Of the Mighty Mouse
I don't really advertise my IM names around anymore, but people have picked them up in various places anyways... and it isn't as though they're hard to guess. My impression is a lot of people will add me, and then lurk and watch my weird status messages (They're usually song lyrics, but I'm sure everyone thinks I'm close to reaching for a revolver).
All these people suddenly come out of the woodwork when Apple announces something, and I get to wake up and get a laugh because AdiumX has a gazillion tabs waiting for me that are all basically a "Did you see this?", followed by a link...
So yep, I saw it, but it was a busy day and I wanted to have a few drinks in me before I tackled it. I think Apple's Mighty Mouse is pretty cool, although I probably would have skipped dinner if I had known I was going to swallowing this much marketing splooge...
I've covered this in other places, but it's probably worth going over the one-button madness in a cursory way. If you hadn't noticed, Apple has stuck with one button while other platforms have moved to standardize on at least two -- one for clicking and one for control/alt clicking -- and more than two is fast becoming the norm.
Back in the classic Mac OS, multiple buttons was a little weird. Apple introduced contextual menus towards the end of its versioned life, so you could right-click on things and choose an action, but they basically required you to hold down the control key to get that menu. If you just plugged in a mouse with multiple buttons though, the OS would just ignore it, and you'd have to install what drivers came with it and hope they didn't fug up the system too much.
When Mac OS X hit, Apple built in support for two buttons, so if you plugged in a USB mouse with them, you could at least right-click on things. This generated all types of love-hate about the prospect of multiple buttons coming on, although I always had the impression multiple buttons were a bit of a proxy war for the anxiety many felt over NeXT-buying-Apple syndrome. At any rate, hardware didn't ship with multi-button mice, and when asked why by analysts Apple would get sort of vague and say their research showed a one-button mouse was easier for new users to use.
This always struck me as really weird, because Apple never really showed the research or gave any real statistics and tried to move on quickly. Either way, the mouse didn't go very far with them. It transitioned through the hockey puck monstrosity to a few different colors of the press-down one-button optical mouse we have today, but it always stuck with the one button thing.
Yeah, I don't know what the deal with the Mighty Mouse name is either. I need some of that Cupertino weed, because it's clearly some good shit. I really just don't have a clue what they were thinking, unless its just a self-deprecating joke about the product, but if I had to guess they've slashed the marketing budget for everything except the iPod and just used the engineering code name.
If you've been around the Mac for awhile, the name may have thrown you because, well, the Unsanity guys have a product called Mighty Mouse which allows you to change your cursors in OS X, and this is just going to be a nightmare for them. All the name recognition they've tried to build around the product is gone, and within a few days they'll be blasted out of google.
Someone searching for Mighty Mouse will see Apple's page and reviews about their new product, so they're just kind of screwed. Sometimes this is just going to happen, it's a part of life and business, but it should be mentioned another third party is getting smacked hard. Honestly, since the name is so goofy for an Apple product -- it sorta clashes and doesn't fit in at all -- I do wonder if they even thought about anyone else...
Anyways, just start calling it Mini Mouse, for reasons which we'll get to, and because every time I go to type the name now I keep forgetting the original, but lets get back to the regularly scheduled programming...
Oh, I have no doubt Apple did the research, or had the research from a few decades ago showing that people found it easier to use a system with a one-button mouse.
If you are only selling to new users, there is something to it, unfortunately the personal computer market is now so large, and personal computers are so pervasive, that first-time computer buyers, let alone those who are totally inexperienced with computers, don't grow on trees and if they do, they aren't doing it Northern California or New York City.
When you do usability testing, one of the big things you have to keep in mind is who you are testing. I.E., if you are testing the usability of a data entry system for law clerks, you want to be testing someone who will most likely actually be using the system -- law clerks. If you just pull a construction worker from outside and slap them down, their frame of reference and skills will be so different from a law clerks that your data will be completely screwy.
The other big thing you have to keep in mind is familiarity and proficiency. When I've given talks about this, I'll often give an example of how when you are asking someone to fill out a loan application online, you want to break it up into bite-size pieces so you aren't just throwing a huge form at them. However, if you are creating an app where someone will be typing in loan applications all day, if you break up that task into a nice wizard you'll just be slowing them down.
Children are another good example; in web pages there is what is called "the fold", or rather the part of the web page that isn't visible when you first load the page, and have to scroll down to see. If you are designing a website for children, its all above the fold, no matter what, they aren't used to the web to even know there may be content down there, and they click on what is front and center and the most Shiny.
You still have to keep the whole above-the-fold thing in mind when throwing together a website in general, but it's not nearly the same consideration when you're targeting a group that is more proficient in the internets, because they know that well, if there is a scroll bar to the side of the window the page keeps going...
...Which brings us back to the one-button thing. There was a time when the mouse was a completely new idea, as were graphical windows and files, and if you sat someone down in front of a computer in 1984 and asked them to move this little thing around on the desk and click, you could see how one button would be so much easier to grok until you'd wrapped your head around it.
Unfortunately, most people who haven't been using a Mac are used to more than one button, and if they've bought a computer in the last umpteen years are used to scroll-wheels, and if they watch TV they have an idea of how computers work, so this was starting to get a little stupid and possibly rounding towards a lot stupid.
I.E., you're left with a situation where last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, Apple was saying one button was The Way™ and what you should want, yet now a bunch of buttons are The Way™. Yes, I'm well aware I'm way more sensitive to hype and marketing than most, but erg. Extrapolate that out to the rest of the products and... erg.
*Is incredibly proud of himself for stifling rant about adopting what you think to be true from pamphlets, instead of thinking it through yourself, or wondering when saying "Haven't really thought about it, so don't really have an opinion" became such a bad thing to say*
I know, impulse control is one of the things I'm working on.
A real problem with multi-button mice attached to the computer is that developers will often use the buttons. A key part of the Mac OS interface is that anything in a contextual menu needs to map to something available via the menu bar. That way it just becomes a short-cut instead of the only way to get to the feature, which would be bad, because then every app would be different and you'd have to remember...
Unfortunately, this is tempting as hell. When you're designing an app and adding in features, a lot of times you created your Perfect Interface™ for the features you started with, not what you need to add. You may be running out of space, or anything, and stopping and making a Perfect Interface™ for your new feature set can be a lot of work and it can be very tempting to just add it in under a click, or at least a lot less work, and just throw up a tutorial.
