On Tuesday, “Apple introduced an ingenious mouse that can be all things for all people — and, perhaps, another foothold in its stealth attack on the PC market,” Nathan Alderman reports for The Motley Fool. “Puckishly named Mighty Mouse, the new gadget shares the sleek, seamless surface of Apple’s standard mouse, whose entire top half serves as its ‘button.’ But Mighty Mouse can detect whether users are clicking on the right or left half of the mouse — or squeezing its sides — and respond accordingly. Cleverly, because Mighty Mouse is programmable, it can still serve as a good ol’ one-button device for the very young, the very old, or those especially frightened of change.”
“In my opinion, the most intriguing aspect of Mighty Mouse lies almost hidden in the fine print on Apple’s website: The device isn’t limited to Macs alone. It’s been built to work seamlessly with Microsoft’s Windows as well. For years now, Apple’s sleek monitors and trendy iPod have worked with Windows, and the Mac mini it introduced in January is designed to plug into PC-standard screens and keyboards. Analysts have even begun to note a ‘halo effect’ from the iPod’s popularity, as a small but growing number of PC users switch to the Mac mini and other Apple computers,” Alderman writes. “Mighty Mouse may be the next step in Apple’s quiet crusade to lure Windows users into the grasp of CEO Steve Jobs’ famous Reality Distortion Field, one stylish little component at a time. Microsoft is often dubbed ‘The Borg,’ a technological monolith that co-opts everything it touches — but this time, it seems, Apple’s the one doing the assimilating.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Mighty Mouse may be the next step in Apple’s quiet crusade to lure Windows users unless they read Walt Mossberg’s review in The Wall Street Journal first. In his review (see related article below) we believe Uncle Walt blew it and pretty much completely missed the elegance of Apple’s Mighty Mouse’s ability to be a simple one-button mouse or a multi-button device with 360-degree scrolling.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Mossberg pans Apple Mighty Mouse, says Microsoft’s latest mouse is better – August 04, 2005
Review: Apple’s Mighty Mouse – Third-party USB mouse makers should be very afraid – August 03, 2005
Apple introduces multi-button ‘Mighty Mouse’ with ‘Scroll Ball’ for Mac and Windows – August 02, 2005
Apple’s new ‘Mighty Mouse’ provides audio feedback for clicking and scrolling – August 02, 2005
Apple’s mythical two-button mouse – March 19, 2005
RUMOR: Apple may soon debut two-button mouse – March 15, 2005
Apple’s Pro Mouse is truly a joy to use… for about five minutes – May 29, 2004
The time has come for Apple to ship a two-button scroll mouse standard – June 09, 2003
Should Apple reconsider the one-button mouse? – October 23, 2002
Nothing to say except FIRST POST
Crusade is an overreaction–it’s just a mouse.
It’s a great mouse and Apple should have a multi-button offering, but it’s still just a mouse. And XP can’t do everything with it that Tiger can anyway.
This is a very very minor issue for switchers. They already were getting Minis and keeping their old mouse.
And who cares what Walt said. Does everybody have to like it? Every mouse has someone who hates it, that’s why they are all so different.
it’s just an Apple mouse .. and years to late, it seems that beauty and function do only work with OS X Tiger so there’s no need to exchange a excisting multi xx mouse. Perhaps Walter M had one that dit not function 100% proper.
I certainly hope they come out with drivers for other OS’s than just Tiger.
Shouldn’t be that difficult and would expand their potential market massively!
Maybe they’ll release the new drivers and the BlueTooth model at the same time…
It’s a mouse people, let’s move on…
Nothing to say except FIRST POST
There is too much post clutter. It takes everyone a very small amount of time and a not so small amount of screen space to read posts like this. It all adds up to being slightly annoying, so for everyone’s benefit can we please stop making posts that no one but the author would care about in any way shape or form?
I wouldn’t say this is a minor issue for switchers. Because windows requires a two button mouse to even be usable switchers are completely dependant on it. They don’t see a world in which all things can be done with one button as simpler and faster, they see it as clumsy and slower. I think this mouse is great because if every mac user in the world went out and bought it, developers would still be forced to maintain single button simplicity because someone is still using just the left click.
