One-button mouse: simple success or tired relic?
The Mac is often much-maligned, and falsely so, for not supporting the two-button mouse. We all know the fact of the
matter is Apple has supported the two-button mouse since OS 8.6, and never hesitate to dispel the myth - yet we also
turn around and secretly scratch our heads over why Apple doesn’t just start shipping two-button mice standard with
their machines, already.
Gear Live contributor Andru writes a
missive in
defense of the one-button mouse. His three main pillars are as follows:
- The majority of computer users don’t use the two-button mouse on either platform (”Giving the average person a right mouse button is like giving a bald man a comb.”).
- It encourages developers to stick to the Apple standard of providing a way to access all application functions from a single mouse click in a menu.
- The un-average user who will desire a two-button mouse will more often than not chuck out their two-button and go with some higher order of multi-button mouse, anyway. Why bother sending a two-button, then?
Admittedly, two-button mousing is a whole new world. But I can definitely see the argument for simplicity for the *average* user, of which I am not one. What’s your verdict - is Apple wise with the zen of the one-button mouse, or is it time to ship the double-clickers already?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Doogs said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
One or two buttons, the most egregious omission is the scroll wheel.
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nezromatron said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I personally use the Logitech Laser mouse, which has about 7 buttons. I can close a windows, quit an app, go back and forth in any folder/web page and for F9 expose without touching the keyboard.
After being used to this a 2 button would be useless to me. But I do think a 2-3 button with scroll wheel should be standard, at least to shut up the religious PCers and to encourage developers to create most contextual menus..
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Kris Johnson said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I paid through the nose for Apple's internal Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for my iMac G5. Then I had to pay even more to get a third-party wireless two-button scroll mouse to replace the useless Apple Bluetooth mouse.
If Apple shipped a cheap standard mouse, expecting customers to buy another, then that might make sense. Or if I had an option to not have a bundled mouse, that would be acceptable. But charging a premium for the bundled one-button mouse is abusing the customer.
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Todd said 4:57PM on 7-26-2005
I'm an average Mac user I've never really had any use for more than one button. If they went to a 2,3 or multi button mouse they'd be seen as following the windows world. If they were going to do it right they'd go to the next level and do away with the mouse, buttons, scroll wheels and touch pads. I have no idea what the next level is, but I'm sure the people at Apple are trying to figure it out and I'd bet the farm that Mr. Jobs is pushing them hard.
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Jeremy said 1:56PM on 7-25-2005
I'm far from an average user -- I'm an expert user, and a professional systems administrator and programmer. I use the one-button mouse. I greatly prefer it. I have no interest in having a bunch of buttons on my mouse; why would I want them? I've got over 100 buttons sitting right here on my keyboard; I have no interest in turning my mouse into a second keyboard.
Why the heck would I want to do a "right click" anyway? Why do I want applications to require me to click things in different ways? It is poor interface design that just gets in the way. Sure, people get used to it and then get fooled into thinking it is somehow necessary, but it's stupid. My mouse is a pointing device, not a keyboard. I point, I click. If I want something more complicated than that, I have a keyboard and that's what it's for.
I totally don't understand peoples' deep desire for right-clicking.
I used to use a mouse with a scroll wheel. I stopped wanting that, too, because it leads to RSI and my fingers were frigging killing me. And, no, without a scroll wheel, you really don't need to hunt around and click on arrows or drag scrollbars; there are, as it turns out, other ways to scroll a window that are actually MORE convenient than a scroll wheel.
Nope, count me as someone who was using multi-button mice for a long time, and "switched" to the much simpler, faster, easier, and more ergonomic single-button mice not long after "switching" to the Mac. The Apple mouse is the best I've ever used, and the most ergonomic to boot; having the whole mouse as the button is a huge help if you're prone to RSI.
I can't even describe how little I'm interested in those idiotic 750-button monstrosities the Windows people think they want. Why would I want to turn my mouse into a second keyboard? I have a perfectly good keyboard sitting right here, and my fingers already know where everything is on it.
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Mark H said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
The real problem with the single-button mouse is that laptop users are stuck with an inefficient input system.
