Mighty Mouse
Two Buttons Save The Day
08 August 2005 Justin Williams Skip to comments
12 Comments
(
Closed)
Apple released a two-button mouse for the first time. Justin Williams got one the day it came out and is here to report his findings.
The old cliche says that everything comes in threes. If you stub your toe and skin your knee, you are likely to have one more ailment happen to you in the near future. Apple seems to be taking the comes in threes adage and applying it to the unthinkable. In the past year Apple has done three things that no one ever thought they would see happen.
First, in January at Macworld San Francisco, Apple released the Mac mini: a sub-$500 Macintosh. Originally aimed at iPod users who were interested in testing the Macintosh waters and to capitalize on the iPod Halo Effect, the Mac mini has also become a popular product among existing Mac users who want a secondary machine.
Fast-forward to June of this year and you will remember the announcement that Apple is abandoning the PowerPC chip architecture in favor of Intel-flavored offerings over the next two years. To seal the deal, the Mac faithful witnessed Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Intel CEO Paul Otellini embrace on stage.
On August 2, we witnessed the final piece in this triangle of unthinkables: Apple released a two-button mouse.
Mac Mice 101
Before we can analyze the new Mighty Mouse, it might be helpful to look at the history of Apple mice.
Apple didn’t invent the original mouse. That distinction goes to Douglas Engelbart who in 1968 demonstrated the first mouse by controlling a mainframe computer from 25 miles away. Even though he invented the device, it didn’t gain mass popularity until Apple began bundling it with their Lisa and subsequent Macintosh product lines.
Apple gained its inspiration for mice from Alto, a machine that was demoed to Steve Jobs at the Xerox PARC labratories in the early 1980s. After seeing the Alto in action, Jobs went back to his team of engineers in Cupertino and told them about a handheld device that users used to navigate the screen. Rather than buying mice from Xerox for $400 a pop, Apple set out to design their own. Apple also wanted to simplify the design of the mouse. The Xerox mouse, a descendent from Engelbart’s original design, had three buttons. Through research, Apple determined that users had trouble remembering which button was which, a problem that still exists today. To alleviate it, Apple designed their mouse to have a single button.
Apple unveiled their single-button mouse to the world with Lisa. Released in 1983, Lisa was the first Apple machine to include a graphical user interface as well. All prior Apple machines were command-line based and required the user to enter commands at a prompt. With Lisa’s mouse, users were able to navigate the screen and point-and-click their way to accomplishing tasks.
After Lisa, Apple released the Macintosh line. Macintosh was aimed at the general public (the Lisa priced itself out of that market) and introduced the world to a better way of computing. It wouldn’t be until the end of 1985 that Windows 1.0 was released and Microsoft blatantly copied the Macintosh.
As the years went on, Apple kept the same general design of the Macintosh mouse. Not until the 1998 when the iMac was released did Apple drastically change the design of the mouse. The iMac originally included the round hockey puck mouse. The hockey puck was met with cheers for its design, and disdain for its usability. For anyone with a hand larger than that of a small child it was difficult to hold and use the hockey puck mouse.
Less than two years later, Apple released the Pro Mouse at Macworld New York.
Featuring a crystal-clear enclosure and a black interior, the single button was full-surface: when resting your hand on the mouse, any push near the top end will register a mouse click. The Pro Mouse was also the first Apple mouse to introduce optical precision instead of a tracking ball.
The optical technology worked by beaming a light on the surface beneath the mouse and taking pictures of it: 1500 pictures per second to be exact. These pictures were analyzed determine direction and magnitude of movement and then communicated back to the Mac and interpreted into smooth pointer action on the screen.
The next change to the Apple mouse was going to a white interior for the iMac G4. Subsequent verisons of that mouse dropped the Pro moniker. In September of 2003, Apple released a wireless version of its Apple Mouse. Using Bluetooth technology, the Apple Wireless Mouse, along with its keyboard counterpart, removed some of the cable clutter from Mac users desktops.
Now, in 2005, Apple has made the latest, and possibly most drastic, revision to their mouse by releasing the Mighty Mouse.
Why Is One Greater Than Two?
A common fallback argument for Mac doubters is Apple’s insistence on using a single-button mouse. They tout it as simplistic, counter-productive and even insulting. These arguments often come from advanced computer users. Apple doesn’t make the single-button mouse to please them. They make it to please the new computer user.