Yes, this is one of the reasons why some of the iApps are starting to get weird in terms of interface. Apple is trying to push the iTunes thing everywhere, almost using it as a crutch, even when the paradigm breaks down for the task at hand, so you end up with them just creating tacked on weirdness *cough* iPhoto *cough* rather than making an interface that would be more ideal.
Anywho, buttons.
Now, lets face it, this having to reach and press control before you click business is kinda sucky and lame in actual use, even if you've made yourself get used to it, and making someone press control constantly while using your app -- assuming you aren't playing a first person shooter game -- is something most developers know just wouldn't fly.
A developer could make you buy a multi-button mouse to use their app, but that can be rough too and isn't very common for a reason, and since developers can't count on you having a multiple button mouse they're forced to behave themselves when it comes to how they design their interfaces.
Theoretically, if the Mac ships with a multi-button mouse, those restraints are gone and you'll start to see the little tiny apps doing weird things because the developer doesn't know any better, which may encourage others and... more UI wonkiness. I talked about this in the UTI interview, where I said:
The best reason for not shipping a dual+ button mouse for the Mac is that software makers could well start to depend on you having one and not following the UI guidelines as they should. That’s fine, and you can plug a new mouse into your computer, but you’re still paying Apple for their crappy single-button one which sits in your drawer and while Apple’s software can obviously recognize multiple buttons on mice it only lets you set them for Expose and Dashboard.There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to choose what you want at checkout, and have full support for standard mice with multiple buttons and scroll wheels, as developers still couldn’t depend on you having one.
Since the Mighty Mouse mouse (I know, but they picked the name, not me) is a separate product from their standard wired mouse, or their Bluetooth Wireless deal, this isn't really a danger yet because developers can't count on users having multiple buttons. It's a real worry, and something Apple should be concerned about if they move towards making it standard, but isn't that big of a deal right now.
Every once in awhile Apple will announce something, and I'll follow the logic trail and assume things, and then I'll head over to their site and get kicked in the damn head. Just happened now, when I went to double-check that this was going to be an optional purchase and these wouldn't be replacing their standard wired mice.
It's not even an option to upgrade your mouse or keyboard to the MIghty Mouse mouse...
Yep, when you're picking up an iMac or eMac or PowerMac you basically have a choice between their standard wired pill or upgrading to the wireless pill, or, if you really want the Mighty Mouse, you can just bend over and take the standard wired mouse and buy the Mighty Mouse separately.
I'm really not a 'green', but at some point excessive waste just gets to me, as does bundling things I'll never use to subsidize something else. This whole making you get a mouse or keyboard whether you want it or not is a prime example, and my drawer shows just how stupid it is.
I hate the old hockey puck mouse. I know some people gravitated towards it, but you had to work awfully hard to defend it. I just couldn't use it, as after even just a few minutes at Mac that had one my frustration level would begin incurring compound interest. In terms of hardware design, its probably the worst thing ever to come down from the Cupertino Tower I can think of, yet I own four of them.
I had no choice in buying them, because until the Mac Mini, Apple wouldn't sell you a computer (sans portables) without a keyboard and mouse, no matter what, so I'd unpack the computer and throw it in a drawer for a rainy day.
I'm not the only one, I've helped grandma's buy computers who said "Just make sure it has one of those wheel thingies" (this freaked me out the first time, as this person wasn't computer literate at all, and I would have actually assumed a no-frills Apple mouse would be just for her), and they aren't pleased when I tell them they're going to have a spare mouse hanging around, but I just leave it at that because you can't use the expression "Wham bam thank you mam" with a grandma without having to explain how it relates to her pocketbook, or at least I can't.
Really, I'm not a green, and I like to drink and smoke and eat red meat and all the other stuff, but when I look at that drawer and it's four hockey puck mice and two candy pill mice that will never be used... It's just a complete waste of processed petroleum and my cash, it annoys the hell out of me, and well, I'm me. I can only imagine someone who really cared about natural resources would be reaching for the revolver.
Just not very cool, and it would appear this isn't changing with this, and that really sucks, because if it was the default or an option much cash and plastic would be saved. I dunno, it's always a possibility that people are using their extra Apple mice as Christmas ornaments or chic doorstops or something and I'm the only one that's annoyed.
*Grins* Honestly, I think Apple just backed itself into a corner with the whole one-button thing, to the point where they kind of just wanted to put off the multi-button mouse thing as long as possible. The linkage going around about this will be vastly disproportional to the product itself, and they'd pretty much worn down the base to the point where you don't see it brought up or asked about -- otherwise known as the "Take it, bitch" effect.
I.E., if you step into the wayback machine, there was a time when Apple really needed ways to try to differentiate itself from Windows, even if just in mindshare, because Windows was becoming 'close enough'. The one-button thing sort of became a symbol of Apple caring more about usability than tacking on features, and its gotten to a point that whenever they changed it would be a huge deal.
I mean, Apple adding a scroll wheel and another button to an optional mouse will probably end up on a bunch of newscasts, and that's just slightly insane. I'm sure they were well aware it would be so, as well as the fact that it's not going to be all positive, which is one of the reasons why they're trying to make it sound like its mousing reinvented or something. If you're a casual observer hearing a sound bite, it'll just sound as though Apple is having to cave to economic pressure, or is on some 6 year technology delay.
It's fair to ask why now, instead of last year or the year before or the year before, and I'm almost certain something acted as a catalyst...
The Mac Mini is relatively cheap, doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse or display, and is obviously targeted at Windows users. Right now, and in the past, Apple has tried to reach out to them -- sometimes with very expensive campaigns -- and it just doesn't go anywhere. They live and die by the faithful and their upgrade cycles.
So now they have this new Mac Mini, which they're trying to pimp very hard as an accompaniment to the iPod, and if you put yourself in the position of an average Windows user browsing the shelf you can see the problem. Windows users are not Mac users, and they have different expectations...
Apple sells their plain wired keyboard and mouse combo for $60, and it's basically just a candy pill with one button, but at least it is optical.