I applaud Apple for their stance on keeping the interface useable with a single button; it really helps to emphasize ease of use, and it probably is the better choice for many users. People who want a multi-button mouse for their desktop can buy one separately. Unfortunately, those of us with laptops really have nothing we can do. I purchased a 12" Powerbook to use as my primary home and work machine primarily because of its portability. I don't want to have to carry an extra mouse when there is a mouse built right into the laptop, right there by the keyboard where it is quick and easy to reach.
Apple should equip their laptops with two buttons or at least allow a BTO option for two buttons, but still ship a single-button mouse (by default at least) with desktops. This would still force developers to consider useability, while allowing everyone who wants a multi-button mouse to have one.
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Andrew Burke said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
What's the harm in two thumb buttons for expos?a right button for command-click and a wheel? The die-hards can always ignore the buttons they don't want to use. The first thing I did was connect my old PC mouse. Trouble is, it looks so ugly next to my gleaming white Mac.
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Anthony said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I used to use a two-button scroll wheel mouse on my iBook when I switched. But now that I have re-acquainted myself to the Mac OS I have no need for it. the built-in touchpad and single button do just fine. I love driving everyone nuts when they watch me work on my iBook. They can't believe how fast I get things done. There is the occasion when I miss the scroll wheel when viewing long webpages. But I am even getting used to using the up and down arrows that do the same thing just fine. The single button in itself is a statement of simplicity. That my friends is what Apple is all about.
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Mark H said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
A bit more on mouse buttons for laptops, continued from comment #6, above.
What I really think Apple should do is shrink the primary mouse button to 3/4 of its current horizontal size, and put a second button in the vacated space. This layout would make it very obvious to users which button they should use for normal work, and would also make it easy to hit the main button without having to think about it. The second button would be there for those of us who want it without making the interface much more complex.
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Joe said 11:46AM on 8-15-2005
I like the right button, it allows for quick access to menu items that otherwise takes your focus away from the section of the document or image that you are working on. I could live without it, but why? It makes my life easier and isnt that what it is all about? But enough about the right mouse button, the scroll wheel is what is missing on the Mac mouse. I see a couple of posting that suggest they can live without the scroll wheel, but I simply would not give it up. I think most people that have used a scroll wheel would agree. If you havent used a mouse with a scroll wheel you just dont know what you are missing, give it a try. And for Apple, wake up. If you want users to switch give them the truly useful tools that help them do their work, great marketing will only get you so far.
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Josef Habr said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
hey have you been thinking about left hand users? there are some (e.g. my girlfriend). and since there's no preference in mac os x to flip the two buttons (or am i blind?) i would agree that one button is enough, even for -books, as shortcuts are within a reach (arrows & spacebar & shift spacebar for browsing).
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PXLated said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
One button for me. What I've found interesting though is I've "switched" several Windows users and in every case I've recommended they get a two-button mouse to make their transition easier and have gotten a quizzical look. These were common, oridinary, everyday users and not a one had ever used the right button and most didn't even know what it did. They've all stuck with the one-button Apple mouse.
To each their own but I think Apple knows more then the geeks give them credit for.
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David said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Ive been teaching people how to use their computers and software since 1984. When the Mac developed some traction I remember being amazed that some many people were so confused by the mouse. I quickly learned to define the terms: select, single click, double click, and point and to be very careful how I gave my instructions. For some the difference between those ideas came very quickly. For others the idea of single vs double clicking seemed to never...well click.
When Windows 3 arrived on the scene it took me only a few days of use to realize that I could totally ignore the right mouse button but eventually software developers began making use of it and I could no longer ignore it. Of course Apple introduced the idea of a right click (through control clicking) in OS 8.
The problem with the right button for casual computer users is that they see no clear deliniation between when the right button is used and when the left button is used. The roll of the scroller is obvious and it causes no trouble. But for the casual user who doesnt quite get the difference between single and double clicking the difference between right and left is even more obscure.
Apples choice of utilizing the control key is actually not creating an ersatz right button but a way of delineating the difference. People easily internalize the idea of the shift, command, and option buttons as a way of changing what a keypress does. By doing a control mouse click people understand they are modifying the mouse behavior. Click on a file to select it. Control click on a file modifies the selection into something else. Easy to understand.
Since I train on both platforms Ive seen firsthand that the idea of a control click is learned more quickly than a right click. Of course we are talking about casual users here. Im sure nearly all of us who are here are long past being casual users. Im equally sure some of us were once casual users.
