The Lifestream of Jon Moss

Apple Magic Mouse Hands On [Apple]

October 20 2009, 4:00pm

The Apple's Magic Mouse doesn't have anything on its surface. It's an aluminum base topped off with a smooth multitouch surface. It felt weird to use, but leagues ahead of the Mighty Mouse. I may go back to mice. The strangest thing, in theory, is that you have different gestures than on a standard Macbook Pro trackpad. Specifically, scrolling is done with one finger, instead of two, because one finger on a trackpad is pointing; on the mouse, you would be tracking with your arm/wrist and the entire device. Scrolling works in all directions, 360 degrees. You can actually scroll with 1, 2 and three fingers, going up and down. But two fingers going backwards or forward, in, say a browser, is the equivalent of three finger swipes on a touchpad—that is, it goes forward and back in your browser history to previous windows. The top of the low profile mouse—which is made of white polycarbonate that matches the keys on Apple's keyboards—is one seamless touch surface down to the Apple logo's bottom. Logically, there is no scroll nipple, like the Mighty Mouse had. The left and right buttons work perfectly, unlike in previous pseudo button mice from Apple. That's the big thing that they screwed up last time and made happen this time. The Left and right clicks aren't just touchpad gestures, the entire surface clicks down. It runs on AA batteries and Apple claims 4 months of use per set. You can get it with the new iMac or pay $69 separately. Apple Introduces Magic Mouse — The World's First Multi-Touch Mouse CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced the new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch™ technology. Pioneered on iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac® and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69. "Apple is the Multi-Touch leader, pioneering the use of this innovative technology in iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Apple's Multi-Touch technology allows us to offer an easy to use mouse in a simple and elegant design." Magic Mouse features a seamless touch-sensitive enclosure that allows it to be a single or multi-button mouse with advanced gesture support. Using intuitive gestures, users can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. Magic Mouse works for left or right handed users and multi-button or gesture commands can be easily configured from within System Preferences. The Magic Mouse laser tracking engine provides a smooth, consistent experience across more surfaces than a traditional optical tracking system. Magic Mouse uses Bluetooth wireless capabilities to create a clean, cable-free desk top and its secure wireless connection works from up to 10 meters away. To extend battery performance, Magic Mouse includes an advanced power management system that works with Mac OS® X to automatically switch to low power modes during periods of inactivity. The wireless Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries which are included. Pricing & Availability Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac and is available at the end of October through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $69 (US). Magic Mouse requires Mac OS X Leopard® version 10.5.8 or later.