Unfortunately, you can get brand-name optical multi-button mice and keyboard combos for a quarter to half the cost. Issues of quality aside, if it isn't gilded gold at that cost it just isn't going to fly with users if given a choice, especially Windows users, not when they say a hugely-buttoned wireless keyboard and mice combos for the same price, with cheaper brands (still wireless!) being half the price...
If you're used to more features costing more, and you see the above costing the same as Apple's bundle on the shelf, the poor employee at the Apple Store has one hell of a hard sell on his hands. Let alone someone shopping at Amazon or something, where you're not being cajoled into an upsell.
I'm guessing Apple was expecting extra margin from the padded keyboard and mouse to offset the smaller margins on the Mac Mini, and people just weren't buying, including Mac users, and it's obvious the Mini Mouse is completely targeted at them since, um, you can't upgrade a standard computer to come with them.
You'll also notice their big pains to talk about how this is the mouse to have with Tiger, because it has super-special integration for all the features, which is pretty much the exact sales pitch they'll be using at the Apple Stores. Still, the Mini Mouse has all these buttons...
Lord, i don't know why the addition of 'squeeze' to all their marketing phrases for this product are making it sound just this side of dirty, but with the addition of a cartoon name, "It squeezes, not squeaks" sorta wigs me out.
Bygones, as while we don't know how well these new buttons work, if they work well then they're a great way to keep the Siracusas happy as well as those who want more than one button and scroll wheels and such. Just program both to be a standard click, and you're all set.
To be fair, the real Siracusas won't be happy because they'll know its actually two buttons underneath, but they'll learn to deal.
I have to give Apple some props here, as it's a creative solution to keep the Siracusa's happy while allowing people to not pay umpteen dollars for something with one button. It's also very cool to see them starting to reflect their software in their hardware, which is something I've gotten on them about. *rubs Apple shiny*
Of course, if you're a Siracusa you wouldn't buy this because if you're that big on a one button you wouldn't want a scroll wheel, and your Mac already comes with a wired one-button mouse, so I suppose catering to them in this product is a little weird, but lets move on...
The box to the right appears on the Mini Mouse's design page.
I have no clue what "An aural sensation that responds to your movements" means, and am going to have to assume it isn't charging by the minute.
This is going to mark a first for DrunkenBlog: I'm rejecting it from my reality. I simply refuse to believe Apple would spend the engineering effort to remove the click, and then spend the engineering effort to somehow add the click back in, and then market the click as a feature.
Apple is an innovative company, but there are times where I swear to god if they designed a toaster they'd act like they'd invented bread...
Now, some of this expected from marketing, because it's not like "So we threw a trackball into the mouse, kinda like this other company did but its smaller and hey it has drivers we made instead of some third party so the preference pane will be right there in the regular system preferences and not tacked on at the end. Sorry for the delay, but we didn't want to ship a multi-button mouse until the technology allowed for really small trackballs." is going to get you super excited to where you simply must click the 'checkout' button, but it sure seems as though Apple goes a little crazier with the adjectives than most companies.
Sideways scrolling is very cool, and the minute you use it you'll probably fall in love, especially if you are using a smaller screen. I did.
Since the Mighty Mouse was just announced this morning, it should be a big ass clue someone else thought of this, and someone did -- Microsoft.
If you'll notice, the area around the scroll wheel is a little built-up, and yep, it tilts side to side and works like a dream. In fact, the wireless Intellimouse to the right costs less than the Mini Mouse, and has been a huge success for Microsoft.
They've won all sorts of awards for it, and sell oodles of these things, and they come in a whole bunch of different colors and textures (The Cow would not let me get the leather version). There are even mice with trackballs built into them, even on the top, so I guess the marketing on this one is just kicking me in the head a bit. I suppose Apple did make it really small.
The button idea really kicks ass, and a tiny trackball may kick ass, but you have to give Microsoft their due here. They came up with the idea, they incorporated and tested it in a product, and they made it a success. While I possibly can't expect Apple to acknowledge that, we should, because its right.
When it comes to a tracking mechanism for a mouse, little balls suck, but for a lot of work trackballs are awesome.
People have a variety of reasons for liking them, but for a lot of tasks they just offer greater control than you could generally get with a mouse.
However, the key aspect of that control came about via its size. It's really hard to move a mouse a pixel or two (It's easier now that they're optical), let alone in say, a nice curve, let alone a very delicate one, because our hands and wrists don't want to move that way or the pads on the mouse will have some friction on the mousepad, etc. With a trackball, you can just lightly and delicately move it ever so slightly.
You don't want to play a first person shooter with them, but they're really popular in artistic fields, and I know lots of people who have both a mouse and a trackball plugged into their computer for just that reason, although tablets have eaten into them a bit.
This is a bit of a whole different ball game, and I don't think I've ever seen a trackball this small, and that's pretty much why I'm worried. I don't know if they're using a laser to track the ball, or just elvish-sized rollers, but there is only going to be so much lee-way you can have there.
In others words, you are going to be taking your hand off the mouse and scrolling sideways over and over to get to where you want on the screen, or you're to have this super-jumpy little ball that'll whack out if you bump it slightly. By the screenshots, With a tilt-wheel, you basically just gently roll it towards the side with your finger and hold it until you're there, not wagging your finger. I don't see a way to adjust scrolling speed for the Mighty Mouse, but maybe that'll work out.
I was actually wondering if Microsoft had some kind of patent on the tilting scroll-wheel, and Apple had no choice but to look at other alternatives to accomplish the same end, but Logitech has mice that have it. I guess if you decided you needed to have something different as an offering for being so late, there weren't a whole lot of options available. You could slap on a trackpad, but the only product I've seen try this was the 'Studio Mouse' (Just for Mac users!), and using its little pad to scroll completely sucked as I'm sure Apple found out.
I really don't think this little ball is going to end up being a better solution, and possibly have all sorts of problems. I've been surprised before, so I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I've got my eye on it.
Another thing I said back in the UTI interview was:
Trackpads and mice are a good example... You’re screwed when it comes to their laptops, and there’s no reason why Apple couldn’t just make the trackpad a module so you could add whatever let you work best.
The whole "I'm so sick of people going on about the one-button mouse! Spend $20 and buy an f**ng 2-button #@$%*!!", while actually an efficient solution in general completely breaks down when it comes to their portables.
You can plug a mouse into them, and I carry one and use it when I'm doing anything of note -- because I'm always hitting the function key instead of control -- but it isn't realistic to be able to do that all the time.