Actually I think Apple has chosen the best solution. For entry users the single button is best. Those who dont care one way or the other will find the single button mouse fine and may replace it with a multi-button mouse when it dies or through a gift. For those of us who do care - we probably would wind up buying our own mouse anyway. I havent used a stock keyboard since Apple disconntinued the Apple Pro keyboard and I dont think Ive ever used a stock mouse.
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danb said 9:21AM on 6-24-2005
I agree with #5. The mouse shouldn't attempt to replicate the functionality of the keyboard. In fact quite the opposite. The brilliance of the one button mouse is that it gets a user more familair with the keyboard and the short cuts therein.
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Brian Ashe said 4:18PM on 6-24-2005
My vote is for "simple success." It might be the case that most readers here like mutli-function mice (I myself can not live without a right button and a middle-clicking scrollwheel) and yes, we all resent plunking down lotsa cash for a Mac and then practically *having* to buy another mouse right away (though the Mini solves that nicely), but anyone here who has ever spent time teaching non-computer-literate people the basics of computing know how hard mousing is to teach. Clicking and dragging is hard for lots of people. Double-clicking is hard for two reasons--hard to do fast enough, and hard to do without moving the mouse a bit between clicks. Right-clicking adds a whole additional painful dimension to this process--not only because there is still *more* to learn, but because they have about a 50% chance of using the wrong button at any given time. For beginners, a one-button mouse is a godsend. And think about it--as much as we all love bitching about it, how much business has Apple *really* lost by not shipping a two-button mouse?
And the poster above has an excellent point. Windows has had button-swapping for lefties* since WIndows 3. With all the accessibility features in OS X, why leave out that simple option that 10% of all users would probably appreciate?
* or for screwing with co-workers
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Calihafan said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Personally, having used both Macs and PCs (I prefer Macs), a two button mouse can be both a blessing and a curse. For example, my dad is left handed. He has a mouse on this Wintel laptop that is equally suited for both hands - but when he uses mine, it screws up. They only need to orient these in such a way (think of shoes - how they are turned in so you know which is which) because they need to make clear which is right and which is left. It is often confusing to switch hands, and that problem is solved with a streamlined, one button mouse.
I personally don't like how the whole mouse is a button - I would have perferred one big button at the top of the mouse. But you do get used to it. Anyone who prefers a two button mouse but doesn't want to sacrifice style (and come on, most Mac users I know are like that), should check out macmice (www.macmice.com).
Ultimately, it is a matter of preference. However, it is sometimes inconvenient to be leaning over your keyboard scrolling with an Apple mouse, and then have to Control-Click by leaning back to get to your keyboard. Especially if you are trying to Force Quit, or open up a menu. I find that two buttons can be very useful.
On a Windows machine, you need a two button mouse. This is because rightclicking on a file brings up a whole menu of options (properties, open, save, open with, etc.) The Mac OS is not as confusing as this, so on the Mac it is a personal preference.
In the case of the Mac, the OS doesn't dictate what mouse you use. But Apple should continue shipping their sleek, transparent, unbelievably good-looking mouse. I mean, who doesn't like how it looks?
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Rob Knight said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
2-buttons = increased functionality
Why is this an argument? Honestly, if it would be so insulting to have a 2-button mouse on a MAC, why don't they offer both. As a Final Cut Pro user, I couldn't live without my 2-button mouse. Apple can offer its pro users the 2-button and ship their systems with a one button.
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hostyle said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
"My mouse is a pointing device, not a keyboard. I point, I click. If I want something more complicated than that, I have a keyboard and that's what it's for."
Sounds like you dont need a mouse at all. Why do you use one then? Any decent keyboard can move the cursor around without one.
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Kurt Vander Bogart said 9:34PM on 8-26-2005
A two button mouse is simply faster. My current mouse is a Microsoft wireless. Very nice.
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Unearthed Ruminator said 7:43AM on 8-31-2005
I think Apple is right on for using the single button mouse - design/develop to be as simple as possible, and allow for a 3rd party to develop and profit from those people who desire multi-function mice (which keeps 3rd parties developing for the Mac, which is something that Apple needs).
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