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Squidgy · Oct 2, 2004, 07:11 AM

I have a 20" iMac G5 on order (with the BT kit, keyboard and mouse).
I wonder if anyone has any experience with alternative bluetooth mice, that have three buttons and a scrollwheel ideally, and whether these would be compatible with the BT kit otherwise.

PeterKG · Oct 2, 2004, 10:42 AM

Originally posted by Squidgy:
I have a 20" iMac G5 on order (with the BT kit, keyboard and mouse).
I wonder if anyone has any experience with alternative bluetooth mice, that have three buttons and a scrollwheel ideally, and whether these would be compatible with the BT kit otherwise.

There are several BT mice available, but not all are supported on the Mac. I bought the Macally BTMouseJR, and am happy with it. No drivers are needed, and Macally makes many products for Apple users.

Macally BTMouseJR

MrMiyagi · Oct 2, 2004, 12:12 PM

Man, that MacAlly mouse defintely got hit witht the ugly stick. I'm also lookign for a BT mouse..but that thing is seriously nasty looking.

alternate_bit · Oct 2, 2004, 12:37 PM

the microsoft bluetooth mouse looks great.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...27175?v=glance

too bad there aren't any native drivers for OS X. i hear it works fine, though. i would love to know if the horizontal scrolling works.

Squidgy · Oct 4, 2004, 01:37 PM

Check out this one -it's the coolest one I've seen yet, and it is compatible with OS X.

iPoder · Oct 4, 2004, 04:26 PM

I am surprised that nobody mentions Logitech MX900 mouse yet. I have been using it with my Powerbook, and no problem at all.

Only downside is that it does not have on-and-off switch.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...CONTENTID=7110

OAW · Oct 4, 2004, 06:16 PM

For a full-sized mouse there is the ....

Kensington PilotMouse Bluetooth

... and for a smaller "travel-sized" (not a "mini-sized") mouse there is the ...

Kensington PocketMouse Bluetooth

Both have 2 buttons and a scroll wheel that work out-of-the-box without any additional drivers required. Having said that, what sets these mice above the competition is that there are native drivers that allow you to program all the buttons. You are not just limited to Expose functions ... a limitation that all other bluetooth mice have in OS X. The scroll wheel can be pressed so it is a third button. Also, you can press the left and right buttons at the same time (called "chording") and program that to be a fourth button.

To my knowledge, there is no other bluetooth mouse on the market that has native drivers for OS X. Personally, I went with the PilotMouse Bluetooth. I've had it for 3 weeks now and it works as advertised. The only "negative" is that I just had to replace the batteries today ... but I use my PowerBook all day, every day at work so the mouse gets heavy use. Also, they were the "GP" brand batteries that came with the mouse. We'll see if I get more battery life out of the Duracells I used as a replacement.

OAW

8minute · Oct 5, 2004, 08:16 PM

Originally posted by alternate_bit:
the microsoft bluetooth mouse looks great.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...27175?v=glance

too bad there aren't any native drivers for OS X. i hear it works fine, though. i would love to know if the horizontal scrolling works.

Yep .. the MS one works fine with OS X - no need to install drivers. I have the two thumb buttons mapped to Expose (one for show desktop, the other for show all windows). I haven't tried the horizontal scrolling yet ...

If you want one that has a similar design to the Apple mouse, but with 3 buttons and scroll wheel, I recommend you have a look at the MacMice BT.

P · Oct 6, 2004, 05:24 PM

Related issue... I have a Logitech Mouseman Wheel, no wireless and no diodes, just a cable and a ball. For those who haven't seen it, it's white and green, curved, with a large fourth button for the thumb (wheel and two buttons on top, of course). I'm considering updating that one a bit - does anyone know of a similar mouse that doesn't look totally out of place next to the iMac G5? Wired or wireless, balls or optical doesn't matter, but it has to have a thumb button and not be black and blue, like most are.

8minute · Oct 6, 2004, 07:04 PM

Horizontal scrolling doesn't seem to work on my MS BT mouse.

alternate_bit · Oct 6, 2004, 07:24 PM

Originally posted by 8minute:
Horizontal scrolling doesn't seem to work on my MS BT mouse.

aw, shame. would be great with photoshop and illustrator. maybe someone will put together a driver.

wolfie1599 · Oct 13, 2004, 12:07 AM

Ok a show of hands...narrowed my selection down to three BT mice to use with my new G5 Imac:

BT500 -- compact
MacMice BT (white of course) looks like the apple mouse, full-sized
MS four buttons, full-sized

I have read reviews on all these products, and they are all rated well. So, any ideas on how to choose? Size isn't a real concern since this is on a desk (albeit a small one). How easy is it to install the MS mouse 8minute? No need to install the drivers -- does that mean you just turn on the mouse and let the Imac find it?

Sorry to be dense, but I am only on chapter 2 of The Missing Manual!

Thanks,

Wolf

jrramsey · Oct 13, 2004, 12:27 PM

My vote is the MacMice BT since it has the look & simplicity of the iMacG5 and has my minimum 2 buttons & scroll. I'm sure the others are very powerful but I don't need all those bells and whistles. If you doing intense CAD, Photoshop, Maya, etc...they might be right...but then again you're probably not on an iMac either.

fisherKing · Oct 13, 2004, 02:36 PM

just wanna mention the kensington pocketmouse bluetooth again...
it's smallish, but feels great, looks great.
works with the mouseworks pref pane, so fully customizable.

only thing:
i get battery warnings, but have learned to ignore them UNTIL the scroll wheel itself flashes...THEN i replace them. this works great (and saves batteries!)

recommended..

the_glassman · Oct 13, 2004, 02:50 PM

I so want to buy a Macmice BT mouse, but I'm hesitant due to others past dealings with the owner. I wish Apple would get a clue. People want a two or more button mouse with scroll! It would especially help with switchers or people thinking about switching. I always get the tired, it only has one button on the mouse statement from them. They ask how can you do anything with one button?

OAW · Oct 13, 2004, 08:32 PM

Originally posted by fisherKing:
just wanna mention the kensington pocketmouse bluetooth again...
it's smallish, but feels great, looks great.
works with the mouseworks pref pane, so fully customizable.

only thing:
i get battery warnings, but have learned to ignore them UNTIL the scroll wheel itself flashes...THEN i replace them. this works great (and saves batteries!)

recommended..

Indeed. I get the battery warnings daily. But I only replace the batteries when the scroll wheel turns red. I got 3 weeks out of the batteries that ship with the mouse and I use the laptop at work all day every week day. We'll see if I get more time out of the Duracells that are in there now.

OAW

Squidgy · Oct 14, 2004, 10:30 AM

I went for the MacMice product, and have been using it with the 20" for a week with no major problems. Occasionally, when waking from sleep, the computer "loses" the BT connection with the mouse, but if I wait a few ( < 10 ) seconds the mouse comes back on-line. Only once so far did I have to force the computer to rediscover the mouse. I think the design is great, but I guess I personally lean towards form over function, and there may be a couple of issues with it for some users. First off, the scroll wheel has no "indents", that is, it rolls smoothly. I think I like the ratchety scroll wheel on my old Logitech mouse better, but maybe that is because I am used to it. Secondly, the mouse doesn't fit my hand as well as some of the other, more ergonomically-designed choices, but it's clear that the intention was to emulate the form factor of the stock Apple mouse. All that being said, I am not planning to return it.