle777]

I'll wait until I can use one. No sense it making an uninformed statement.

-t

[Kerrigan]

Sometimes products are so bad that you can make an opinion straight away without having to use it. I currently own a bluetooth Apple mouse, and I am already familiar with the overall design of the Apple's mice, so by reading a few reviews I can piece together what the Mighty Mouse will be like an make an opinion.

If a movie gets a 3.0 on IMDb, I'm not going to see it. Likewise, if a product gets bad reviews across the board, I'm not going to use it.

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by turtle777

I'll wait until I can use one. No sense it making an uninformed statement.

-t

exactly my point.

[IFLY2HIGH]

It's semi cool, but it's gota be wireless to get my official "good" rating... I can't stand wired mouses anymore, gota have that total freedom. I'm still sing my ancent 2 button, scroll wheel usb wireless mouse that uses two AA's and has worked for years, and the batteries last and last.

[budster101]

It takes a bit of getting used to, but I like it.

[Jacob]

Anything is going to be better than one click. I know Apple thinks it is more simplictic, but with the OS's they are coming out with sporting more and more features, we need a mulitfunctional mouse of some sort. That is why mighty mouse is a good idea. It really compliments Tiger.

[volcano]

I went to the Apple store today and tried it out. I love the simplicity and functionality of it. It has the same weight of an Apple BT mouse and feels nearly the same except for that convenient little scroll ball in the center - it works really well. You just touch left, right, up, down on it and away it scrolls. Although, for those used to Apple's 1-click mouse (myself included), you will find it a bit tedious and erratic at first because of the new right-click option. Like I said before, it feels just like the Apple BT wireless 1-click mouse, so you don't even realize at first that it's a two-click mouse.. it kind of sneaks up on you. I still found myself hitting the control key every now and then, regardless.

I still think I'll wait until they have a wireless version available. I hate cords.

[michaelb]

I've had my Mighty Mouse since yesterday and am loving it (the ball is extremely nice to use).

It's actually quite amazing the amount of "tactile tuning" that must have gone into designing something that's almost as revolutionary as the iPod's clickwheel, although I believe it takes more to get used to than the minute that iPod takes.

I think this mouse will have two camps: those who absolutely love it (me), and those who positively hate it (many butterfingers that I know!).

[videian28]

voted crap unfortunatly

got mine yesterday, I absoloutly LOVE the scroll ball

but hate everything else about it =/

Mine is going back if it can, or being sold

the hand does not rest comfortably for those that spend long hours on the computer, side buttons are not placed well and are difficult to activate without moving your whole hand

the two front buttons are flakey (but could be worked out with time) and you cannnot press them both at one time (big problem for some gamers)

the whole package does not sit well besides the ball (love that thing)

[Kerrigan]

I love how diehard Mac fans have derided two-button mice for the past decade, and now that Apple has given them a two-button mouse (with an inferior implementation at that) they switch over and say how wonderful it is. Brand whore, anyone?

[budster101]

I've had a two button mouse for over a decade, and have used it for the past 2.5 years with my Mac... but I like this one too. I can't see why it is wrong to love the design of the mouse as well as the function.

I found it funny though how some friends would never put a two button scroll mouse on their Mac... I kept telling them it was to remind myself of the PAIN I went through all those years on Windows..but I secretly do like my two-button-scroll mouse that cost me $19.00 10 years ago... and still works great.

[The Shadow]

I like the mouse.

It took a little getting used to but I've developed a nice comfy way to work with this mouse

Place whole palm at rear of mouse, index finger on left side, middle finger to right of scroll ball, ring finger hanging over right edge

Left click - simply press down with middle and index fingers

Middle click - place index finger on scroll ball and press down along with middle finger.

Scrolling - use index finger on scroll ball

Right click - slide index finger to right of scroll ball and press down along with index finger

Squeeze - ring finger and thumb fall naturally onto side buttons so simply squeeze.


I find this really comfortable and can work for hours with no problems.

[Randman]

I'll use it on the road with my PB but I still prefer my Trackman. Any improvement from Apple related to mouses is a good move.