If Apple is putting their stamp of approval on multiple buttons, it is (hopefully) only a matter of time until they migrate to a Powerbook and iBook update which would be very, very cool and make a lot of people's lives a lot easier.
Although -- and I can just smell this happening -- if they put them on the PowerBooks first and not the iBooks, their laptop line will have officially jumped the shark and it's time to outsource to Dell.
One of the things that stuck out about me while looking over the Mini Mouse is that it's the first time in a long time I've seen Apple make any effort to intertwine their hardware and software. They are really the only personal computer maker that controls the whole widget, but aside from an eject key, the brightness controls and the sound controls they don't really make an effort to show that fact off.
Microsoft doesn't control the whole widget, so if they want something special on the keyboard, they have to make their own product or talk others into it. They can't go up and down the product line and add a foo key dedicated towards, um, foo. Apple can, yet to pull up Dashboard you hit F-12, and to pull up Exposé, you hit F-9 and up.
I'm not saying Apple needs to add a button to launch Safari (Although bindable buttons on the keyboard might be cool), just that it often seems like they forget they control the whole widget and can do things others can't.
This product is obviously geared towards using Mac OS X features, and that's both very cool and gives some more hope for the future.
It's really hard to tell about a product like this before you've caressed it thoroughly in person, but I'll admit I'm a little underwhelmed with the Mini Mouse.
As a product 20 years in the making, or even two years in the making, I guess I am just missing what's 'mighty' about it or even all that special. Ergonomics won't change by not having lines where the buttons are, that's just a Shiny issue, and again there is the price -- it's almost as though its a technology generation behind the competition in connectivity and tracking mechanisms, yet costs the same or more.
I don't mind paying more for something if its really better, that makes me lust, but for the price the Mini Mouse is lacking a lot of things which someone who cared about not seeing button lines would care about, like being wireless or having the newer and higher-resolution tracking mechanisms.
I will totally admit I really, really want to see how those buttons work for myself, and I think it's very cool that Apple has given into multiple buttons, and if you're a Mac user this mouse will probably compliment your system six ways to Sunday...
In fact, if this was the default mouse for their product line I think I'd feel a whole lot differently towards it, and be happy as a clam. If it was at least a nominally-priced upgrade from the default mouse I think it'd be a great choice for a ton of Mac users.
Unfortunately, it's not the default and my drawer is already full of mice, and when it comes to pricing and features, compared to the competition it just seems a little weak.
[Update:] The actual Siracusa has been bugging me incessently, and asked me to include the following disclaimer: "The actual J. Siracusa would like it to be known that he uses a multi-button mouse with a scroll wheel. "Siracusas" was obviously a poor choice of words, but drunkenbatman is too lazy to go back and change it now." Do not taunt Happy Fun Siracusa.
Posted by drunkenbatmanAugust 03, 2005, at 02:09 AM
Comments (63)
Posted by: at August 3, 2005 02:37 AM
It's too late and too expensive. But lots of Mac zealots will probably find it better than a Microsoft or Logitech one.
Fuck, this thing makes fake noises!
Posted by: vastheman at August 3, 2005 02:40 AM
Tiny trackballs aren't new - the Apple/Bandai Pippin had one in the controller (back in the mid nineties).
Posted by: steve at August 3, 2005 02:45 AM
Are you serious? The word 'splooge' offends you? That's what people come to this site for: offensively honest looks at the tech world.
Drunkenbatman, don't change.
Posted by: Mea Culpa at August 3, 2005 02:46 AM
Wow, 20 pages on a product on the day it was announced. That is kind of scary, but it went faster than some of your others.
I don't think Apple's keyboards are that great, but that Microsoft Elite one looks like it belongs on a spaceship. Cool, but I'd be intimidated sitting in front of it.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at August 3, 2005 02:50 AM
Wow, 20 pages on a product on the day it was announced. That is kind of scary, but it went faster than some of your others.
Mea Culpa, if you want scary, the AdiumX guys had the screenshot at the top dropped into a ticket on their tracker in about 20 minutes after the post was up. Frighteningly fastidious little ducks over there.
Posted by: cch at August 3, 2005 02:54 AM
It appears that you edited the adium screenshot to conceal the other person's name, but it's still visible in the status message.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at August 3, 2005 02:59 AM
It appears that you edited the adium screenshot to conceal the other person's name, but it's still visible in the status message.
Thanks, appreciated and fixed -- too many drinks apparently.
Posted by: Mac-arena the Bored Zo at August 3, 2005 03:09 AM
the PowerBook Duo had a similarly-small trackball. I think the Mighty Mouse's is even smaller, though.
also, you said in reference to the puck:
I just couldn't use it, as even after a few minutes at someone else's computer my frustration level would start to rise, and it made me a huge fan
a huge fan, eh? of what?
Posted by: at August 3, 2005 03:09 AM
"Don't bogart the six-colored doobie"
It's AQUA doobies now!
Posted by: Mac-arena the Bored Zo at August 3, 2005 03:10 AM
the PowerBook Duo had a similarly-small trackball. I think the Mighty Mouse's is even smaller, though.
also, you said in reference to the puck:
I just couldn't use it, as even after a few minutes at someone else's computer my frustration level would start to rise, and it made me a huge fan
a huge fan, eh? of what?
Posted by: stonedbat at August 3, 2005 03:12 AM
>This always struck me as really weird, because Apple never really showed the research or gave any real statistics and tried to move on quickly.
That's not true. Tog released some info about tests Apple did with mice. basically, people are faster with one-button-mice, but they *think* they're faster with multi-button-mice. which explains a lot.
also, having a one-button-mouse standard forces developers to not hide functionality behind context menus.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at August 3, 2005 03:20 AM
a huge fan, eh? of what?
Yeah, something weird happened to that paragraph. I think it makes sense now..
Although with three comments on my own post, I'm pretty sure that means I should call it a night and catch the rest of my typos in the morning...
Posted by: Matthew at August 3, 2005 03:24 AM
The bloody thing isn't even wireless either. For that sort of dough I'd expect it to be, but I am an inherently unreasonable person. Looks like it's me and the crusty & trusty old MX700 for the foreseeable future.
That was a long piece about a mouse. I'm surprised that you ever actually get any work done at all, frankly, but I'm glad or else I'd have to work instead of reading your fine Blog.
