Apple Mighty Mouse

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The Mighty Mouse (code-named 'Houdini') is the first multi-button USB mouse ever manufactured and sold by Apple Computer. It was announced and sold for the first time on August 2, 2005. Prior to the Mighty Mouse, Apple had sold only one-button mice with its computers, starting with the Apple Lisa 22 years earlier. The departure from a single button to a multi-button mouse after years of criticism was a further shock coming after the announcement that Apple would transition its Macintosh line of computers to Intel microprocessors.

The Mighty Mouse now comes USB-linked or Bluetooth-wireless (powered by one or two AA batteries)

The name of the mouse is used under license from Viacom, owner of the Mighty Mouse cartoon series.

1 About
2 Features
3 Criticisms
4 Fixes
5 External links

[edit] About

The Mighty Mouse is made of white plastic and has an embossed Apple logo on the mouse's face. Unlike the previous Apple Pro Mouse, it has no see-through top surface.

Image:Apple-pro-mouse1.jpg

Construction of the mouse is similar to the single-button Apple Pro Mouse, in that the USB version uses optical technology to detect mouse movements (the Bluetooth version uses more precise laser technology), and the entire top acts as a single clickable surface. However, the mouse actually has four functional button actions:

Left button (when top surface is pressed, regardless of contact points)
Right button (when top surface is pressed and contact is made only on the right side)
Scroll ball (acts as a button when ball and top surface are both pressed down, and may scroll in any direction)
Side squeeze buttons (function as a single button)

The scroll ball enables users to scroll in every direction, as opposed to a tilting scroll wheel, which enables a user to scroll up and down or side to side. The scroll ball is slightly sprung, and indents into the mouse several millimeters when used. It can also function as a button if the scroll ball is pressed (causing the clicking surface to press down also)

There is a side button on each side of the mouse. Both buttons invoke the same button action; there is no logical differentiation between the left side button and the right side button.

Under Mac OS X, the buttons are programmable and can be set to launch applications or trigger features of the Apple operating system, such as Dashboard and Exposé.

The mouse functions without drivers (i.e. in non-officially supported operating systems) as a "standard" USB mouse. When used in this fashion all buttons and scrolling are generally available, apart from horizontal. As of yet there are no official drivers except for Mac OS X.

On 2005-8-2, Apple introduced Mighty Mouse, at the suggested retail price of $49 US.[1]

On 12 October 2005, Apple began shipping a Mighty Mouse with every iMac, and on 19 October 2005, with the PowerMac G5 line as well. The user has a choice to upgrade to an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse.

On 25 July 2006, Apple released a wireless Mighty Mouse[2] which uses Bluetooth 2.0 to communicate and a laser instead of optical technology, resulting in increased accuracy. The new version uses two AA batteries, but can run on a single AA battery to reduce weight. Wireless Mighty Mouse was priced at $69 US.

As of July 2006, the wired version of the Mighty Mouse costs US$49, and the Bluetooth version costs US$69.

Many pre-Mighty Mouse Mac users acclimated to the single button mouse do not use the right button feature, keeping to the originally used style.

[edit] Features

Touch-sensitive top shell
360-degree clickable scroll ball
Force-sensing side "squeeze" buttons
Optical tracking in wired version or laser tracking in wireless version
Compatible with Macintosh and other PCs
Programmable functions for the four buttons
Aural feedback when clicking, "squeezing" and scrolling the mouse
Easter egg: when held above a surface at a right angle (90 degrees), the shape of the light projected from the wired USB mouse resembles the head of a mouse. This is a also true of the Mighty Mouse's predecessor, the Apple Pro Mouse. [3]

[edit] Criticisms

Common criticisms users have about the Mighty Mouse include:

Right clicks can be difficult. The fingers must be lifted completely off the left side of the mouse for a right click to work. This can make it difficult to use for gaming, where one generally has fingers ready on all buttons. The design of the Mighty Mouse also makes it impossible to use both the left and right buttons at the same time. Some users have reported that right-click problems increase as the mouse batteries discharge.
The squeeze buttons do not provide much tactile feedback and can be awkward to reach.[4]
The scroll ball is sensitive to dirt, and difficult to clean because it is not removable. It is often rendered inoperable and irreparable after only a few months of use. Apple's cleaning suggestions do not always work.
The shape of the mouse can cause pain and cramping of the hand after extended usage.
The optics of the mouse are linked to audio noise on the headphone jacks of iMacs. [5]
Mighty Mouse, especially wireless version, cost more than the mice manufactured by other companies. For example, Logitech MediaPlay Cordless Mouse cost only US$49.95 when it was first released in 2004-9-20[6].

[edit] Fixes

Though Apple has not publicly addressed the claims (stated above) of the sensitivity of the Mighty Mouse, as well as its multiple problems with right and left button clicking, there are rumors that Apple has silently fixed these problems. Users report that the Mighty Mouse (as of February 2006) runs much smoother and the scroll ball stays cleaner than the prior builds, and that the durability has gone up as well. Apple has not made a public statement about this.

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