In loving memory of the mighty mouse
Now Apple has made some pretty neat products over the years, but with all the years of beautiful design and simplicity there has always been one problem area...the mouse. Being an art director and designer i work on Apple macs a lot, some might say i worship them. Ok most people who know me would say that and it might very well be true. But anyway, the mouse.
Having worked on macs for almost 5 years now i've become very intimately acquainted with the Mighty Mouse and with that, it's ups and downs as well. Everyone who has worked with these things will agree that the two side buttons are completely in the way and work best when they are not working at all (i deactivated the buttons the first time i ever used Photoshop). Some would also say that a human hand is not shaped like a pebble, therefore the design is impractical. But i think most will agree that after working with them for a while you get quite accustomed to them and even fall in love with them (or is it just me). I've spent hours and hours playing with the beloved little roller ball and the smoothness of the mouse was quite soothing.
But like all good things the reign of the Mighty Mouse had to end, and it will soon be forgotten thanks to Apple's newest creation, the Magic Mouse.
The Magic Mouse is the worlds first multi-touch mouse which is pretty cool, no buttons anywhere. Now i have to admit that the first time i saw this mouse i hated it. It was too low-profile which made it uncomfortable to rest my hands on and i couldn't see myself designing with it at all, and the design was too sharp compared to my old mouse. But even if i personally don't like the way it looks and feels, i have to admit that its features are pretty cool.
If you've ever used an iphone, ipod touch or the newer mac book pro you'll be familiar with the biggest feature of the mouse, the multi-touch.
"The Multi-Touch area covers the top surface of Magic Mouse, and the mouse itself is the button. Scroll in any direction with one finger, swipe through web pages and photos with two, and click and double-click anywhere. Inside Magic Mouse is a chip that tells it exactly what you want to do. Which means Magic Mouse won’t confuse a scroll with a swipe. It even knows when you’re just resting your hand on it." - apple website
It also sports the new Laser tracking engine which is far more sensitive on more surfaces than the old Optical engine. It's also wireless as a standard, so no more annoying wire to get in the way of your designs, and i have to admit that the design is rather beautiful compared to the Mighty Mouse.
Now having personally compared the two mice this weekend here's what i didn't like about the Magic Mouse. Number one, like i've said, it's not very ergonomic (it's not intended to provide optimum comfort to avoid stress or injury) and i wont be able to use it for extended periods at a time. Secondly as good as the new swiping gestures are, they're limited to what you can actually accomplish with them, unlike the scrollpad of the mac book pro. You can't use more than three fingers at a time because unfortunately humans only have 5 fingers which means you won't have enough fingers left to hold the mouse anymore. The salesperson also shamelessly admitted that it gets scratched very easily (which will kill an apple fanatic) and i had a rather embarrassing moment where i could not tell wether the mouse was right way up (it will happen to you too) until i clicked and nothing happened. It also works with batteries which feels a little archaic.
But all in all it's a very good product which will appeal not only to mac enthusiasts but the common pc user as well. I think i'll stay with my little pebble though. To find out more about the Magic Mouse click here . Oh by the way, the first official release of Mighty Mouse material, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures was released on January 5, 2010. So as one mighty mouse dies another gets revived. www.iammightymouse.com
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