Sterling stuff.
Posted by: Zetetic at August 3, 2005 03:31 AM
The trackball found in the Duo line was much larger than this; ~1/2 the size of a 'normal' trackball.
Your keyboad integration ideas are interesting. Of course when we all have OLED keys...
Posted by: Rosyna at August 3, 2005 03:38 AM
I have to congratulate your for concealing names in a screenshot without making it look horrible. So many I see just blue them out. You actually made it look as if it was one with the screenshot. Bravo.
And since October is coming up, I suggest giving your old mice to Trick or Treaters. Gluttonous children. Vegetables or Mice.
(Computer Mice...)
Posted by: Dennis Kuinch at August 3, 2005 03:56 AM
"That's not true. Tog released some info about tests Apple did with mice. basically, people are faster with one-button-mice, but they *think* they're faster with multi-button-mice. which explains a lot."
Hey stonedbat, I think DBM has the right of it here (Although for a developer he can't know that mucha bout UI) and here is what Tog says about 2 button mieces in 1999 --
"The one-button mouse is beyond obsolete. Why Apple sticks to it I cannot possibly understand. It made perfect sense in 1981 when we brought out the Lisa, with an unproved interface targeted at busy executives. We wanted an interface that could be learned in 20 minutes, and you can't do that with a mouse festooned with buttons.
Now it is almost 20 years later. The GUI interface seems to have caught on, and people recognize the advantage of learning it, even if it does take longer than 20 minutes.
I've been using a two-button mouse on my Macs for a couple years now, and no one could pry them away from me. The Kensington two-button mouse allows me to use the second button for System 8's context-sensitive menus, and even lets you set a third code for both buttons pressed simultaneously.
This two-button mouse, when coupled with the four standard modifier keys pressed with the left hand, offers users a far more expressive device than does Windows.
In principle, I'm not against adding more buttons, but only if some clear definition exists for each, so the user can predict what might happen were one pressed."
Tog rules. :-) I have my Intellimouse set up with different buttons for different programs and I KNOW I am faster.
Posted by: Rosyna at August 3, 2005 04:03 AM
The one button mouse is all about removing the barrier to entry. Whenever you are thinking about whether a UI is good or not, try describing the required actions to do a task over the phone.
Posted by: Abhi Beckert at August 3, 2005 04:14 AM
Great post, but I have to bitch about some of it.
First of all, just because it's not a BTO option now doesn't mean it won't be tomorrow. It's entirely possible they simply haven't listed it throughout the site yet.
And secondly, right click already kinda exists in the trackpad for powerbooks and iBooks. On the latest models (the ones with the scroll thingy) you hold two fingers on the pad and click the button. Yes it's clunky, yes it sucks, but it's better than control-click and it shows Apple does care.
Thirdly you say you're worried this feature will be integrated into PowerBooks but not iBooks. Stop worrying, Apple put the new scroll pads in both of them, so why not this when they get round to it? Sure the scroll things hit the powerbook first (can you imagine if iBook's had've gotten it first?!?), but the next update to iBooks had scrolling track pads. Based on that fact you have to agree it's at least likely they'll implement right click (assuming they do) in both models within a reasonable timeframe of each other.
And finally: you contradicted yourself. Early in the article you mentioned that you'd be worried about software quality if this thing shipped standard (I agree with you there), but then you closed the article by saying you wish they were standard?!
Other than that? I agree with you 100%: Not sure if this is a good thing or not, can't wait to try it and find out.
Posted by: Carl at August 3, 2005 04:27 AM
The Mighty Mouse is cool, I guess, but if they put a second button on my PowerBook, I'll punch Steve Jobs in the gut. Fer real.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at August 3, 2005 04:43 AM
And finally: you contradicted yourself. Early in the article you mentioned that you'd be worried about software quality if this thing shipped standard (I agree with you there), but then you closed the article by saying you wish they were standard?!
Ahbi, I don't think I contracited myself there, but I see what you're saying, so I'll try to clarify to clear it up and then I'm _really_ going to find my pillow for a bit...
Basically, I'd settle for a multi-button mouse being an optional upgrade, which seemed like a realistic goal, or even compromise, towards having the potential long-term usability issues cropping up in apps depending upon multiple buttons.
I don't dislike the Mini Mouse, and think it's probably going to be a good solution for a lot of people. However, compared to the competition I just don't think its a very _premium_ mouse, so I'm indifferent towards it as a product, but if it was one that came as the default or a cheap upgrade to the 'Apple Mouse' it'd be a different story.
Posted by: P. Ninja at August 3, 2005 04:55 AM
I don't remember laughing so many times reading something in a blog post. My .sig file thanks you. This was rough, but I can't believe you put this out in the same day and most of it is SO true.
Posted by: David Magda at August 3, 2005 07:03 AM
Do you ever sleep?
Posted by: john at August 3, 2005 07:23 AM
No one has mentioned the usability problem with scroll wheels: that you constantly have to pick your finger up and put it back down. Scroll, move finger. Scroll, move finger. Compare that to a rotary device, where you can scroll in one continuous motion. (Imagine if a car stereo had a scroll wheel-like control. And don't even get me started on having to use buttons to tune radio stations.)
This might be the fabled rotary mouse that Apple patented a while ago. If so, good. If all it does is reproduce old technology with trackpads, then boo.
ps: I use a wireless 8 button Logitech Mx700 with a scroll wheel. I can map any of the buttons to Expose or Dashboard. What impresses me about the top-line mice from Logitech is that they have a real heft to them.
Posted by: ludicrious losof at August 3, 2005 07:25 AM
DB, there is nothing wrong with being a TreeHugger, just admit it, it's OK. We won't laugh at you, i promise. I heard Spike Jonze is one, too.
Posted by: loki at August 3, 2005 07:26 AM
I have to say that I find the following a populare misconception:
most people who haven't been using a Mac are used to more than one button
I personally find one-button mice frustrating beyond belief. But when I'm working with 'normal' computer users, many of them still seem to be bewildered by just two buttons. These are people who might have been using computers for a number of years but have never really learnt anything beyond how to write a letter and send an email.
