“In what must be the most amazing event for the ‘most innovative company in the world,’ Apple invents the multi-button mouse with a scroll ball. OK, every company can have a bad day and Apple is entitled but what the heck took so long with this one? We have had multi-button mice for years,” Rob Enderle writes for Technology Pundits. “While Apple mice have a high attach with Apple machines, they are bundled after all, unlike the iPod, they have had virtually no play on the Windows side even though they functioned just fine. This is because they were crippled lacking the right button Windows users have grown to depend upon.”
MacDailyNews Take: Windows users have grown to depend on multiple-button mice because Windows usability standards are virtually nonexistent and too many Windows developers put functions into contextual menus that left poor Windows users with no other option by which to access said functions. This is simply another reason why Windows usability pales in comparison to Apple’s Mac platform. And Enderle thinks Apple Mac users were crippled before the Mighty Mouse’s debut? Sheesh. Enderle’s right about one thing, we have had multi-button mice for years. Apple Mac OS X users have always been able plug in just about any USB mouse from any company (not just Logitech – see below) and use them with Mac OS X. Our multi-button, scroll pad Kensington StudioMouse mice have been working beautifully with Mac OS X for years.
Enderle continues, “At least Apple users could, and often did, buy Logitech multi-button mice but this one button mentality was a real problem for Apple notebook users which were stuck with the less productive single button solution with their touch pad while Windows users got up to three buttons and sliders depending on configuration.”
MacDailyNews Take: Enderle lucks out and hits a point here. What happens to Apple portables? Will Apple leave them as they currently are or split the click bar into left and right buttons on iBooks and PowerBooks? Remember, one reason that Apple stuck with the one-button mouse for so long (and why the new Mighty Mouse functions perfectly well as a one-button mouse) was to force developers to make everything accessible with a one-button mouse and not screw up Mac usability by creating functions that were only accessible via a right click of the mouse. The new Mighty Mouse solves both issues by still requiring that developers adhere to standards and make everything accessible with one click and also provides Mac power users the additional mouse inputs should they so wish to utilize them. Apple portables need not necessarily change – just hook up a Mighty Mouse if you want multiple-buttons and a scroll ball. The genius of the Apple Mighty Mouse is that it provides scrolling and multiple-button features, but can still be used just like the one-click original Apple mice.
Enderle continues, “I often expect a lot from Apple, they do generally lead in design and this just does not feel like a market leader, but then they had a long way to come and maybe the next version will step up to their own standards more aggressively.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Leave it to Rob Enderle would write about how something feels without having actually felt it first. Picking apart these Enderle messes sometimes makes us feel bad; it’s like taunting the retarded. Still, it must be done for as long as “writers” call him for technology quotes and people read his tripe. Enderle also thinks the Apple Mighty Mouse is a rip-off of the Optical Mouse Microsoft had Starck design in 2004. You know, the mouse that didn’t have the Mighty Mouse’s side squeeze buttons that act as one input or the 360-degree scroll ball or the built-in speakers to provide audio click and scrolling feedback for users or the programmable touch sensors that act as primary or secondary buttons. In short, the mouse that’s absolutely nothing like the Apple Mighty Mouse unless you’re unfortunate enough to actually be Rob Enderle. The good news? Because Enderle thinks so little of the Mighty Mouse, it’s guaranteed to be great for users and a lock to become a surefire hit!
Advertisment: Order your Apple “Mighty Mouse” now from the Apple Store online!
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Review: Apple’s Mighty Mouse – Third-party USB mouse makers should be very afraid – August 02, 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
Enderle: ‘Surveys indicate demand for Apple’s products is dropping like a rock’ due to Intel switch – August 01, 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
He makes some good points:
1 Apple’s one-button mouse has sold VERY poorly to Windows users.
2 Apple’s new mouse might not be THE best selling leading mouse in the world. And Apple can’t survive without have THE leading mouse in the world.
So Apple must be doomed.
Thank you Rob for sharing your brilliance.
in other words, chunky milk has gone bad.
this moment of obvious is brought to you be turd enderle.
that guy must such alot of dick!
Funny, Endrele dosen’t feel like a “credible analyst.”
What good is $7,000,000,000 if you can’t lead the frickin world in mouse sales?!?!
I use a Wacom Graphire at home that does everything I need and a single button Apple mouse at work doing graphic design and have no problems switching back and forth.
