Apple Releases Multi-Button "Mighty Mouse"

TheRaven64 writes "Hot on the heels of the announcement of x86 Macs, Apple announced a multi-button mouse, known as the Mighty Mouse. It appears that the entire surface is touch-sensitive, allowing the mouse to be programmed as a single-button, multi-button or scrolling device."

Gettting cold in here

[FunWithHeadlines]

Man, Hell isn't as hot as I was led to believe. Is it getting cold in here or is it just me?

Hey, wait a minute, what will the Apple trolls do? Won't somebody think of the trooooollls?

OK, seriously, I hope this finally ends all the lame "Yeah, but it only got a one-button mouse" idiocy whenever Apple hardware is discussed around here. You always could use a multi-button mouse with OS X. Now you can do it with a shiny new Apple mouse. Let's put these snipes to rest, k?

Maybe I'm just oldschool...

[pVoid]

But I hate touch sensitive input devices which provide absolutely no feedback. Apple should know this from their own iPods. Gen 3 was fully touch sensitive, gen 4 has embedded buttons that go "click" to give you feedback that you've actually pressed the thing.

As gentle as it might be, the hand always recognizes the threshold of 'clicking' a button, but I find that it's practically impossible to tell if you've clicked a touch sensitive surface or not.

All of that, IMHO. I wouldn't go gaga over this mouse.

Where's the wireless version?

[Scorpion_1169]

Or do we have to wait 10 years for that? Maybe a few weeks after they switch to AMD CPUs?

Re:You don't get it do you?

[tgibbs]

but the fact of the matter is that the 2+-button mouse and scroll wheel are the standard now, and apple should have conceded sooner.

Actually, they did. The Mac OS has supported multi-button mice for years. Considering how cheap 3rd party mice have become, criticizing Apple for not providing one is a bit like complaining about the lack of Apple-branded 100baseT cables.

What has changed is that Apple has come up with a mouse design that they can ship with Macs, providing single-button functionality for new users without confusing them with extra buttons, while offering multi-button functionality for power users.

I've lost track of the number of casual computer users I've known who were confused by multi-button mice. Some people never seem to get their minds around more than one button. Apple's insistence that all programs be not merely usable with one button but easy to use is a major factor in Apple's beginner-friendly reputation. It also is one thing that makes Apple's laptops more usable. As wonderful as multi-button function is for a mouse, it is a disaster for laptops, where Apple's use of keyboard modifiers is far more natural. Although I do hope they add that scroll button to their laptops.

Re:Gettting cold in here

[wankledot]

It will only end the trolls if they ship this mouse with every machine... which I don't think they will be. A one-button mouse will still be standard, and you can still buy two-button ones. Nothing has changed.

Re:Bluetooth anyone?

[CokeBear]

Why not a self recharging mouse?
How much kinetic energy is generated with all that moving around? Enough to power a mouse?

apple vs fanatics

[willCode4Beer.com]

Its always apeared that its the apple apologists, not Apple, who make the excuse that grandma can use one button more easily.
I think the real reason is design and style. Apple has focused more on how the computer looks than on how easy it is to use.

Apple's site says "Single buttons looks, multi-button charm". This suggests that the one button thing has more to do with *looks* and design, than functionality. There was the recent no-button mouse by Apple; pretty but a pain to use. There was the infamous iMac gimee-carpal-tunnel-hockey-puck that stylisticaly was a good match for the iMac but, this was definitely not designed for human hands (chimpanzes maybe?).
The statement from the site, "for the best of both form and function", suggests this is true (single button=pretty, multi-button=functional).

From the site, "Stick with single-button simplicity or click with multibutton efficiency." *suggests* that they've known all along that the single button is less efficient.

Clicking the "Design" link takes us to a page with the statement "Who has time for intuitive, elegant design when there is so much clicking to do", again suggesting that the primary driving force for the mouse has been form over function.

Then I ask myself, why I am contributing to any forum about the mac mouse, that will always sink to flaming hell.

Re:Finally

[bleaknik]

Actually, Joe User is better of with a one button mouse. I worked in a tech support center for quite some time, and the most frustrating problem we had was explaining to the user the difference between the buttons...

Frustrating as it was, most Windows users never use the right mouse button, and none of them know what a context menu is. Once you get it through their tiny brains that a mouse has two buttons, then EVERY FRIGGING TIME YOU HAVE THEM CLICK ANYWHERE ELSE...

"With the right button?"
"Do I use the right button?"
"Which button do I use?"

Joe User does not deserve a two button mouse, and Apple has the right idea... Anything you can do in any application should be able to be done through the menu.

For all of you "Idiots" out there... I'm sure you already use a multibutton mouse with your Mac. And yes, you can pick up a logitech mouse with more features for the same price... but by the same token, you can pick up a Dell Jukebox for almost half of what you can pick up an iPod, yet how much better is the iPod selling? Typically Apple customers are willing to pay the extra buck for the "elegance". Who's to say they're wrong.