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Miscellaneous Ramblings
Is 'The Mouse' from DVForge the Multi-button Mouse Apple Should Have Built?
Charles Moore - 2005.01.31 - Tip Jar
DVForge calls The Mouse, their optical USB pointing device, "The Mouse Apple Should Have Built."
Apple's second USB mouse, the "buttonless" optical unit, is a major improvement over their original "hockey puck" USB mouse. It looks great, is ergonomically better, and its optical technology is superior. But its action is still too stiff, and it only has one button - and no scroll wheel.
I quit using the Apple USB optical mouse that came with my G4 Cube after few days and switched to a third-party mouse with a lighter action and multiple buttons.
There is indeed room for "a better mouse."
The Mouse from MacMice Workplace Products Co. of Hendersonville, TN, is one interpretation of what a better mouse should be. I've been using a The Mouse for the past several months as my main pointing device, I liked it from the get-go, and I like it better the longer I use it.
Appearance-wise, it pays more than a little
homage to Apple's USB optical mouse, but in my estimation it's a
nicer mouse to use. Like the Apple unit, The Mouse is a nearly
symmetrical rectangular ovoid in shape and of about average size
for computer mice, and the entire clear mouse housing cover (an
aluminum-colored model is also available) serves as the button - or
more accurately in this case two of the three buttons. The front
half of the case is split and serves as left and right buttons.
This configuration does not provide the same sort of satisfyingly precise tactile feedback that a regular mouse button mounted on a mechanical switch mechanism does, but it's not bad at all once you get used to it. The mouse also incorporates a scroll wheel with a delightfully light and silky-smooth action and also a third button click function.
The left/right button click action is slightly lighter than with the Apple mouse, but still stiffer than I prefer. I find the scroll wheel button click uncomfortably stiff, but I hardly ever use it.
The Mouse itself is nicely balanced and
weighted. It glides smoothly and almost effortlessly on my
mousepad. It has 800 dpi tracking resolution, with a fast,
responsive optical tracking mechanism for accurate pixel-level
editing.
When you move the mouse, the red optical sensor lights up causing the entire skirt of the housing to glow - a very cool effect.
If you are using Mac OS X 10.1 or higher, no driver installation is necessary for basic support of mouse clicking and the scroll wheel. If you're still using Mac OS 8.5.1 through 9.2.2 - or you want more mouse functionality than the built-in OS X drivers provide - proprietary drivers are downloadable at the MacMice support page. MacMice's MouseCommand drivers are full featured to satisfy demanding multi-button mouse users, with assignable scroll button, left-handed operation, adjustable clicking and motion, built-in adjustable cursor acceleration, reversible horizontal scrolling.
MouseCommand v9 driver works with Mac OS 8.5.1 through 9.2.2, and the v10 version works with Mac OS 10.1 through 10.2.8. MouseCommand v11 has been specifically tweaked for Panther.
Aside from the button stiffness, my
only real complaint about The Mouse pertains to its cord, which as
with Apple mice is a tad on the short side at 31.5" (I'm a fan of
six foot mouse cables). It is also very small diameter wire that
MacMice says is purposely the most soft, supple materials they
could find, which makes it nice to handle, but I'm wondering about
long-term durability, especially with rough treatment.
Other than that, the quality of materials and standard of finish are first-rate.
The Mouse is available in both clear-over-white and an "aluminum" version to harmonize with aluminum PowerBooks and the G5 towers. The USB cable is silver-gray as well. The Mouse dimensions are 2.2" wide, 4.4" long, 1.2" high.
The Mouse sells for $39.99.
Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- Google Chrome Mac Preview Has Made a Convert, 11.02. Officially a developer preview, Google's Chrome has finally made it to Intel-based Macs. It's fast, elegant, and could be your next browser.
- Fixing a Narcoleptic PowerBook G4, the Future of Tiger Support, Spam Filtering, and More, 10.28. Also installing Leopard, disappearing features, portable Thunderbird, and web page design issues.
- 2 Wireless Alternatives to Apple's Magic Mouse, 10.27. Whether you prefer buttons to buttonless, are still using Mac OS X 10.4, or don't like Bluetooth, Targus has mice to consider.
- More in the Miscellaneous Ramblings index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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