No More Mighty Mouse Cleaning
Fred Moore
Jolly Roger
Fred Moore <fmo...@gcfn.org> wrote:
I would probably have one right now if the local Apple Store had them in
stock! I'm eager to try one out!
--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.
JR
Michael Siemon
Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> In article <fmoore-2782EB....@feeder.eternal-september.org>,
> Fred Moore <fmo...@gcfn.org> wrote:
>
> > The new Magic Mouse
> > <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/>
> >
> > (Be sure to watch the video. Way cool!)
>
> I would probably have one right now if the local Apple Store had them in
> stock! I'm eager to try one out!
It looks like it has the same stupid bottom plate that always pops
open and loses the batteries if you drop it. Thereby requiring a
reaquistion of the bluetooth connection. I _hate_ these things. I
would probably like a wired one, but of course that isn't on offer.
Jolly Roger
<mlsiemon-1D530C...@c-61-68-245-199.per.connect.net.au>,
Michael Siemon <mlsi...@sonic.net> wrote:
You drop your mouse that often? I haven't ever dropped mine!
Tom Stiller
Tim Lance <no...@nada.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:42:11 -0500, Fred Moore wrote
> (in article <fmoore-2782EB....@feeder.eternal-september.org>):
>
> > The new Magic Mouse
> > <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/>
> >
> > (Be sure to watch the video. Way cool!)
>
> Disappointed. No middle button action. I use for app switching.
Yeah, I use it for Spaces selection.
--
Tom Stiller
PGP fingerprint = 5108 DDB2 9761 EDE5 E7E3 7BDA 71ED 6496 99C0 C7CF
Michael Siemon
Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> In article
> <mlsiemon-1D530C...@c-61-68-245-199.per.connect.net.au>,
> Michael Siemon <mlsi...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> > In article <jollyroger-EA027...@news.individual.net>,
> > Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> > > In article <fmoore-2782EB....@feeder.eternal-september.org>,
> > > Fred Moore <fmo...@gcfn.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > > The new Magic Mouse
> > > > <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/>
> > > >
> > > > (Be sure to watch the video. Way cool!)
> > >
> > > I would probably have one right now if the local Apple Store had them in
> > > stock! I'm eager to try one out!
> >
> > It looks like it has the same stupid bottom plate that always pops
> > open and loses the batteries if you drop it. Thereby requiring a
> > reaquistion of the bluetooth connection. I _hate_ these things. I
> > would probably like a wired one, but of course that isn't on offer.
>
> You drop your mouse that often? I haven't ever dropped mine!
Hey, I'm a fumble-fingered mathematician. Of _course_ I drop it. And
every other battery-operated mouse I've ever had has been immune to
problems with this. But anything but a light bump on the MM, and out
pop the f*ing batteries.
Jolly Roger
<mlsiemon-A3D279...@c-61-68-245-199.per.connect.net.au>,
Michael Siemon <mlsi...@sonic.net> wrote:
If you say so. Of course you haven't actually tried dropping a Magic
Mouse, so you'll excuse me if I don't believe your assertion that the
same thing happens with it. ; )
Michael Siemon
Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
I will have to actually play with one a bit to tell, obviously -- but
it has the same general configuration. The plate holding in the batteries
is very large and held by a tiny latch at one end. Yes, it is possible
that Apple has somehow fixed the problem (though the appearance is, with
minor stylistic differences, much the same); I sure hope so. But this has
been one of the cases where I think there was a failure in Apple's
usually excellent industrial design. The first bluetooth MM I had, I
figured I'd got one barely in spec (or even out of it), but it has been
consistently true over 3 or 4 instances.
Howard Brazee
<mlsi...@sonic.net> wrote:
>It looks like it has the same stupid bottom plate that always pops
>open and loses the batteries if you drop it. Thereby requiring a
>reaquistion of the bluetooth connection. I _hate_ these things. I
>would probably like a wired one, but of course that isn't on offer.
I'd pay a premium for wired.
--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."
- James Madison
Barry Margolin
Tom Stiller <tom_s...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> In article <7k6hhcF...@mid.individual.net>,
> Tim Lance <no...@nada.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:42:11 -0500, Fred Moore wrote
> > (in article <fmoore-2782EB....@feeder.eternal-september.org>):
> >
> > > The new Magic Mouse
> > > <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/>
> > >
> > > (Be sure to watch the video. Way cool!)
> >
> > Disappointed. No middle button action. I use for app switching.
>
> Yeah, I use it for Spaces selection.
I use it for Dashboard.
But aren't gestures on the new mouse supposed to be customizable? It
seems like you should be able to program a gesture to do what the middle
button does.
--
Barry Margolin, bar...@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***
Harald Hanche-Olsen
> I'd pay a premium for wired.
Which only goes to show that people are different. Presumably you keep a
tidy desk, free of the kind of clutter that mine is full of and which
tends to get in the way of the mouse cord? Actually it's a struggle even
to keep an open area big enough for mousing on, which is one of several
reasons I generally prefer trackballs. I know, in this I'm the odd one.
--
* Harald Hanche-Olsen <URL:http://www.math.ntnu.no/~hanche/>
- It is undesirable to believe a proposition
when there is no ground whatsoever for supposing it is true.
-- Bertrand Russell
Howard Brazee
<han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
>> I'd pay a premium for wired.
