Magic Mouse lands at many local Apple stores
I stopped by my local Apple Store (Tucson) today for a quick look around and saw many people playing with the new Magic Mouse. I tried a few 'moves' with in and it seemed a bit nicer and more responsive than I expected. My old Apple wired mouse was starting to wear out so I asked one of the Apple guys when they were coming in. He said "20 minutes ago," so I was snared.My first 'thrill' was opening the damned box. Like most Apple designed products, the plastic container is very pretty, but was a bit of a struggle to open. I needed a sharp knife, and then had to find the hidden tape that keeps the Magic Mouse attached to a little plastic base.
Since this is a Bluetooth mouse, I paired it to my Mac. It worked out of the box, but I knew there was a software update with new drivers, so I checked and downloaded the new software.
After a reboot, all was well. I have to say that the Magic Mouse has the fanciest control panel in system preferences I've ever seen. There is a little video illustrating how it works. I left the settings to the default, and started mousing away.
There were really no surprises. I have a 30 inch monitor, and can't get all the way across it with a single swipe because I have limited desk real estate. None of the settings would make it better.
The top surface is smooth and comfortable. The mouse does sit lower than a standard rodent, but I wasn't bothered by it. Clicking on the right side of the surface gives you the second mouse button with no pain or problem. You can switch the left and right 'buttons' if you are so inclined.
Scrolling was smooth, and you can adjust the momentum of the scroll. I especially like the 2 finger swipe for going backward and forward in web pages and iPhoto.
The only thing I think was missing is that I'd like the surface of the mouse to mimic the iPhone gesture of pinching and spreading for zoom in / zoom out. You have to use the control key to enable zooming, and I'd rather not have to go to the keyboard for that.
Otherwise, everything was good. I'll get used to the different feel. The mouse comes with batteries already installed so you're ready to go -- once you get the damned package open...
Some of my colleagues here at TUAW will be sharing their thoughts shortly. So far, even though this was a bit of an impulse purchase, the Magic Mouse seems fine.
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Source: http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/
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I stopped by my local Apple Store (Tucson) today for a quick look around and saw many people playing with the new Magic Mouse. I tried a...
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I have a dual monitor Mac Pro setup. When I sleep the computer and then wake it, the magic mouse becomes incredibly sluggish and the only way I can get it back to performing properly is to reboot my machine. I have the 1.0 mouse upgrade thing installed.
I also have the common and occasional external 30-inch screen weirdness where I get a snowy picture when coming out of sleep about once in 20 times and simply turning the monitor off and back on corrects the problem.
I'm suspecting returning-from-sleep issues in Snow Leopard, particularly if you have an external 30-inch monitor. My wife's iMac does not have these problems. We bought two magic mice and each works properly out of sleep on her iMac and both become horribly sluggish on my Mac Pro coming out of sleep.
Actually, you only have to lift your index finger if you want to engage the secondary click. Otherwise, it defaults to primary clicking, whether you've got one or two fingers on the mouse ( This applies to both the Mighty and Magic Mice).
November 02 2009 at 9:10 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyif you want your mouse icon to move more without moving the mouse a greater distance (if that makes sense?) I recommend a system pref called MOUSEZOOM at http://benh57.com/mousezoom.html. It works a treat with the trackpad on my Macbook Pro
November 01 2009 at 1:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI had an idea for Exposé, whereby you swipe two fingers on the mouse in opposite directions towards the outside of the mouse, dunno if it'd work, may be a bit finicky.
And for dashboard, three finger click?
I just got mine and I'm on the fence about it. I love the scrolling as you can touch anywhere on the surface and can scroll very fast or very precisely.
Setup was easy after I eventually got it to turn on - had to remove batteries and put them back in to get it to turn on, probably due to movement during shipping. The tracking speed was fairly low at first so I've had to move the tracking to the fastest setting.
The two-finger swipe maneuver is going to take some getting used to, but I'm getting better at it. I like how you can swipe anywhere on the surface. I think the surface you have the mouse on affects how easily the mouse moves when trying to swipe - the mouse moves too easily when trying to swipe on really smooth surfaces, but paper makes it much easier to swipe.
I do miss the middle-click, coming from a 6-button mouse. Hopefully hotkeys will work just as well for most things, but this won't be replacing my Logitech mouse for gaming.
I expect as the whole surface is touch sensitive, Apple would have the ability to release new drivers that implement some sort of middle click or fixes to the swiping detection if needed. I'd like to be able to program 4 zones on the mouse to give me two more "buttons."
Like with the trackpads, I believe there will be 3rd party applications that really will unleash the true power of this potential beast.
Apple's best attempt to a rodent so far..
I just set mine up and its absolutely amazing...no wonder they call it Magic...same principle's as the iPhone swipe, scroll etc...You'll never want to use a regular mouse after this, never eva...right now I feel like a lil kid on christmas day XD
October 30 2009 at 5:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyJust put mine to work. It works perfectly, is beautiful and is lighter. Much better than that ball that constantly needed cleaning. Worth the sacrifice of the squeeze function, which sometimes misfired anyway when I would try to hold down a click and then drag.
October 30 2009 at 2:08 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWell, that's a part of the touch sensitivity. I think it makes perfect sense in order to pick a finger up. If that's too much work for you...then continue to use your mighty mouse.
October 30 2009 at 1:00 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI've tried it in an Apple store last weekend and the right clic button line never works at all. You have to push to the edge right of the mouse, which is not ergenomic at all!
So I've tried other mice and they were all the same. What a deception :(
Control key + scroll = zoom for all mice, Apple or not. It's retarded that Apple keeps acting like this is a feature exclusive to the Magic Mouse.
October 30 2009 at 11:30 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
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