Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Peripherals, Bad Apple
Why Apple's Mighty Mouse is like the Apple III
If you're old enough to remember the fiasco that was the Apple III, you may know what I'm talking about. The Apple III was supposed to be Apple's business computer. It flopped, in part because Steve Jobs demanded no fans were to be used in cooling the beast. The result? The machine would overheat, loosen the solder used to hold chips in place, and the machines became legendary for their craptacular performance. The fix by Apple was to hold the machine a few inches off the table, and let it go, making gravity jam those chips back into place. Nice huh?Well Apple's done it again with the so-called "Mighty" mouse. Their 3 or 4-button wonder is great, as long as you don't get hooked on using the little scrollball. Never mind the fact that you can't move in X and Y directions at the same time (as you can using 2-finger trackpad scrolling)-- the trackball is a piece of junk. I mean, the build quality is nice (just like those Apple III's had heavy-duty aluminum chassis), but after about a month of frequent use, the thing gets jammed with gunk, making it largely unusable. And yes, I wash my hands regularly...
Apple's fix? Here's the parallel to Apple III: the fix sucks. You can't remove the ball, so you really never can get inside the mouse to properly clean it out. Apple's own KB on cleaning the Mighty mouse says, "hold the mouse upside-down and roll the ball vigorously while cleaning it to help dislodge any particles that may have collected on the internal hardware." You know, I'm getting tired of doing this every week, just to use a mouse. Apple's innovation is legendary, but sadly, they have lately been innovating new annoyances. From 3rd-gen iPod batteries, to breaking iTunes 7 to locking up the Finder, Apple's having a run of small but glaring mistakes in their otherwise newly-untarnished reputation. Or maybe I expect too much in the age of commoditized computing?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Richard said 12:02PM on 10-16-2006
Nice fix!
I heard lots of people are complaining about the Mighty Mouse but I've had mine since christmas, used almost everyday and it is'nt gunked up!
Diagnonal scrolling would be nice though.
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Scott said 12:08PM on 10-16-2006
If all else fails go by a new one and return the old one.
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John Hopper said 11:44AM on 10-16-2006
Hmm I've never had any trouble scrolling in both x and y directions at the same time... it was one of the first things that I noticed about it.
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artist-illustrator said 11:45AM on 10-16-2006
Homie don't right click.
;n)
Pro mouse 4 life!!!
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Bart Tilburgs said 11:46AM on 10-16-2006
Maybe we are spoiled? Nobody is perfect!
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Peter Lozzi said 11:46AM on 10-16-2006
You can scroll in the X and Y directions at the same time, and you can speed up the scrolling too. It makes a world of difference, and actually made me a beleiver in the little scroll ball. Go to your System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse and check the 360 degree scrolling box, then speed up the scrolling, and you will probably like it a heck of a lot more. I am surprised to see a FUD article like this from you. Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Mighty Mouse (especially the wireless one) has been an excellent seller for Apple, and customers are loving them.
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ajprice said 11:57AM on 10-16-2006
Junk the Mighty Mouse and get a Logitech MX, I have an MX1000 and its great.
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Peter Lozzi said 11:47AM on 10-16-2006
Oh, and Homie *does* right click. Not just right, but right, left, center and side-clicks. Did you *really* think the Mighty Mouse didn't have right-click?
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Tim said 1:53PM on 10-16-2006
The problem with the mighty mouse is that they wanted to make it look like there traditional one button mouse. That isn't the best design idea.
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Thomas said 11:49AM on 10-16-2006
I love my Mighty Mouse, and I found that support article a few monthes ago; it worked fine. I've had my Mighty Mouse for seven months now, and I have cleaned it twice without any drama or trauma.
I would like to suggest that you might not wash your hands... ENOUGH! ;-)
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neale said 11:51AM on 10-16-2006
awesome mouse, very poor design. all they have to do is let us be able to open it some how and clean the ball.
i attacked mine with white spirit and once again, it scrolls down!
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Jon said 11:54AM on 10-16-2006
I didn't have:
- the MacBook Pro whine (or any other problem with my Macbook)
- any problems with iTunes 7
- any problems with a Mighty Mouse (and I have three)
- any problem with my 3rd Gen iPod battery
We will always here a lot more from unhappy customers than from happy customers, and that's the way it should be. In the meantime, you want to know me. I am blessed.
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Adam said 11:51AM on 10-16-2006
I can't say that I agree that the Mighty Mouse is a flop, but I'll admit that it's a bit annoying. I've actually had to have my original Mighty Mouse (fresh off the first shipment to our store) replaced under warranty for failing to scroll. The replacement is considerably better, but does still get gunked up occasionally. It's an annoying side effect, but it's better than it used to be. I'm pretty confident that Apple has been revising these things to make them suck less.
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Brian said 11:51AM on 10-16-2006
Here's the problem with anecdotal evidence: they're easily ignored based on personal experience. In addition to my "amen" to the above comments on multi-axis scrolling, I haven't ever had to clean the scroll ball on my two Mighty Mice (one wired on my Mac mini, one wireless on my MBP). I've had the wired Mighty Mouse since they came out. It scrolls just fine, not gunk-y at all.
Just sayin'... dude, maybe it's you, not the mouse.
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Brenden said 11:54AM on 10-16-2006
Just got mine replaced yesterday! The scrollball just stopped responding completely, even after cleaning at home and by an Apple employee.
Yesterday marks my 4th Mighty Mouse in less than a year.
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GH Mason said 12:03PM on 10-16-2006
I've had my MM since they first shipped. Never had any scrolling issues and it. I think it depends on the user. Not neccessarily "dirty", but some people have naturally oilier skin than others and perhaps the ball collects dust more easily for those folks. Just a thought.
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WillGonz said 12:00PM on 10-16-2006
Make sure to actually use the install CD TUAW. Otherwise you prob. won't see 360 scrolling. I do agree about the dirty mouse ball.
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Niklas said 12:02PM on 10-16-2006
This article is an all time low for TUAW. :-(
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Todd said 12:11PM on 10-16-2006
I lost the ability to scroll down with my might mouse this weekend, but the cleaning instructions from Apple actually brought it back nicely. I was surprised, but it worked.
That said, being a victim of the macbook random shutdown syndrome, I need to add that to the list of crap quality control that has plagued Apple for the last 8 months or so.
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odiabo said 12:09PM on 10-16-2006
i bought my mighty mouse the day it was released and had problems a few months in. After "cleaning" it weekly, the scrollball seemed to permanently bite the dust on mine about 3 months ago.
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