Not a bad product, though I wonder about its ergonomics. Also, it isn't clear to me whether that is really a tiny ball in there that you roll around, or whether it is more like the pressure-sensitive 'sticks' embedded in some laptops. The advertisement makes me feel like it is a little ball, but they don't really make it clear; and I think they should since the stick device has been around a long time and performs a similar interface.
What turns me off is that the linked page is another fine example of the way the typical Apple marketing blurbs make this sound like a very unique and breakthrough idea. I think they have lawyers writing their marketing content; some of the claims are technically true, but practically meaningless. For example: "Unlike any other mouse on the market, Mighty Mouse was designed specifically to work with Mac OS X Tiger." This is a silly claim that means nothing; the OS will work with any mouse that is compatible with it, and most multi-button mice come with config software to allow you to program the buttons to do what you want. Practially, that's not a new feature at all, though I suppose technically other mice have software designed for various versions of the Mac OS AND other operating systems at the same time (not just "specifically to work with Mac OS X Tiger")... Almost makes the lack of cross-platform compatibility (even across versions of Mac OS?) seem like a benefit. I wonder if they have any drivers to support the button programming on Linux (even on Mac hardware).
3 comments:
Well, I have to admit that it's been a while since the PC or Microsoft came out with anything this innovative. I'm impressed.
Oh and, why has Hell frozen over?
Not a bad product, though I wonder about its ergonomics. Also, it isn't clear to me whether that is really a tiny ball in there that you roll around, or whether it is more like the pressure-sensitive 'sticks' embedded in some laptops. The advertisement makes me feel like it is a little ball, but they don't really make it clear; and I think they should since the stick device has been around a long time and performs a similar interface.
What turns me off is that the linked page is another fine example of the way the typical Apple marketing blurbs make this sound like a very unique and breakthrough idea. I think they have lawyers writing their marketing content; some of the claims are technically true, but practically meaningless. For example:
"Unlike any other mouse on the market, Mighty Mouse was designed specifically to work with Mac OS X Tiger." This is a silly claim that means nothing; the OS will work with any mouse that is compatible with it, and most multi-button mice come with config software to allow you to program the buttons to do what you want. Practially, that's not a new feature at all, though I suppose technically other mice have software designed for various versions of the Mac OS AND other operating systems at the same time (not just "specifically to work with Mac OS X Tiger")... Almost makes the lack of cross-platform compatibility (even across versions of Mac OS?) seem like a benefit. I wonder if they have any drivers to support the button programming on Linux (even on Mac hardware).
Okay, I'm leaving the soap box now...
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