The problem with most of the mouse discussion is that it is written and read by people who spend a fair amount of time on their computers. Your average person doesn't use their computer beyond sending a few emails, writing letters, etc. They don't spend time reading through computer reviews or discussions. And some of these people understand and use multi-button mice. But a not-insignificant portion of these people don't understand what a 'right-click' is and why something pops up when they click the mouse button. I have seen it with my own eyes many times (in this decade :-) ). I think that the scroll wheel is easier for people to understand because it is a physically different object and resembles the action desired (whereas one button doesn't resemble a menu popping up any more than another).
So, I don't disagree that for people with more than a basic understanding of computers, multi-button mice are better, more efficient, etc. But I think there is still a sizeable poputlation who find multi-button mice bewildering. Which is where I think the new Apple mouse is significantly different from other mice. The design is more than just aesthetic. It could (and should, in my opinion) ship as a one-button mouse, and your basic user would be none the wiser because there aren't two physical buttons on the mouse. By the time a user is exploring the preference panes and notices that a 'right-click' of their mouse can perform a different action, they are already at a stage where the behaviour won't be confusing.
Shipping the mouse in one-button mode would also help to address the problem of developers implementing poor UI design by assuming everyone has a two-button mouse. While everyone might have a mouse capable of multiple buttons, a significant portion of people won't actually be using a multi-button mouse (which is true on Windows, too, as many people I work with seem unaware that the right button does anything of significance).
On a slightly different topic, there is no need to live with one button on your trackpad, db. SideTrack allows you to assign a 'tap' on the pad to a 'right-click'. I couldn't live without it. I do hope that if Apple adds a second button to their portables that they don't mess with the one large button underneath. I wouldn't mind another button above the pad. They actually did this with the Duo, but never allowed you to program the top button to do anything other than a normal click (however there was a third-party utility that allowed programming of this button). Built-in support for the right-tap that SideTrack allows would also be welcome. But having one large button underneath the trackpad is very useful (to me).
<http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/sidetrack/index.html>
Well this turned into a longer comment than I was planning. Oh well!
Posted by: Harry Leong at August 3, 2005 07:47 AM
To throw my voice into the fray, I didn't find the splooge comment offensive in the least. Made my day, but you owe me a cup of coffee for causing me to spill mine in a laugh.
Posted by: Twist at August 3, 2005 07:48 AM
I am lucky enough not to have any of the hockey puck mice laying around but I have two corded optical ones (one graphite and one white) and about four old ADB mice (I still have an old Performa 600CD and Beige G3 collecting dust around here for some reason).
My mouse of choice right now is a Kensington Optical Pro. If I had Bluetooth built into my iBook I would find a BT mouse to use and carry around but I figure a dongle is just as bad as a cord.
I also end up hitting the function button all the time when I mean to hit control if I am using the trackpad.
Posted by: Skatch at August 3, 2005 07:55 AM
The scroll ball looks a bit small, but will wait to judge it until I've been able to use it in person. What I don't understand is why you criticise the ball over Microsoft's hybrid scroll/tilt wheel. To me it seems like a much better solution. Why have two different types of actions for scrolling vertically and horizontally? Using the same scrolling action in different directions seems more intuitive. It's one of those things, like the iPod scroll wheel, where I saw it and thought "of course, how come other companies aren't doing that?"
Also, I think they've been pretty smart with the whole touch-sensitive design. I see this eventually becoming standard equipment on their computers and having it default to both buttons being a left-click. What this means is that to a novice, the mouse is exactly the same as a one-button mouse with the addition of a scroll ball. The physical click works the same as their old Pro Mouse, where the entire front of the mouse presses down. Right click works by the mouse figuring out if you are putting pressure on the right or left side of the mouse when clicking. (Note that you have to enable the right click in the prefs first, so novices won't unexpectedly right click without having purposely set it up beforehand.)
In my experience, people don't have trouble understanding the scroll wheel because it maps to a very specific and direct function on screen. But many people I know don't use or don't understand the right click button. Certainly not all, but many. (Sometimes I think people who vigourously disagree only know other geeks.) This design lets those people work exactly as they used to because the mouse is still physically a one button mouse. And it lets the rest of us who like our multiple buttons have the added benefits.
I won't try and justify the price or call it revolutionary, but I think it's a nice solution. And if the mouse becomes standard we shouldn't have to worry too much about developers relying on right-clicking because you have to enable it first, and most novices won't. No different from the control+click hack today which is available on all systems, and developers haven't started relying on it yet.
I'm not sold on the "squeeze" button - no tactile feedback seems like a bad idea to me, but again will wait to try it out.
Posted by: Steve at August 3, 2005 07:59 AM
Yeah, I wouldn't buy it at that price and I don't s'pose it matches up to the other offerings out there. But at least they've brought one out. The "Siracusas"? Yeah, they are a major PITA. Don't like tear-off menus; don't want any decent functionality or information in the file browser, don't like proper mice etc., etc. Frigging Luddites! OS X would be far better than it is now, if Apple didn't feel the need to pander to these people.
Posted by: Aaron at August 3, 2005 08:00 AM
No one has mentioned the usability problem with scroll wheels: that you constantly have to pick your finger up and put it back down. Scroll, move finger. Scroll, move finger.
I have a Cobalt Intellimouse, and let me say this is one thing a tilt wheel has over Apple's solution. I can gently press down on the scroll wheel for some traction, and slide my finger to the side and hold it and it will scroll as necessary. Vertical scrolling has the same option, but it is an easier motion.
Hey DB, I am still stunned you wrote 16 pages about a mouse. It was a fun way to spend the morning and I'm glad you did, but do not run yourself into the ground over a blog. :^)
Posted by: Norm at August 3, 2005 08:01 AM
Actually back to the Halloween comment for a moment. A couple of years ago, after having a bunch of extra hockey puck mice, we made them into a bola. We then took the handles off of a G4 Tower using them as as shoulder support for the plastic sides of the G4 Tower, which we placed on either side of our torso (there were a couple of rubber bands involved that allowed us to move the "armor" down a bit). I forget what we used as a helmet at the moment, but we had our Halloween knight costume ready to go.
Posted by: Skatch at August 3, 2005 08:03 AM
loki++
You beat me to the punch while I was writing out my excessively long comment. I agree exactly with your trackpad comments too.