Now all Apple has to do is improve on their keyboards. I need a space bar for each thumb!
Amazing! Simply Amazing! He’s come to all these conclusions just by looking at the pictures and reading the write up on the Apple website. How about Robby, try using it! There’s a concept: Actually put some effort and research into your article instead of spewing your FUD as normal. No wonder he has ZERO credibility.
Does he think an Apple mouse will be a best-selling tech gadget like the iPod? Jeebus!
The one-buton mouse thing was more zealotry than anything external to Apple. When the Mac debuted, mice were novel. Now they are ubitquitous. If I recall, NeXT had multibutton mice, Steve Jobs didn’t pound his fist on that one over a decade ago. The one thing great that adhering to a single-button standard is to force developers to standardize properly with their UI coding. I agree with that.
AppleMatters had quite the tiff going about this very topic recently (http://applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/what_os_x_could_learn_from_windows/).
Personally, the option of replacing the single-button relic with a multi-button one (for something a bit less than the $49US price) when ordering a new desktop Mac is something Apple should have done ages ago.
I’ve also requested of Apple of putting in a split-button mouse on laptops. By default, either side acts as the “left” mouse button. But a simple preference could make the right side stop left-clicking and start right-clicking like the rest of the industry. Cntrl-clicking and button pushing two-handed is not an elegent or very functional way to compute. Give the user the option (particularly the coveted “switchers”).
Choice is good.
Mighty Mouse I would say!
You know.. this pisses me off as much as tech pundits spouting FUD about Apple. (except) NOW MDN is spouting FUD at a tech pundit.
Apple has been wrong about not producing a multi-button mouse for years! Enderle is RIGHT about this… I, a Mac user since I was 16, have been using a multi-button scrolling mouse since 1999. I have bought TWO Logitech mice for that reason, and have a litany of other mice I’ve tried prior to settling on my current long running Logitech.
When a spade is a spade, MAC journalists should CALL IT A SPADE! Not sugar coat it and say that Apple was right when they weren’t. Mac OS X has had multi-button scrolling mouse support since 10.2! How can we legitimately stand here and yell and scream over Tech FUD being slung around, when we start slinging the SAME FUD BACK?
Give me a break!
— Rob
Al what what may be annouing in the avove article is that Enderly correctly notes that the Mighty Mice is no break through and that it should have been released long ago. I think that is true.
I work for a non-profit that serves about 20,000 job seekers each year. Technology is a huge part – many of whom do not use computers often or even well. Although two button mice are efficient for proficient users – they are a stumbling block for novice users. Apple has always focused on usability. Therefore, the one button mouse is superior for the market they build and sell too. Power users – can easily upgrade.
Rob tried stroking his dick once with one palm, but felt later on that he needed multi-palm support to achieve dick functionality. Stick with what you know, Rob.
Frankly, it’s about time Apple’s come out with a multi-button mouse. Jef Raskins and Fitts came to the interface conclusion that the most effective pixels on the screen to reach for immediate functions are #1: the pixel under your cursor, and then #2-5: the corner pixels.
The corner-hot-spot activation function of Expose capitalized on the next-to-most efficient shortcut. The right-click menu system is actually quite effective, more effective than wading through menus from the toolbar, contrary to what MacDaily would have anyone believe. By adding additional button to the mice, you can expand the instantaneous options available to the user (more likely experienced users).
It’s not about a loss of standards, as MacDaily asserts for the Windows world. It’s about quicker access and faster response times.
Rob,
You need to STFU, learn how to read, and get a clue first before posting. MacDailyNews never said Apple was right about not producing a multi-button mouse. MDN simple said that one reason Apple stuck with the one-button mouse as the standard shipping Apple mouse was to keep developers from fscking up the Mac UI the way Windows developers have royally screwed Windows’ UI.
In fact, Rob, MDN’s SteveJack called for Apple to create a multi-button mouse at least as early as June 09, 2003:
I realize that many professional users have different input needs; three button mice, graphics tablets, trackballs, etc., but come on already, Apple, get with your own program. You designed the OS and to use it effectively really requires a two-button mouse. So, will you guys finally ship a two-button scroll-wheel mouse standard with all desktops and split that one-button on portable trackpads into two, please?