The other reason I love is because I love multi-button mice because they have scroll wheels. I could very easily live with a single button mouse but I feel impotant and sluggish without a scroll wheel and a scroll button to activate expose. If I hadn’t already bought a wireless mouse with 9 buttons (of which I use the right click the least) I would buy this as soon as Apple made a wireless version. The absence of cable clutter is like the presence of expose, once you have it, losing it is PAINFUL.
Jay,
Post clutter. I smile when I see the kids get to be a First Post.
Interesting is that it is apparently exciting for some older “kids” too!
Let ’em have some fun. Easy to notice and skim by them.
Or, check some other sites that delete such inconsequentials. MDN has been a little looser than many other sites. (A lot looser.)
I second Jay’s sentiment regarding first posts. In fact, MDN had been deleting first posts that contained no other relevant content. Why did they stop?
i actually find the first posts amusing…
and MDN shouldn’t censor something based on someone’s “annoyance”
It’s funny BECAUSE it’s so silly.
Of course Walt blew it. His article isn’t overtly pro-Mac.
Everyone loves Walt’s fair and balanced honest reviews, except of course when they don’t favor something Apple does or releases.
Thankfully we have the completely unbiased writers of MDN to point that out.
“Missed the elegance”? Walt described the functionality of the mouse MDN, he wasn’t too hypnotized by the shiny objects Apple laid in front of him to have a fair and unbiased review. You should try and take that approach every once in awhile. It would go a long way in helping you guys not sound like a bunch of ignorant hypocritical zealots instead of objective yet informed Mac users.
I am just happy Apple has finally seen the light and released a multi button mouse. I don’t even care if they didn’t do the job right the first time out. Fact is at least they made the attempt, that is the key. So you guys at MDN will have to dig your panties out of your ass cracks if Walt isn’t thrilled with a tiny scroll ball and “touch sensitive” buttons.
What’s really amusing are the inane “First Post!” posts that end up being the second, third, or fifth posts.
If Uncle Walt had to pick an Apple product to knock (and thus gain a lot of credibility), the mouse will have the least damage overall. Most people find out pretty quickly you can use most any mouse at all (or Trackball – Trackballs RULE!)
“FIRST POST!”
let’em eat cake and let’em “first post.” and talk about cake, what about them mighty mouse… i’m “this close” to running to apple soho store.
Last post (for now)
I did try out Apple’s mouse yeterday in the Apple Store, and I have to say that Walt is correct when it comes to right click.
Here’s the problem. The capacitive sensors just sense whether your finger is which side of the button, not the pressure applied. So, if you want to right click, you need to lift your figer off the left side and then click the right side. If your finger “placed” on the left side, while you click on the right side with another finger, it is NOT treated as a right click.
Something that we probably will get used to; or until Apple revises those capacitive sensors to “pressure” sensors.
NO! I’m the last post.
Temporarily
A mouse is gonna make someone buy a mac? This guy has been smoking some good stuff.
Guys,next thing that you know is; other company will start copying the mighty mouse. Even miscropoft!
In other news, Microsoft has announced a single button mouse to compete with Apple…
Good to see there’s a lot of humour on this one. As for the flamers, when they smile their faces crack.
I just wish my essential shareware app was Tiger compatible. Oh well, I’m patient and I guess sometime in the future I’ll upgrade from Panther and buy this little meece.
It is always fun to see who gets the first post
David Pogue wrote:
“If you’re determined, though, you can find something to complain about no matter what the subject. I’ll leave you with one of the funniest Slashdot postings, a snippet from a participant who imagines trying, over the phone, to help out his mother with the Mighty Mouse:
“Ok, right-click on that.”
“Do what?”
“Right-click… you know, click with the OTHER button, the one on the RIGHT.”
“But there’s only one button.”
“No, there’s a second button, but it’s hidden. It’s the right button.”
“A hidden button? Would anyone make a mouse and then HIDE one of the buttons?”
“Okay, you know what? Never mind. Just squeeze-click on that, instead.”
“. . . .”
“