[ajprice]

I'm currently using the original Pro Mouse that came with my G4, I had an MS wireless optical mouse, and a matching keyboard, but i got fedup of the batteries so switched back. I use my pro mouse with a wrist rest, I have big hands and my wrist is quite a bit behind the back of the mouse really, so I hold and move the thing with my fingers and keep my wrist still on the pad. I'll try out an MM in Edinburgh next week (I'm going on holiday and there is a Micro Anvika reseller store there), if I like it, I'll get one, and from what I've read, can't see what's not to like really.

[Fonzie]

I voted mediocre since I have some problems with the mouse squeaking when pressing the left button after the mouse has been lifted from the table because the speed of the mouse is not the best. It does not accelerate enough.

[one09jason]

For those of you giving a "crap" rating, would you please also tell us what mouse you think is better. It's very easy to find fault in something, but I imagine that most people are reading this tread with the purpose of trying to figure out if this is the best mouse to buy. Tell us what you would (or do) use instead.

[Darthmaul4114]

crap

tried it out at the local mac store yesterday. the scroll ball feels too grainy, the sqeeze buttons are in odd positions, and i can't freaking right click without taking my index finger off the mouse. the dude at the mac store said it was a "swivel switch" so i tried swivelling my hand to the right to activate the secondary click. nope. still have to take my index finger off the mouse to get it to work right.

Originally Posted by one09jason

For those of you giving a "crap" rating, would you please also tell us what mouse you think is better. It's very easy to find fault in something, but I imagine that most people are reading this tread with the purpose of trying to figure out if this is the best mouse to buy. Tell us what you would (or do) use instead.

get a logitech mx mouse. i have an mx700 for my pc, and an mx510 for my pb. they are both essentially the same thing except the mx700 is wireless. they both have excellent button placement, and its a lot easier to right click, and you dont accidently click the mouse either (another problem with apple's one button design). of course you can only scroll down, but in all reality, who scrolls sideways and diagonally anyways? if i need to do that i have the 2 finger scrolling trackpad anyways. the mx510 is fully compatable with the tiger, you just dont get anny of the special buttons to work, at least i haven't, but i dont really care as of now. the mighty mouse was a good try, but hopefully apple will have a better go at it in mighty mouse round 2.

[Tritium]

I have both an MX700 and an MX510. The MX700 is crap, just total crap. I've read a lot of reports about bad ones, so maybe mine is defective. The cursor skips a lot and it goes to "sleep" if you don't move it for 20 seconds and takes a bit to wake up again.

The MX510 doesn't feel right on a Mac. I tried it with both my powerbook and my G5, with the logitech drivers and without, with mousezoom and without. I can't get it to have the same mouse acceleration feel as an apple/microsoft mouse does when it's plugged in. I really tried hard, and got it to the point where it's usable, but it still isn't the same.

[tavilach]

Originally Posted by one09jason

For those of you giving a "crap" rating, would you please also tell us what mouse you think is better. It's very easy to find fault in something, but I imagine that most people are reading this tread with the purpose of trying to figure out if this is the best mouse to buy. Tell us what you would (or do) use instead.

Though I haven't tried the Mighty Mouse, I can see that it's got some major problems, and I can confidentely say that this mouse is far more suited to my needs. It's reliable, compatible with anything in existence, feels great, and looks nice. What more could I ask for?

[chrisutley]

Originally Posted by Randman

I'll use it on the road with my PB but I still prefer my Trackman. Any improvement from Apple related to mouses is a good move.

Every other mouse on the planet has two buttons +. Just because Apple put two buttons on a mouse doesn't mean it's an improvement. All the other drawbacks make it a net failure, IMO.

Apple should have paid Logitech to design a mouse for them, it would have been much, much better. There will be no awards for this half assed two-button abortion of a mouse.

[one09jason]

You know, I was thinking, if Apple is going to make a multi-button mouse with a scroll device, why didn't they make the best one ever? I mean, Apple: the company that introduced the mouse to the world, masters of the human user interface, bla bla bla. The fact that were're even discussing whether it's a good mouse or not, makes it a failure for Apple. I shouldn't be thinking that maybe there's something better than Apple's MM, and maybe I should buy that instead. It should be a no-brainer. Quite simply, why isn't this the best mouse ever made? Is Apple just not capable anymore of hitting a design home-run anymore, or is something else going on here?