As I mentioned earlier, Apple determined that having more than one button on a mouse confused the user. They were unsure what button they were supposed to click to accomplish a task. By simplifying the user’s experience with a single mouse button, it eliminates a point of confusion for that user. I have seen this in action myself. I got an iBook for my grandmother a few years ago and bundled an Apple Pro Mouse with it so that she wouldn’t have to rely on the trackpad. She had never touched a computer in her life before then and was traumatized enough about breaking the machine without having to worry about dealing with two buttons on a mouse. Two years later, I have not had to deal with her wondering which button she is supposed to click to accomplish a task. She just points-and-clicks menus and icons all day without worry.
Beyond simplicity for novice computer users, Apple keeps with one button for developers. By having the single button design, makers of Mac software cannot rely on the second button for primary function tasks in their applications. This is something that Windows software runs rampant with. Developers are on tight deadlines and budgets, and will try to cut corners at all costs. One of the easiest corners to cut is that of usability. By having a single mouse button to work with, Mac developers have to pay special attention to the design of their application to make sure everything is accessible from a single button standpoint.
Even though Apple only ships a single-button mouse, it has bundled native support for multi-button devices since the Mac OS 8.6 days. Anyone that has wanted to use a mult-button device has been able to do so freely without any special software requirements.
Mighty Features
The Mighty Mouse is the most feature-packed mouse Apple has ever released to date. Unlike any other two-button mouse on the market, Mighty Mouse keeps a simplistic one-button look. It accomplishes this by using a touch-sensitive shell similar to the iPod scroll wheel. When you press only on the left side of the mouse, it will left click. If you press the right side, it will right click. It you hold down both sides together, it will left click just like it is a single-button Apple mouse.
In the middle of the Mighty Mouse is a small grey ball. The grey ball is Apple’s solution to a scroll-wheel. Offering 360 degrees of movement, you can use the scroll ball to navigate Web pages vertically and horizontally, pan images or view the timeline of a video project. Clicking on the ball will also trigger the the Dashboard or any other action you set in the Mouse preferences if you are on Tiger. If you are using Panther or below, clicking the ball acts as if you are pressing command-click.
On the sides of the Mighty Mouse are two force-sensing buttons. Pressing these will perform another programmable task you can set in Tiger. Other Mac OS X users are out in the cold. You can program it to perform Exposé functions, show the Dashboard, show the application bar or any other action you can think of.
As I said, the programmable features of the Mighty Mouse require Mac OS X Tiger. If you are using Panther or below, Mighty Mouse functions like a normal two-button mouse with a click-wheel.
Let’s Get This Show On The Road
I picked up a Mini mouse the day it came out and pushed my Logitech MX1000 and other mice to the side for five days. I tested the mouse on my Power Mac G5 running Tiger at home, my 500 MHz Powerbook G4 running Panther at my first job and my Dual 1 Ghz G4 running Tiger at my other job. At each job I have a different mouse and I wanted to try and become acquainted with just the Mighty Mouse for the testing period.
The Mighty Mouse comes in a small box with photos of the mouse on the front and back. The box matches the typical Apple fashion we have become accustomed to. When you open the box, you are greeted with a package containing the manual and installation CD and the mouse nestled snuggly in form-fitting foam.
When you plug the mouse in, nothing extravagant happens. It just works like a typical two-button mouse. For Panther users, this is the end of the line for setup. If, however, you are using Mac OS X Tiger, you need to run the installer on the bundled disc to get the new mouse preference pane. The installer requires you to restart your Mac before it will display the new preference pane.
After the restart, I opened System Preferences opened the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane. Clicking the mouse tab opens up a new window with a large picture of a Mighty Mouse with pop-up menus along each area that has a button. At the bottom of the window are controls to manipulate the tracking speed, scrolling speed and double-click speed. I liked how intuitive Apple made it for setting actions for each buttons. With my Logitech mouse, I have to play a guessing game to figure out which button is Button 4 and Button 6. Having a graphical depiction makes it much easier to work with. Other mice vendors should take notice.
