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Magic Mouse unboxing video: Man vs. Tape



Let me disclose straight away that I've opened packaging on just about every major Apple product released over the past five years and never exerted such effort in opening a little plastic container -- which by the way resembles something you would find sitting on a shelf at Pottery Barn. But seriously, Apple, what is with the tape?

As I stated in the video, certain multi-touch gestures require a great deal of repetitive use in order to acclimate to the Magic Mouse. I am pleased to say, however, now that I'm on on Day 2, the problems I initially experienced with touch-scrolling have largely been alleviated simply by adjusting scroll speed settings in System Preferences>Mouse, which is set at 25% by default. Cranking this up to 50% and beyond made page scrolling must smoother and easier, though upward scrolling is still proving to be a hemorrhoid-inducing experience.

One thing I would like to clarify: in the video I mentioned having rebooted my Mac in order to pair with the Magic Mouse via Bluetooth. This is NOT required. Simply launching the Bluetooth Setup Assistant will begin partnering the mouse with your Mac. I chose the former option because a) I prefer a fresh start when introducing new hardware, and b) I roll that way.

I'm still experiencing lots of unpleasantness with two-finger page swiping though. Apple really needs to allow the user to adjust swipe speed settings by including a slider for that gesture in the Mouse preferences. Perhaps that will come in a future update.

Stay tuned for more hands-on with the Magic Mouse in the coming days.

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Hardware Video

Let me disclose straight away that I've opened packaging on just about every major Apple product released over the past five years and...
 

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Darleen

have you any further reviews to report? I currently have the Mighty Mouse which I like, I take it apart routinely to clean however.

November 06 2009 at 11:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Darleen

activating account

November 06 2009 at 11:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Darleen

Well the new ipod shuffle was even worse - really ..

November 06 2009 at 11:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
21TWELVE CEO

I have found that if you don't HOLD the mouse when gesturing, but rather treat it like a very sensitive (in a good way) track pad, all is well.

Give it a shot.

Jim

November 05 2009 at 11:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sikosis

Interesting ... the two issues you make in the video being bad were non-issues for me. Scrolling forward did NOT move the mouse forward, so don't know what you're doing and I was easily able to left/right scroll through coverflow Safari history with no problems at all. Had no problem slowing down my scroll to find the correct page.

November 04 2009 at 6:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
prw2732

First, I loved the video. I just moved and the sight of someone else having trouble with "boxes" was cathartic. Second, Kent's problem with upward scrolling is due to the surface the Magic Mouse was placed on. The teflon rails on its bottom are too slick: a mouse pad with a cloth-like texture works much better. The texture is enough to hold the mouse steady while you scroll up or down, without holding the mouse itself. Works just like a trackpad then, except you don't have to use two fingers to scroll (which I have to unlearn). Kent is trying to scroll while HOLDING the mouse, which leads to his discomfort.

November 03 2009 at 10:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Slartibartfast

Tried this thing at the Apple Store today. It beats the Mighty Mouse... in the pain department, by 2 seconds.

I'll stick with my Logitech MX Revo. Good size, fits in the hand, not awkward to use, and no pain.

November 02 2009 at 10:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
gib

"Very unusual packaging. It's not something we've seen from Apple previously."

Clamshell with a clear front and sides? Plain white background? Small information sheet with the device name on the cover hidden behind the device? They have been using a similar package on the iPod nano for the past two generations (14 months), the iPod touch for the past two generations (14 months) the iPod shuffle for the current generation (9 months). They are rectangular, in order to hold rectangular objects. This is shaped like an oval, because the mouse is shaped like an oval... Same difference.

November 02 2009 at 5:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brian

LMAO!! Hey, did u notice the grey sticker that says "peel here" to open it right away? If you've truly opened EVERY apple product known to man, then you've never opened an iPod Shuffle package before...??? Wow... people need to read things.

November 02 2009 at 5:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mark

this guy opened it with one hand in under 90 seconds!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjEd3svM7dY

November 02 2009 at 3:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Mark's comment
Kent Pribbernow

But can he handle a pair of scissors the way I can?

November 02 2009 at 3:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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