[tavilach]

Originally Posted by one09jason

You know, I was thinking, if Apple is going to make a multi-button mouse with a scroll device, why didn't they make the best one ever? I mean, Apple: the company that introduced the mouse to the world, masters of the human user interface, bla bla bla. The fact that were're even discussing whether it's a good mouse or not, makes it a failure for Apple. I shouldn't be thinking that maybe there's something better than Apple's MM, and maybe I should buy that instead. It should be a no-brainer. Quite simply, why isn't this the best mouse ever made? Is Apple just not capable anymore of hitting a design home-run anymore, or is something else going on here?

There are many reasons why this isn't the case. First and foremost, Apple has a commitment to keeping things simple, and it's very hard to keep things simple when the goal is to introduce complexity. Second, unlike Logitech and Microsoft, Apple does not have too much experience with mice. Third, Apple isn't perfect, and it's extremely hard to make "the best [product] ever," especially when every person has a completely different concept of what "best" entails. Finally, Apple had a certain market in mind (including, I'm sure, Mac users who have always used one button, but are now ready to experiment with the context menu), and I bet that this mouse will be a success within that market.

[OogaBooga]

I'm going to be returning mine, basically because I found out I can't justify spending $50 on a new mouse when my current one works fine. I've already got a Logitech multi-button mouse, but I've gotten used to the single button Apple pro mouse so I still find myself Ctrl-clicking half the time when I should be doing a right click. I also find myself moving the pointer over to the scroll bar instead of just using the wheel.

And these things don't really inconvenience me very much, so I'm just going to return it back to the Apple Store I bought it from.


Now if my Pro Mouse breaks, I'll think about buying one, but I'm a student now and simply don't have a need for a $50 mouse.

[one09jason]

Originally Posted by tavilach

There are many reasons why this isn't the case... Third, Apple isn't perfect, and it's extremely hard to make "the best [product] ever," especially when every person has a completely different concept of what "best" entails.

I hear what your saying. I understand that you can't have perfection for everybody, but this mouse should have been, design-wise, head and shoulders above the rest. There are stil some obvious problems with simple solutions. Take the squeeze buttons on the side - the're hard to activate and don't give you any feedback. C'mon, this is Apple we're talking about. A user interface element that gives no feedback? Even I know that this is a major design no-no. How could this possibly be intentional? Something seems really wrong here - as if Apple just isn't trying. They came up with the click-wheel for the iPod, which is brilliant, functional and simple. Now they make a mouse that has buttons that don't click? What?

[TETENAL]

The squeeze buttons give acoustic feedback (ie. "click").

[one09jason]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

The squeeze buttons give acoustic feedback (ie. "click").

If that's true, I couldn't hear a thing when I tried it in the Apple store. Normal mouse buttons give you an audible click and tactile feedback as well. On a normal mouse, you know when you've clicked. With the MM squeeze buttons, you don't know that you've clicked unless something happens on the screen. Bad design. Also, I noticed that you have to squeeze quite hard for it to work.

[tavilach]

Originally Posted by one09jason

I hear what your saying. I understand that you can't have perfection for everybody, but this mouse should have been, design-wise, head and shoulders above the rest. There are stil some obvious problems with simple solutions. Take the squeeze buttons on the side - the're hard to activate and don't give you any feedback. C'mon, this is Apple we're talking about. A user interface element that gives no feedback? Even I know that this is a major design no-no. How could this possibly be intentional? Something seems really wrong here - as if Apple just isn't trying. They came up with the click-wheel for the iPod, which is brilliant, functional and simple. Now they make a mouse that has buttons that don't click? What?

Perhaps they aren't ready to enter the advanced mouse market (i.e. the MX series and friends), and purposely made it so the mouse isn't viewed as directly competition. Maybe it's solely for those who have only been using one button, but who want to try something new. Who knows .

[mhuie]

I voted crap. They tout all these feature, but most of them don't work.

Diagonal scrolling does *not* work. I tried two in the Apple store the other day. Tested it in iPhoto and Preview.

Right clicking isn't consistent. I should be able to pick up a mouse and use it. I shouldn't have to train myself to it.

Like tavilach posted, the MS Optical mouse is probably the best mouse out there. I've tried wired/wireless of all brands and always go back to it. I have recently discovered the Logitech MX518 which I think may replace my MS mice.

[budster101]

I'm not sure why they came out with this. Anyone?

I've used my logitech for over a decade and it works great... A bit confused on this one, though I've not used the mouse very much.