On Apple’s Mighty Mouse Page they have a nice table that outlines the features available for each platform.
| Software Version | Compatible Features |
| Mac OS X v10.4.2 or later | Enable or disable scrolling, assign primary and secondary buttons, activate Exposé, display Dashboard, open Spotlight, switch applications or open applications. |
| Mac OS X v10.3.9 or 10.4.1 and earlier | Assign primary and secondary buttons and activate Exposé. Display Dashboard in Mac OS X v10.4 or 10.4.1. |
| Mac OS X v10.3.8 and earlier | Use as a multibutton scrolling mouse. |
| Windows 2000 or Windows XP | See the Mouse control panel. |
It took a few minutes for me to get accustomed to the mouse. I have a habit of keeping my fingers rested on the buttons of my mice, which is not possible with Mighty Mouse. In order for it to distinguish between left and right click it must only sense a touch from one side of the house. Now when I am using Mighty Mouse I find that my fingers have a teeter-totter motion of one lifting while the other presses. It was annoying at first, but I have quickly become accustomed to it. I would have liked it if the mouse had some sort of pressure detection so that it could determine which button I wanted clicked by how firmly I pressed on it, however.
The scroll ball in the middle of Mighty Mouse resembles a miniaturized version of the trackball that used to be in all mice. The ball design allows for 360 degrees of scrolling without the use of any third-party software. Most mice on the market only allow for linear vertical scrolling with the option for horizontal scrolling with a special modifier key. With Mighty Mouse, you can just navigate the ball in the direction you want to scroll. This is great when using it in iPhoto. It scrolls the photo library and movie timeline as expected. Panning photos using iPhoto isn’t exactly 360 degrees as Apple describes, but it’s better than before. I would like to see the movement much more fluid.
My major area of disappointment with the Mighty Mouse is the side buttons. When they said the mouse featured force sensing side buttons they weren’t kidding. It takes super-human strength to push them. I may not be Flex Armstrong, but I am not so scrawny that I shouldn’t be able to easily push together two buttons to get them to activate. At times I thought I was going to have to stick the mice in a vise grip to get my Exposé functions to work. There is also not much feedback when the buttons are clicked. I’d like a faint clicking sound or something more than what is already there.
I am a firm believer that the mouse and keyboard are the most important parts of your computer, and you should get the best you can afford. Because of this mentality, I am a stickler for a mouse that feels comfortable in my hand. I want something that feels like it was made exclusively for me. I don’t get that feeling from the Mighty Mouse. My Logitech MX1000 has large body and indentations allow me to wrap my hand around it naturally. The Mighty Mouse has the same slender design of all the Pro Mice. The Logitech mouse is also twice the price of Mighty Mouse, so you are paying for the comfort. For people with larger hands, the Mighty Mouse might be more difficult to work with than the regular Apple Mouse. With the regular mouse, you can just cover the mouse with your hand and click. Mighty Mouse requires almost precise clicking of certain points on the mouse. A mouse is a personal thing, so your mileage may vary in terms of comfort with the mouse. You should take it for a test drive at an Apple Store before making a purchase.
Conclusions
When I unplugged the Mighty Mouse and went back to my other mouse, I noticed that clicking the scroll wheel button was hiding the desktop rather than command-clicking as it was programmed to do. Apparently the Mighty Mouse preferences transfer over to any other mouse you plug into your Mac. This was annoying because my other mouse has twice as many buttons as Mighty Mouse and was programmed completely differently. I would have preferred that it respected my preferences for the other mouse. The problem was easily resolved by setting the mouse bindings in the Dashboard & Exposé preferences, but it still caught me off guard.
Aside from that and the side buttons requiring the hand of God to function, I like Mighty Mouse a lot as a secondary mouse. I purchased it with the intent of replacing my regular Apple Mouse and carrying with me around campus with my iBook. With portability in mind, I really hope that in the future Apple untethers the mouse from the computer by offering a Bluetooth version. It’s almost a natural progression, so I won’t be surprised when it’s released. The pre-existing Apple Bluetooth Mouse is only $10 more than Mighty Mouse, so the price difference shouldn’t be too much if or when it is released. I would recommend Mighty Mouse to my friends if only for the scrolling ball. It’s the coolest innovation in mouse technology since the optical sensor.
