Kensington Mouse
Dan Knight - 1998.09.07
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $154 / 2GB kit $94, New 2008 iMac 2GB $46. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 / 1GB $23--Free shipping available.
Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Juice up your iPod w/NewerTech High Capacity Battery from $19.99 Free Installation Videos for most models. Pro Installation Service w/FedEx Shipping From $57.95 (Battery Included). - www.MacSales.com
Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.
MacBook/MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO DDR2 667Mhz 4GB Kit $80, 3GB Kit $60, 2GB Kit $40, 1GB $20 - Click to Maximize your Macs...
The greatest obstacle to third party mice is the quality of Apple's mouse. Although the early Lisa/Macintosh mouse was a rather chunky affair, it was good enough - and the Mac market small enough to attract little competition. And Apple's mouse came free with the computer.
In 1987 Apple introduced a new mouse with the new Macintosh II and SE. The new mouse and two new keyboards (a compact one with similar layout to the Mac Plus keyboard and an extended keyboard with 15 function keys) used the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) to connect to the computer. Until the iMac, which led the switch to USB, every Macintosh and PowerBook that took an external mouse or keyboard would use ADB.
Not only was the connection new, but the mouse was redesigned. Still rectangular, it was not nearly as thick as the old mouse. Some years later Apple redesigned the mouse again, giving it the familiar oval shape we see today.
One of the earlier alternatives was the Kensington Turbo Mouse, which (despite the name) was a trackball with a large, well weighted ball. Users soon discovered they could replace the ball with an 8-ball.
But trackballs have never been as popular as mice. And mice are also much more popular than touchpads (or mush-pads) - most PowerBook users I work with ask for a mouse as their first accessory.
A few years ago Kensington decided to tap into the mouse market, first with their Thinking Mouse, which had four buttons just like the Turbo Mouse. They have since added Mouse-In-A-Box, a one-button mouse, and later the Kensington Mouse, the two-button model. (My first Kensington mouse was a Mouse-In-A-Box, purchased to replace a wrecked Apple mouse.)
All three mice share the same basic design. They are thicker than Apple's mouse, with the ball positioned just front of center for better control. They have a very smooth rolling action. And the Kensington mouse fits my hand better than any other mouse I've worked with.
Except for the one-button model, all Kensington input devices ship with the MouseWorks control panel. This lets you define each button and combination of buttons separately.
By default, the left button acts just like the button on the Apple mouse. It clicks. And, unless you're left-handed, I can't see any reason to change that.
I know several people who use the second (right) mouse button for contextual menus under Mac OS 8. That's a feature I still haven't embraced, so my right button does a double-click. By moving my pointer finger just a fraction of an inch, I can choose either button.
It's remarkable how quickly using a two-button mouse becomes second nature. I use the Kensington Mouse at work, but have their Mouse-In-A-Box at home. I keep trying to click the right button at home, so that probably means I'll be investing $60 in a new mouse soon.
More than two buttons
As with the Turbo Mouse and my older Logitech Trackman three-button trackball, you can do more than program two keys on the Kensington Mouse.
First, you can control tracking. You can set the cursor to move more slowly when you move the mouse slowly, more quickly when you zip the mouse.
And MouseWorks lets you define chords, combinations of buttons. Of course, in the case of the Kensington Mouse, the only chord is pushing both buttons at once. I've been experimenting with that, but haven't yet found a particularly useful setting.
Before Mac OS 8, I would have picked click-drag, which treats the mouse button as depressed until you click it again. But OS 8 has sticky clicking, so I find myself using click-drag less often.
I haven't yet tried using it for contextual menus, but that might be a good way to learn about them. I'm used to command-clicking URLs in my email to visit pages in Netscape Communicator. This could simplify that by making it a mouse-only command.
Conclusion
I've worked with many different mice over the years, both Mac and DOS/Windows (I'm a Mac convert from 1990, when I got a Mac Plus and sold my Zenith clone). There have been some nice mice, particularly the Logitech 3-button one I had on my clone, but none have a better feel or smoother action than the Kensington Mouse or Mouse-In-A-Box. (I haven't tried their four button mouse, not can I fathom the need for four buttons, but performance should be identical to these models.)
And that second button on the Kensington Mouse makes it a real
winner. It's worth investing in even if your Mac mouse is working
perfectly. 
Manufacturers and distributors: Interested in having your product reviewed? Please read our review policy.
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Looking for a Content Management System That's as Easy as Mac, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 08.29. Low End Mac needs to move to a content management system, but the few we've tried just don't cut it for people used to the simple elegance of the Mac.
- First 3 Million Mac Quarter, Skinny on Mac mini Pricing, Mac-like gOS, and More, Mac News Review, 08.29. More plan to buy Apple products than ever before, complete reset can fix MobileMac synch problems, Apple boosting computer and smartphone share, and more.
- New 'Books Likely in September, 17" PowerBook Display Fault Site, SSD Security, and More, The 'Book Review, 08.29. Also 6 ways to speed up your MacBook, next generation MacBook Air CPU, MacBook Air Update, LapStrap carrying solution, rise and fall of ultraportables, bargains from $220 to $2,699, and more.
- iPhone 3G Reception 'Completely Normal', AT&T International Data Plans for iPhone, and More, iNews Review, 08.29. Also longer life for iPod earbuds, an alternative to MobileMe, new cases and apps for iPhone, AppStoreGems website launched, and more.
- 10 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 08.28. A look at Internet Explorer, Radon, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, Flock, and Camino running in Leopard.
- Clone and Boot: Another Advantage of the Mac OS, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 08.28. Unlike Windows, Apple makes it possible to clone a bootable drive (Classic Mac OS or OS X) and use it with another supported Mac.
Latest Deals on Low End Mac
- Best Power Mac G4 Deals, 08.29. Used 450 MHz AGP, $75; 500, $99; 800 QS, $199; 1.25 GHz MDD, $375; 450 MHz dual, $179; 867 dual, $300; 1 GHz dual, $395; 1.42 dual, $575.
- Best iBook G3 Deals, 08.29. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 500 CD, $150; 800, $200; 600 CD-RW, $240; 900 Combo, $300; 14" 600, $360; 900, $400.
- Best iPod nano Deals, 08.29. Used 2 GB iPod nano, $89; refurb 3G 4 GB, $99; new, $140; refurb 8 GB, $149; new, $179.
- Best MacBook Deals, 08.28. Used 1.83 GHz, $799; 2.0 black, $875; refurb 2.1 GHz, $899; 2.4, $1,099; black, $1,299; new 2.1, $1,019 after rebate; 22, $1,094; 2.4, $1,219 a/r; black, $1,394 a/r.
- Best iMac G5 Deals, 08.28. Used 17" 1.6 GHz Combo, $499; 1.8 SuperDrive, $530; 2.0, $600; 1.9 iSight, $625; 20" 1.8 GHz, $580; 2.0, $650; 2.1 iSight, $700.
- Best classic Mac OS Deals, 08.28. System 6, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5.1, $4; Mac OS 7.6, $13; 8.0, $13; 8.1, $48; 8.5, $25; 8.6, $20; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $20; more.
- More links in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Have a question?
Ask an expert!
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