[yongfook]

My office bought a bunch for the staff and I've been using one now for the last 2 days, all day at work.

At work I normally use a regular Apple one-button mouse so I was more than ready for the shape of the Mighty Mouse. However that doesn't mean I like that shape. At home I use a Logitech MX500 and I feel that is almost the perfect mouse for me in terms of ergonomics. My hand just sits perfectly on top of it.

Anyway here are my thoughts on the Mighty Mouse:

- same clunky-feeling symmetrical design. My hand is not symmetrical.

- side buttons are very hard to activate naturally, without shifting your grip slightly.

- I thought right click with left finger off wouldn't annoy me - it does. Apple REALLY need to sort that out. You have to be able to right click whilst a finger is resting on the left button.

- scroll ball is VERY USEABLE!! hooray a positive comment. It did have a longer learning curve than I would have expected, but now going back to a regular scroll wheel feels slow and clunky. Apple's scroll ball is very whizzy-feeling (technical term I know) and scrolls much faster and smoother.

- middle-click is very confusing to me. Often it's hard to activate middle click without scrolling the ball a little by accident. Feels quite unnatural. Why wasn't it made so that you pressed the ball down firmly for middle-click? That would have made more sense.

- the actual clicking action feels slightly more solid and "clicky" than before. Could be because it's brand new though.

overall it's much better than the previous Apple mouse, but I probably won't be replacing my Logitech at home.

[ryaxnb]

It sounds like my mouse will be The Mouse from DVforge, largely 'cause I already have it, but also cause right-click is kinda sucky. I say The Mouse is a better mouse for the price, but it if you must have that admittedly too-cool scroll ball, squeeze feature, and/or neat Tiger integration (I've heard that The Mouse's program sucks - don't know, don't use it.)

The Mouse review:
Design:
I love the Apple-inspired, design and left-handed compatibillity. One point off for no seamless buttons.
9/10
Buttons and wheels:
One or two more buttons would be nice, as would horizontal scrolling.
7.5/10
Software:
Pretty OK
7/10
Wires:
Wireless, bluetooth version availiable
9/10

Apple Mouse:
Design: Best. design. ever. (I'm left-handed, can't you guess?)
10/10
Buttons: One-button lover? This is for you. Button crazy? No way!
8/10 for me, 5/10 for button lovers
Software: No software is needed.
?/? as software is useless.
Wires:
Bluetooth version available and SPENDY!
8.5/10

Apple Mighty mouse preliminary review:
Design: 10/10
Buttons: 7.5/10
Software: 8/10
Wires: 6/10
Real review coming once I actually try it.

[thalo]

Total crap.

Next thing you know we'll have mice that play music and show photos, take photos, and have built in cellular telephones. Apple is great at bolloxing up stuff with useless functionality to try and charm the pants off of us, but when they go minimal, simple, and elegant, they really DO charm the pants off us. I really want to know why they take their best ideas and eventually wreck them with half-assed nonsense. iPod? Great when it was just a music player, monochrome and as few moving parts as possible. Mouse? This is a company that is responsible for the worst mouse in the history of computing (the round mouse)... I never thought they could do any worse than that. Now they have. But at least the stupid round mouse was SIMPLE. That's the whole idea with mice. I've always said, if you need more than one button on your mouse, THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE INTERFACE. Case in point: Windows.

OK so finally Apple comes out with the pro mouse, and the wireless pro mouse: both excellent. Superior. And durable. But they can't leave well enough alone. Let Windows people have two buttons and scroll wheels and all that garbage. Operating System? The legacy was simple and brilliant. OS X comes along and it's ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag. They keep adding more and more interface and eye candy, when we all know that they do their best work when they go minimalist. Less is More. There is a Mighty Mouse because OS X is so all over the place, so Windows-inspired, that all that extra interface is required. I think the more interface there is, the more sham, distraction, and half-assed beta-ness there is to hide. The multi-button mouse coming to the Mac is a cave-in, a sell out. They choked. Somebody needs to put force sensing buttons on the side of Steve's HEAD so he can sense it when we smack him upside it. I have no idea what he's thinking, but I hope he snaps out of it.

thalo

[OogaBooga]

Originally Posted by thalo

Somebody needs to put force sensing buttons on the side of Steve's HEAD so he can sense it when we smack him upside it. I have no idea what he's thinking, but I hope he snaps out of it.

thalo

Ahaha.

