Apple Files Patent For Display Mouse 156
astrodoom writes "AppleInsider has posted a story detailing a new patent application by Apple that hints at the possibility of adding a touchscreen to the company's magic mouse. At a basic level this could mean things like customizable colors or artwork displayed on the user's mouse, but the possibilities extend much further to fully customizable mouse layouts and program controls. Apple Insider comments on the possibilities: 'The display on the mouse would change according to what the user may be doing on their Mac. As an example, the application describes displaying a number of icons for quickly selectable options when a user is running Apple's Pages word processing application. Switching over to the spreadsheet software, Numbers would reconfigure the buttons on the screen to allow for commands in that respective application.'"
Ick (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Aren't there already products like this? (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe, but I haven't heard of one. Keyboards, yes, peripherals, yes, but mouse? I think the generally held wisdom is that your would fingers get in the way.
Re:Ick (Score:5, Insightful)
Terrible ergonomics. Your hand will block the view when using the mouse as it's meant to be used, and so see it you have to take your eyes off the screen. Seems like a bad idea to me.
Me too. Context-sensitivity can be carried to an extreme. This sounds more like yet another Apple fashion statement than anything particularly practical.
Actually, it sounds like just about all Apple patent stories on Slashdot: something that riles up the haters and isn't ever used in a product from Apple.
Cool: mouse-display recursion! (Score:5, Insightful)
They should put a little USB port on this display mouse, where you can plug in another mouse, to control a little pointer on host mouse's display, as an alternative to using it as a touch screen.
Re:Ick (Score:4, Insightful)
How's their track record on mice, though?
Re:Who uses Apple's crap devices anyway? (Score:3, Insightful)
I think you haven't given their keyboards a chance. As far as I'm concerned, the Apple keyboard is the best keyboard on the market. My typing speed increased by ten words per minute after I got used to it. They do take a while to get used to because the flat keytops don't center your fingers for you like concave keys do, but I think that in the long term this leads to more accurate typing.
Their mice, on the other hand, are terrible.
A million times this.
The current Apple keyboard looks like it would be a throwback to the shitty keyboards of the early '80s. I avoided using one for years, preferring loud, clicky keyboards that inherited the legacy of the Type M. Then I got a Macbook and had no choice in the matter. Turns out I was wrong all this time.
The flat Apple keyboard is the best I've ever used, and I can't explain why. It does do wonders for your typing speed, and doesn't lead to wrist strain as easily as more traditional keyboards. I've got major arthritis thanks to a bad injury, and it doesn't get aggrivated as easily as it once did.
The only drawback is that Apple refuses to produce a wireless keyboard with a number pad. Thankfully, those of us who want to stick with wired models don't have to deal with that nonsense.
And yes, Apple's mice suck. Badly.