One other thing - db, I disagree with your comments about exposé and the function keys. Doesn't Apple already give the F-keys used for exposé labels? Surely that's the same as having a dedicated key, with the advantage that the more experienced of us can re-program them. I usually dislike all the random dedicated keys found on PC laptops. There may be some things that are useful, but more often than not they just add clutter.
Posted by: at August 3, 2005 08:04 AM
"I have no clue what "An aural sensation that responds to your movements" means, and am going to have to assume it isn't charging by the minute."
LOL brilliant double entendre
Posted by: Charles Stoufers at August 3, 2005 08:13 AM
I'm beginning to wonder if "drunken batman" is more than one person. If you are one person, I'm with the other poster... Don't kill yourself over a blog.
Posted by: Hoss at August 3, 2005 08:45 AM
As of about 9:30 Eastern the Mighty Mouse is a BTO option at least on the Mac mini, but not on the iMac or the PowerMac. Maybe this is a product targeted at switchers.
Posted by: Dale at August 3, 2005 09:26 AM
I don't know why you don't know what the deal is with Mighty Mouse. Surely you watched cartoons before you were old enough to drink? ;-)
Mighty Mouse was around a long time before Unsanity. Looks like Apple just got permission to use the name MM. And I'd guess Unsanity didn't, and now have to live with the fact that they name they didn't have permission to use can be used by the person who did.
Posted by: at August 3, 2005 10:28 AM
Great read, especially the UI parts at the top. You are bonkers though, this was 19 page downs on my iBook. :)
I think you hit the nail on the head about anything they released recieving "disproportionate" attention. Nothing they released would have been good enough. At $45 this is crazy, the wireless version will be $70 when the wireless should have been $45. Greedy Apple. :)
Posted by: Ano Nymous at August 3, 2005 11:09 AM
I do not get your trackpad on notebooks example.
What should anyone select for a notebook instead of a trackpad module? (Are those litte "joysticks" between the keys still around? I saw the last on an IBM notebook several years ago.)
Instead of the trackpad module a box that can hold a very small mouse?
But then you have to remember that a notebook is used in many circumstances, where using a mouse is not possible (on your knees, for example). So what will you do if there is no trackpad? (Apples keyboard control is good, but could be better. There are moments where you need a pointing device and cannot reach interface elements with keyboard control.)
Posted by: Jay Contonio at August 3, 2005 11:15 AM
Here's my theory. Apple is getting ready for the first Intel macs and they think they need to ship a multi-button mouse for them because they know people will be installing Windows on the machines. All new portables will get "multi-function" one button clickers, and all desktops (besides mac mini) will ship with this mouse.
Notice how they made it work with Windows? Wonder why...hmm...
Posted by: Ankalon at August 3, 2005 11:18 AM
I can't post with my website as a URL? How is my website "questionable content?" Or am I being gradually banned?
Posted by: Skatch at August 3, 2005 11:28 AM
Jay,
I don't mean to be harsh but your theory is one of the more ridiculous that I've read. I really don't think Apple is catering to the people who will be buying Intel Macs and subsequently installing Windows.
As for why it's Windows-compatible - it's a standard USB input device. Whether they advertised it or not it would work with Windows, so they'd be foolish not to try and sell it to any Windows users who will buy. Note they haven't written a driver for Windows to enable all the functionality.
Posted by: NN at August 3, 2005 11:41 AM
They are really the only personal computer maker that controls the whole widget, but aside from an eject key, the brightness controls and the sound controls they don't really make an effort to show that fact off.How about the Target disk mode? Holding the C key to boot from a CD or DVD? The Option key for selecting the boot volume? Command-S and Command-V for single-user and verbose modes respectively? Open Firmware mode? Holding down the mouse button during boot-up to eject a CD or DVD? Various "Force action" key combos (force sleep, force shut down, force reboot, etc)? NMI? The "magic" PRAM reset?
You're right, Apple does not show off here; this stuff just magically works (and has been working since times immemorial).
...
P.S. We just got rid of the old roll ball of the mechanical mouse. Now we've got ourselves a scroll ball to clean every now and then. So much for the novelty...
Posted by: ludicrious losof at August 3, 2005 12:16 PM
p.s. http://homepage.mac.com/alanjones1/sillymovies/iMovieTheater215.html
Posted by: Stern at August 3, 2005 12:34 PM
The Mini Mouse has one thing going for it - left-handed people can use it without breaking their hands. Most manufacturers only make very basic symmetrical models and I haven't seen left-handed models in a very very long time.
My friend has a Logitech wireless notebook mouse that has a scroll surface instead of a wheel. When rubbing the surface the mouse makes small, barely audible clicking sounds. I assume Apple's will do something similar.
Posted by: Ben at August 3, 2005 01:06 PM
Kinda averse to your point about this coming directly to a PowerBook near you. If Apple puts two buttons on their trackpads, I hope they have something up their sleeves, because PC trackpads suck to use due to the two buttons. The second button is very awkward to use while mousing. Try right-click-dragging to prove this to yourself. No, I don't right-click-drag all day long, but it highlights the problem with two button trackpads.
There are two arguments for a one-button mouse:
- It's what non-expert computer users are comfortable with.
- Two button trackpads suck.
Posted by: Electric Monk at August 3, 2005 01:20 PM
Oh btw the hockey puck mouse (if held correctly via fingertips, not the palm) prevents all kinds of RSI and a lot of people use that mouse still for exactly that reason.
Personally I just couldn't get used to holding it with the fingertips, but from a ergonomics standpoint the hockey puck mouse was way better then any other mouse.
Posted by: Lanny at August 3, 2005 04:39 PM
"Wired Keyboard & Mighty Mouse Set" is now a BTO option at the online Apple store.
It costs $78 (as opposed to the $58 for a standard set and $99 for the wireless set).
I found it in BTO for the Mac mini, but not for other Macs, at least not yet.
Posted by: John Siracusa at August 3, 2005 05:51 PM
For the record, I have used a multi-button mouse with a scroll wheel for years. I've asked DB to correct the article text, and continue to hope that he'll do so eventually...
Posted by: Ben at August 3, 2005 06:34 PM
And you call yourself a siracusa.
Posted by: Skatch at August 3, 2005 06:46 PM
Yeah, I don't know what was going on with all the Siracusa-hating in the article. I guess it was joking but it seemed kind of negative to me.