But really -- most people find two or more buttons more productive. In complex programs like Shake and Blender, it's easier to hit another mouse button than it is to reach over and press a key-modifier.

It may not be as traditional, but you really can't argue against the scroll ball. I mean, it's perfect for web browsing and basically anything else that requires scrolling.

[thalo]

It may not be as traditional, but you really can't argue against the scroll ball.

Oh, of course I can. Absolutely. I have never in my life used a scroll ball, and I have no problem scrolling within windows, or browsing the web. To me there's absolutely no difference between twiddling a scroll wheel or ball, and using the user interface, except that one is a moving part on hardware (which you have to clean or which can break)... and one uses the mouse cursor itself to handle the functionality. It's a matter of personal preference. My personal preference is for gizmos that do the fewest possible things in a flexible way. The fewer controls, the better.

Same with the dual button mouse. I've used two button mice and single button mice, and to me the option with the fewer options is always the winner. I never gained any productivity by virtue of using a two button mouse over a single button mouse. In complex programs, I don't know about you, but my hand is never far from the keyboard anyway (that's where the keyboard shortcuts are), so it's not like I'm "reaching over" from downtown.

I'm a Mac person from way back. Like 1984 back. And to me it's always been clear that the simpler the interface, the better the product. Compare video games with one joystick and one button, to gamepads with a jillion combinations of simultaneous button pressing and arrow key manipulation. The complexity of the controls doesn't make the game any more playable. Sure, you can train yourself like a chimp to DEAL with all that complexity, but the fact is, when the interface is streamlined, when the learning curve is not as steep, and the skillset not vast... you are more productive.

I think in this day and age people get duped into thinking complicated is better than simple, when it's just not true. It's like people who wear splints and use gel wrist rests and hinged opposable keyboards... they assemble all this ridiculous looking garbage because they fell for some con-job that it was going to be more ergonomic that way. And they end up over-interfacing. It's like child-carryer syndrome too. Time was, you'd pick up your kid in your friggin' ARMS. Now you have these goofy bondage devices, backpacks, all straps and buckles and nonsense. Over interfacing.

On televison too. The news used to be a guy reading the news. You'd see a guy sitting at a desk. Now? There are crawls and box scores, animated logos and all kinds of superfluous, trivial junk that does nothing but DILUTE the experience.

We need a MacLash. A backlash where the user base rises up against the kind of ridiculous bloat that's getting in the way of our productivity. I say if it doesn't add to the experience, get rid of it. Keep interfaces... everything from the mouse to the GUI as simple and elegant as possible. That's when you'll see productivity.

Again I'll say, if you need more than one button, there's something wrong with the interface. If the interface is so complicated that you can't move smoothly through its landscape WITHOUT another button, it could be streamlined.

It's clear these days that there's nothing EASIER than adding more interface to things. The real trick is, are these guys smart enough to start making it a SUBTRACTIVE process. I think crap-cutters are the real heroes of high tech. Bloating and adding crap ain't value-adding squat. It makes a piss poor user experience the more nonsense you heap on.

thalo

(Mac Heretic, X-Critic, founder of thalo.net)

[elvis2000]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

I like the mouse.

It took a little getting used to but I've developed a nice comfy way to work with this mouse

(snip)

I find this really comfortable and can work for hours with no problems.

Jeez -- you have to adpot to the mouse. Pretty intricate instructions for using a mouse.

[OogaBooga]

Originally Posted by thalo

snip

thalo

(Mac Heretic, X-Critic, founder of thalo.net)

The fact remains, though, that 99.9% of the population finds a two-button, scroll mouse more convenient to use. I mean, it's not that hard to "train" yourself to use a scroll wheel instead of moving the cursor over to the scroll bar and dragging it.

I understand your philosophy "simple is better", but come on it's much easier (for me at least) to put a finger on a scroll wheel than to move the cursor over... move it there... move it back to scroll... go highlight some text...

You waste a lot of time and convenience moving the mouse around when you could just be using your finger.

And with the right click thing, I agree we shouldn't have to right click for normal day-to-day usage of our Macs. But, take Blender3d as an example. The reason it's so complex is because it has so much functionality built in to the interface. Sure they could put everything in contextual menus, but once again, it's easier (for me at least) to memorize what right-click does than to memorize where that specific function would be in a contextual menu.