All that said, I hope that Apple doesn’t begin bundling this mouse with future Macs because it could begin a slipery slope into a less-usable computing environment for Mac users. Even if, by default, Mighty Mouse functions as a single button mouse, it would only be a matter of time before software started to require the right-click to fully function. If Mac users want a two-button mouse, let them purchase it separately like they have been doing for years. Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
Justin Williams is founder and chief author for MacZealots. He switched to the Mac almost five years ago hasn't looked back since. When not blogging or coding, you can find him watching copious amounts of TV. Justin can be reached at
Reader Comments (12)
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed below are those of their authors and not necessarily endorsed or supported by MacZealots.com. In all cases, the comments provided here are offered as a courtesy and will be moderated. Any content deemed off-topic or offensive will be removed without notice. Posting a comment here boils down to two things: 1.) Think before you type 2.) Respect the thoughts of others. See our commenting guidelines and/or privacy policy for more information.
#1) On August 8, 2005 6:58 AM
I think that Apple should give users the option to choose which mouse to use in the bundle, so advanced useres wouldn’t have to pay for two mice.
#2) On August 8, 2005 9:22 AM
First off, nice review. Second, the mouse should make a faint clicking noise when plugged into USB. The piezo inside emits a “click” similar to the click an iPod makes when the side buttons are squeezed. It is pretty quiet, so you might just be in a noisy room or something and can’t hear it.
#3) On August 8, 2005 11:57 AM
I agree with the idea that the mouse should be able to tell whether you’re right-clicking or left-clicking by the amount of force. I don’t think I could get used to lifting my left finger to right-click!
I guess I’ll have to wait for the second generation and hope they’ve added that. I use a Logitech two button + scrollwheel mouse and my main complaint is that even with the Logitech driver installed, the scrollwheel doesn’t work. Them’s the breaks.
#4) On August 11, 2005 2:41 AM
I am currently useing the apple pro mouse (i’m a fan of apple things, maby a bit too much in places) but i automatically click on the right side of the mouse, (my finger seems to “slide” over!) as soon as apple came out with the mighty mouse, i thought that it would be cool, it took my by supprise actually, but now i think about it more, it might not be a good idea, cause i’ll end up right clicking not clicking!
#5) On August 14, 2005 10:04 PM
Leave it to Apple to fall behind on something so simple as a mouse and then release an innovative, well designed piece of hardware. Let’s just hope they release a wireless version soon for all of the Powerbook users out there.
#6) On August 15, 2005 8:03 AM
Personally you may have large hands and prefer a large mouse, but my wife and many others prefer a smaller mouse. The current size Apple mouse fits them well. There is room here for S, M and X sizes I guess.
#7) On August 24, 2005 2:22 PM
You can enhance the functionality of MightyMouse by using a different driver called SteerMouse (listed at hyperjeff’s osx page).
#8) On August 25, 2005 1:22 PM
mm,
have a two-buttons mouse confused the user? really?
I see PC users that born confused, everyday, but they have no problems with the mouse buttons..
But well, this is a very nice mouse, and this was a excellent review..
Horaz
(please excuse my english.. I speak spanish everyday..)
#9) On October 16, 2005 5:54 PM
I have large hands and find this mouse more fun to use than my wireless 5 button Microsoft mouse. I like the delicate touch it requires. It is much easier to drag around a desktop than a larger heaver mouse. All tools have their personalities and this mouse is no exception. I agree about the pressure required to press the side buttons and have set that for a function that I don’t use very often. This mouse is like the difference between pushing a feather around the desktop and a stone.
#10) On October 19, 2005 2:25 PM
Just an fyi, I just ordered the new iMac G5 and they are shipping the Mighty Mouse with it standard now. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it looks like they are phasing the single button option out, at least in default configs.
#11) On October 29, 2005 4:13 AM
I’m not sure what everyone is talking about with the side buttons, for me I just have to click the left side, no real pressure or anything. Some people say you need to press both side buttons in at once, this is not so.
#12) On December 7, 2005 12:14 PM
Is the single button mouse really ‘unbroken’? I don’t know.
I bought my ibook immediately after I knew that I could use my 2-button mouse on it. Before, I never thought about an Apple, just because of the mouse.
It is true that two-button mice confused many people, but after the right-click menu was invented by IBM in 1994, the ‘confusion’ is minor and can be learnt in seconds. For me, holding ctrl and left-click for the menu is painful, just like leaving left finger to right-click.