While I'm in criticising mode, I should say I think this post lacked your normal level of thought and insight, DB. I almost never find myself on the other side of the fence from what you say, but this time I do. I came away with the impression you think the new mouse is pointless and lacking compared to others out there. Looking beneath Apple's advertising hyperbole, I think they made a smart move with its design.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at August 3, 2005 07:52 PM
I can't post with my website as a URL? How is my website "questionable content?" Or am I being gradually banned?
Ankalon, it's a blogspot thing. I've been trying to keep up, but basically they have a huge amount of spam coming out of them right now. Ceramics and other weird stuff, been going on for like a month.
Right now I"m having to delete 540 comment spams about a poker critic, and you know, having to prioritize.
Posted by: Sandy at August 3, 2005 08:26 PM
Too little. Too late. Too expensive.
Posted by: Clint Ecker at August 3, 2005 11:29 PM
We tore it up!
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/dissect.ars
Lots of nice pics ;)
Posted by: Sharl at August 4, 2005 03:30 AM
I'm not saying Apple needs to add a button to launch Safari (Although bindable buttons on the keyboard might be cool), just that it often seems like they forget they control the whole widget and can do things others can't.
Not entirely true, as I'd say that things like instant sleep and wake on closing my PB screen qualify. Possibly even the colour-change on the charge cord. Certainly the power button that sleeps the machine rather than shuts it down on desktops. Yeah, I'm stretching it, but you know what I mean. I agree BTW; there should be some more of this stuff. I fell in love with physical buttons bound to OS functions when my Colour Classic (sic - I had the UK version) had little buttons for volume and brightness on the front that triggered the software settings. On the other hand, you really don't want them to get all Sony on our asses.
Posted by: FredUHrick at August 4, 2005 09:24 AM
Tsk. No Cheese for this mouse. Push Bluetooth but no version for this? I'll stick with my M$ version (heavy, jerky, slow to pair but still cheaper and cooler looking).
And when will Apple include this with hardware? $50? I can get three M$ opticals for that price.
I wonder when some porn-programmer will use the mouse ball as some representation of the female stimuli? Score!!!(callous index fingers a clue?)
Posted by: Sandy McMurray at August 4, 2005 10:22 AM
To upsell to Apple-made keyboards, Apple Store clerks only need to point out that troubleshooting may require 'em.
Whether you want to reset the PRAM or use AppleJack in single user mode, you need a keyboard with a Command key that gets recognized before OS X loads.
Posted by: dharh at August 4, 2005 10:27 AM
Logitech actualy has a trackpad mouse too called the Logitech® V500 Cordless Notebook Mouse.
Apple could have done really awesome with this mouse if the touch sensitive part were fully programmable. IE if you could turn the mouse into a gesture interface. If the trackball were a little bigger and were a seperate circular touchpad itself I think it woulda been much better (think tilt wheel without actual moving parts). We shall see.
Posted by: Dave at August 4, 2005 06:50 PM
I am using my new Mighty Mouse right now, and it sucks. In order to right click, you have to completely lift your finger off of the left click area. Who does that? SUCKS.
Although, thumbs up on the scroll wheel. Much better than I anticipated.
Anyone wanna buy a Mighty Mouse??
Posted by: Sam MacCutchan at August 4, 2005 07:38 PM
Actually I believe IBM released the sidways scrolling mouse first. I worked in an IBM retail store for a few months in 1999, yes they had a whole chain up here in Canada. Anyways we carried some mice that had a scroll wheel that looked very similar to the Microsoft one pictured. They also made mice that had their little TrackPoint on the top where the scroll wheel would of been and it could scroll in all directions.
I think the reason that the Logitech mice are so similar to Microsofts is because they make them for them. But I could be wrong so don't quote me on that.
Personally I've never liked Track Pads. I find them to be inaccurate and especially dislike that you can click the surface of the pad. When I borrow my brother's iBook I often accidentally click with the edge of my thumb while I am typing. I would love to see a TrackPoint on an Apple portable.
Posted by: Josh Santangelo at August 5, 2005 12:06 AM
I, being a sucker, ordered a Mighty Mouse and it was delivered today. I've been using it for all of four hours.
First impressions are good. It is "one button", but the two-button emulation is pretty seamless. If you have a finger on the left side and press down on the right side, it does a primary click, but it's easy to avoid.
The smallness of the ball is not really a problem. You can place your finger way past it and roll it with all of the skin from the last knuckle to the fingertip, and get quite a lot of scroll in there. If you turn it more slowly it doesn't accelerate as much, and it's pretty natural. Being able to scroll horizontally and diagonally is pretty awesome. I haven't used any of the tilt-wheel mice, but I'm pretty sure you can't scroll diagonally on those.
The wheel-push and the squeezy-bit are pretty useless to me, as I have a giant monitor and don't use Dashboard much. The annoying bit is that in the prefpane you can't assign the buttons to arbitrary keys -- you can only point them to applications (or, i would assume, applescripts).
I don't know what the deal is with the "audio feedback", either. There is no speaker on the thing, it makes an audibly clicky when you click it, and there are no audio settings in the prefpane. There is also no mention of audio in the manual.
If you want screenshots or photos or anything, let me know.
Posted by: Sharl at August 5, 2005 02:08 AM
I don't know what the deal is with the "audio feedback", either. There is no speaker on the thing, it makes an audibly clicky when you click it, and there are no audio settings in the prefpane. There is also no mention of audio in the manual.
Hmm, it's definitely there in mine. No prefs, but there isa very small speaker inside. It's not very loud, so you'll need a quiet space. Compare the sound of the side click to just squeezing the mouse when it's not on the desk (or not plugged in). The trackball does a click-click-click thing too. I believe that's the correct technical term.
Posted by: junior60 at August 5, 2005 05:34 AM
I wanted to believe.... in the Emperors new mouse. But after suspending disbelief and previous experience for the last 2 hours,I now must confront the conspicuous reality that it is a functionally
impaired rodent in an Armani suit. Looks can be deceiving.
"Marketing" is intentionally deceptive. I have allowed myself to be
conned again.....Damn. Oh well, back to the unglamorous
but enduringly functional Intellimouse 4!!!
"although I probably would have skipped dinner if I had known I was going to swallowing this much marketing splooge...
You just lost a reader. Vile, disgusting, and disrespectful, Sir. -Adam