The thing is, a multi-button, scroll mouse would make a lot of people more productive. For me, I'd just use it to scroll web pages and right-click instead of Ctrl-click. I still use my one-button Apple Pro Mouse, mainly because I haven't had a need to bust out my Logitech MX300. But others need the extra functionality at the tip of their fingers.


In general, people use their computer faster when they have a multi-button scroll mouse.

[amazing]

Multi-button mice are now a fact of life. Period. For Apple not to have one is like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand.

Still, throughout history, people always harken back to the "simple life." As in, remember when computing was so simple, like OS 9 and the simple mouse? Not withstanding the fact that there never was a "simple life." Even the Romans talked about the "simple life" and "family virtues."

Individual taste dictates which mouse you choose, and there's no accounting for taste. Best just to move on and find the one that works for you.

Now, you can talk about ergonomics. And in ergonomic terms, the Mighty Mouse is a disaster. It's whole bundle of stress and strain on the hand, from lifting one finger so you can click with the other, to not being form fitting. The hockey puck was bad (but easily remedied with the plastic snap-on shell), this one's oblong but the strain on the hand will probably be worse.

[thalo]

The fact remains, though, that 99.9% of the population finds a two-button, scroll mouse more convenient to use.

And something like 97% of the computer using population uses friggin' WINDOWS, so if you're trying to convince me about personal productivity and elegant solutions using the statistics of sheer numbers of users, I'll still have no trouble disagreeing with you. Remember, I've used both types of mice. I think it's clear to me that when you simplify the skillset of a UI with more gross motor skills, you end up increasing speed and productivity. When you force a user to switch gears, and change the rules of UI mastery with moments where finer motor skills are required, you are simply adding a process where you really didn't need to. I think the legacy Mac understood that the fewer processes when moving through the UI, the better.

The problem now, is that user interfaces are like crib toys. You know those arrays of switches, bells, and knobs that you give to infants to keep them occupied and distracted. To help them develop eye hand coordination. They are controls for the sake of controls. They don't DO anything but give a kind of fleeting sense of mastery. In the postmodern world, that's what things like scrollwheels and right buttons do. You don't NEED them, but they translate certain actions of yours into a result, and make you feel in control.

What I question, is just how MUCH of that stuff we need, in order to end up with effective and efficient computer use. I think the single button mouse is one of those input devices that really never needed to be over-interfaced. It's simple, efficient, and adaptive. I mean, I have a 30" screen, and to get from one end of it to the other, I don't have to move my mouse more than a few inches. I don't get TIRED having to use my window scrollbars or arrows, I don't get lancing pains in my carpal tunnel from mousing. I think it's intuitive and mechanically simple. Those are strengths. I don't believe I'm losing any time by not having a dual button, scroll-wheel mouse. In fact, I think the slightly more gross motor movement using scrollbars to scroll is entirely appropriate and proportional. Where a very tiny movement on a wheel can frequently overscroll. If you're constantly correcting, overscrolling, having to scroll back, I don't think you're increasing productivity.

I think productivity comes from how efficiently you use the tools you are given. You can be just a productive with a single button, as a dual button mouse. I don't believe, in other words, that single button mice are "productivity killers"... I think that over-interfacing is WAY more likely to kill productivity than anything, for the reasons I've mentioned.

thalo

[Cadaver]

The following are my opinions only... yours may differ.

I've had mine for one day (thanks OogaBooga!) and I've found it to be quite pleasant to use. Took me about 1 minute to get used to ever so slightly raising my index finger when I right click; I've had no mis-clicks and already muscle memory has taken over and I don't have to consciously think about it. The scroll ball is very nice; Apple's acceleration curve for the scroll speed is near perfect.
I've set the scroll ball click as button "3" which will open a new tab on clicked links in Safari (which is how my previous mouse's wheel button was set). I've disabled the side buttons for now, but I really don't use exposé that much with my 30" display anyway.

[thalo]

For a company that's the master of touch-sensitive devices like the trackpad and the iPod scroll wheel, I'm actually really confused as to why they put a little scroll ball in the Mighty Mouse. People are already calling it a cleaning nightmare, noting that for them it gets gummed up after a week. I think it would have been much cooler to keep the surface of the mouse totally smooth, and have it not only sense where your finger was when you click, but would detect circular motion of your index finger, and have that activate the scroll feature.