The time has come for Apple to ship a two-button scroll mouse standard
Time to apologize for your stupidity, Rob.
To right-click with a new ibook or powerbook, click with two fingers on the trackpad.
The passion that a mouse brings out of computer users never ceases to amaze me. It’s just a simple input device. You either like the one button mouse or you don’t.
To read articles and analysis about the subject amuses me. Heck, Yahoo even has this story on their front page (as of this post).
It’s just a mouse.
Just how much is MS paying this hack to spew anti-apple retoric. It’s ridiculous and transparent.
Rob,
Macs have been supporting multi button mice long before OS X. The option to use a multi button mouse is always there. Get one if you want one. How many Dell purchasers throw away or buy without that $10 POS that Dell bundles?
Apple brought out the first commercial mouse. Apple defined the standard and one button was the standard. Microsoft copied the mouse incorrectly, giving it 2 buttons, just as they screwed up when they first copied the Mac OS to make Windows.
This is not the first time Enderlie has reviewed an Apple product without being within a 100 miles of it. He reviewed the iMac G5 the same way. That is beyond FUD. It is the absolute height of dishonesty.
I am so tired of the one button mouse battles. How many PC users actually keep that horribly cheap mouse that comes with their Dell? There’s a reason companies like Dell ship those terrible mice, to cut costs.
Why do they insist that you must be stuck with the mouse that ships with your Mac? Do they say the same about the poorly designed and manufactured Dell mice? Has anyone seen the Dell 2 button scroll mouse that comes with most of the Dells?
Rhetoric, even. He makes me so mad I can’t even spell. hehe
Once again, consumers speak with their wallets…
Lenox Sq. (ATL) Apple Store sold out in a matter of hours.
You ever seen anyone try to use all those buttons on a windows laptop? they are allover the place, you have to have 10 fingers on one hand to operate. It is pretty easy on a Mac to control click..
my 2 cents
I may not like Enderle, but let’s not herald this as the world’s greatest mouse. I’ll probably end up buying one, but let’s be realistic about a few things.
a) It’s just a mouse, not the Trojan Horse that is going to convert millions of people to Apple. People might buy it for their Windows computer. Other than that, there’s no actual software (like the iPod software) that screams: APPLE KNOWS USER INTERFACE BETTER! So really, it’s just a mouse.
b) I am a tactile feedback person. I favor the old style keyboards that click when you hit a keystroke, not the newer and silent ones. The reason is because it’s a sharper feel with audible acknowledgement. Apple built in the audible acknowledgement (which I am grateful for!) but the tactile feel isn’t the seem when you tap the top of a piece of plastic rather than actually clicking a button. People might not feel wholly comfortable with working the mouse.
c) It’s confusing for people unfamiliar with it. If you were to show this to a PC user who is unfamiliar with a Mac, they would ask “Where are the buttons?!” They wouldn’t know which way to hold it because the ball is really unclear in terms of it’s purpose (although the cord i probably a dead giveaway…
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”tongue laugh” style=”border:0;” />). Why does this matter? I’m at college right now, and it pains me to no end ot see how many people walk up to the Mac kiosks and are wholly confused. I can look in the dock and there will be Safari, and yet people will navigate Finder and locate Internet Explorer because they naively think it’s the only way onto the web. They’ll even do it when both Safari and Firefox are in the Dock, but not IE. Or they won’t know how to log off, or open programs, or even close them for that matter (they get confused when hitting the red X only closes the screen and not the little black triangle). So what happens? They complain that Macs are confusing and say “PCs are better”. Yes, if you sat with one for fifteen minutes and took it seriously, you’d understand why the Mac is better. But for a temporary user, it’s meaningless. Extrapolate that back to the mouse…
So don’t hail this as the ultimate in mouse technology. Hail it as a smart invention, and certainly a nice gift for Apple users. But it’s not the end of days and the sign that Apple will convert millions of Mac users. Considering the Mac mini is bring your own Mouse, and that obviously means two-button mice work, the concept of using a two-button mouse doesn’t automatically mean everybody’s going to be a Mac user.
A headline on one Blog that picked up Enderlie’s bullshit reads,
‘Apple hauls mouse technology into the 1990’s’
Perhaps Microsoft could design an OS that doesn’t need a multi button mouse to navigate it with and we could say,
‘Microsoft hauls Windows technology into the 1980’s’