I don't understand why brother Cadaver has to raise his index finger at all. I'm not a two-button mouse user, but to me, the natural hand position is index finger over the left, middle finger over the right... why would you activate the right button with your index finger, if your middle is already there? You're saying it's INTUITIVE and efficient to raise your index finger and vault over the scroll ball (without activating it)... and right click that way? Hmmmm. Yeah, my opinions do differ.

If they got rid of the ball, and made the entire touch surface touch-sensitive, this might be interesting. For example, if you didn't have to move your finger to a particular zone to scroll... if the nature of the motion (like an iPod wheel) was what invoked the scroll.

[teknopimp]

well, i finally tried it today and found that i don't like it. for my tastes the ball is too small, feels too light and gives no real tactile feedback. it would have been nice if the side buttons actually clicked and required less pressure to activate. the right finger sensor seems to have not enough coverage to recognize a right click if your finger is not curled over the front edge. overall it feels very cheap and not well designed.

verdict:

...and i am happy with my Kensington PilotMouse for now.

[Lee33]

I don't like it either. It seems like the Apple designers put too much into appearance and not enough into ergonomics. I'll definitely pass.

[iomatic]

I own one. I agree with most of the statements, and the way the right-click is implemented, I am very disappointed. I'm surprised really, at the poorness of design. I do, however, think the scroll ball and seamless right-button idea are great ones. The squeeze buttons-- I can take it or leave it.

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by iomatic

I own one. I agree with most of the statements, and the way the right-click is implemented, I am very disappointed. I'm surprised really, at the poorness of design. I do, however, think the scroll ball and seamless right-button idea are great ones. The squeeze buttons-- I can take it or leave it.

who else here admits to buying before trying?

[budster101]

They are Windows compatible...

[SirCastor]

I stopped by the store today and test-drove the Mighty mouse. I'm unsure about it. I was honestly under the impression that all the buttons pressure sensitive. The wording that Apple gives out is a little confusing. The difference between touch sensitive and force sensitive isn't clear.

Anyway, I sat down and played with it. I loved the scroll ball. It was a lot smaller than I expected, and the noise that came from moving it around wasn't expected. The top two buttons worked well enough, but with the side buttons I found it difficult to differenciate between holding the mouse and pressing the buttons.

It's cool, but it's not quite there yet. I think it could be a bit bigger.

[ogun]

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

Negative reviews are coming from all over the net and the Wallstreet Journal chimed in today, highlighting the Mighty Mouse's many shortcomings (which is no surprise since most other Apple mice have been quite bad).

So here is a poll, is the mighty mouse total crap or is it good?

I tried it out in the local Apple store. I was of two minds. I finally bought one last week and attached it to my USB hub next to my Logitech optical wheel mouse. At first I was almost going to take it back to the Apple store, but I've found that I use it more and more and more. So much so that I've disconnected the Logitech, uninstalled the Logitech software (which requires a restart, so you know I wanted it gone) and attached the Logitech to my WinXP machne instead of the crap mouse that it came with. Part of that was due to irritation with the way that the long cable on the Logitech kept getting in my way on the Mac but works just fine attached to a USB port in back of the WinXP box, while the short cable of the Mighty Mouse _doesn't_ get in my way. Part of that was due to the scroll ball; once I reset it to _not_ pull up Dashboard every time I tapped it too hard, I found I liked the way I can scroll diagonally. I don't have a problem with the right-click button. It seems that I was always holding my fingers in Mighty Mouse style from the begining, so I haven't changed the way I click. The squeeze buttons on the sides are basically wasted space as far as I'm concerned, though. Maybe that will change.

So far the Mighty Mouse is as good as my Logitech in most ways, and slightly better in others. It's good enough that I moved the Logitech. My main problem is the price; it's twice the price of the Logitech, but it certainly isn't twice as good. If Mighty Mouse had cost about $30 I'd have no complaints at all.

[JasonBourne]

I been using the MM for several weeks now and started to like it a lot. I stopped using my apple bluetooth mouse. I probably got a couple multi button mouse and I don't know why I keep on going back to apple one button mouse. Before the apple bluetooth mouse I always use one button mouse even if I have have the microsoft bluetooth mouse. Now I put everything aside and I only use the MM.