>
>Which only goes to show that people are different. Presumably you keep a
>tidy desk, free of the kind of clutter that mine is full of and which
>tends to get in the way of the mouse cord? Actually it's a struggle even
>to keep an open area big enough for mousing on, which is one of several
>reasons I generally prefer trackballs. I know, in this I'm the odd one.
Actually, I keep my keyboard and mouse underneath my desk, on a shelf
designed for them. (Or desks, as my desk, my work desk, and my
wife's desk have this design). My desk is still cluttered, but my
mouse is always the same place.
I might have done things differently if the keyboard was powered
enough to plug my iPod into. But it wasn't, so I bought a powered
USB Hub that with an iPod doc instead.
Jolly Roger
Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
> + Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net>:
>
> > I'd pay a premium for wired.
>
> Which only goes to show that people are different. Presumably you keep a
> tidy desk, free of the kind of clutter that mine is full of and which
> tends to get in the way of the mouse cord? Actually it's a struggle even
> to keep an open area big enough for mousing on, which is one of several
> reasons I generally prefer trackballs. I know, in this I'm the odd one.
I would pay it more because I find the lag of Bluetooth mousing to be
irritating.
Fred Moore
Tim Lance <no...@nada.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:58:30 -0500, Barry Margolin wrote
> (in article <barmar-6BB913....@news.eternal-september.org>):
> > In article <tom_stiller-BBF1...@news.individual.net>,
> > Tom Stiller <tom_s...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> In article <7k6hhcF...@mid.individual.net>,
> >> Tim Lance <no...@nada.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:42:11 -0500, Fred Moore wrote
> >>> (in article <fmoore-2782EB....@feeder.eternal-september.org>):
> >>>
> >>>> The new Magic Mouse
> >>>> <http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/>
> >>>>
> >>>> (Be sure to watch the video. Way cool!)
> >>>
> >>> Disappointed. No middle button action. I use for app switching.
> >>
> >> Yeah, I use it for Spaces selection.
> >
> > I use it for Dashboard.
> >
> > But aren't gestures on the new mouse supposed to be customizable? It
> > seems like you should be able to program a gesture to do what the middle
> > button does.
>
> only what to do with the 2- finger action. It should as set for scrolling but
> might be able to do something else. But, I didn't see anything more than
> those three things. I only watched it once.
Hmm. Looking at the Prefs Pane at the bottom of the Magic Mouse web page
it appears the device has only 2 clickable buttons. That's not good.
While the gestures are great, 4 buttons are really essential to me. Oh
well, perhaps in rev 1.
Fred Moore
>
> > I'd pay a premium for wired.
>
> Which only goes to show that people are different. Presumably you keep a
> tidy desk, free of the kind of clutter that mine is full of and which
> tends to get in the way of the mouse cord? Actually it's a struggle even
> to keep an open area big enough for mousing on, which is one of several
> reasons I generally prefer trackballs. I know, in this I'm the odd one.
I have to agree with Howard. I hate buying batteries and pumping them
into landfills (or recycling them if appropriate). Unfortunately
rechargeables don't often work well in these devices. They have to be
recharged MUCH more frequently than replacing a standard alkalines, and
sometimes, because of their lower voltage, they just won't function.
John Smith
> I have to agree with Howard. I hate buying batteries and pumping them
> into landfills (or recycling them if appropriate). Unfortunately
> rechargeables don't often work well in these devices. They have to be
> recharged MUCH more frequently than replacing a standard alkalines, and
> sometimes, because of their lower voltage, they just won't function.
I have a venerable MacAlly Bluetooth mouse (which was one of the first
available Bluetooth mice for the Mac if not the first) and couldn't be
happier. The mouse works perfectly well with 2 AA recharchables which
must be recharched about once a week.
Harald Hanche-Olsen
> [...] because I find the lag of Bluetooth mousing to be irritating.
I don't see this lag that people are complaining abot. Only if it's been
long enough without use that the mouse went to sleep do I see a lag.
Otherwise, mine is as responsive as any wired mouse. Maybe Apple mice
are different? Mine is a Kensington.
Harald Hanche-Olsen
> I have a venerable MacAlly Bluetooth mouse (which was one of the first
> available Bluetooth mice for the Mac if not the first) and couldn't be
> happier. The mouse works perfectly well with 2 AA recharchables which
> must be recharched about once a week.
Ditto for my Kensington one. Except it uses AAA batteries, which is nice
from a weight perspective. A rodent with two AA batteries in it feels
heavy; two AAA ones, much less so.
Jolly Roger
Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
> + Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com>:
>
> > [...] because I find the lag of Bluetooth mousing to be irritating.
>
> I don't see this lag that people are complaining abot. Only if it's been
> long enough without use that the mouse went to sleep do I see a lag.
> Otherwise, mine is as responsive as any wired mouse. Maybe Apple mice
> are different? Mine is a Kensington.
I notice this problem with Logitech mouse as well, so it's not
Apple-specific. Did you try the test I outlined? If you compare a
wired mouse with a wireless mouse, side by side, I am sure you will see
the difference.
Harald Hanche-Olsen
> In article <pcopr8g...@math.ntnu.no>,
> Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
>
>> I don't see this lag that people are complaining abot. Only if it's been
>> long enough without use that the mouse went to sleep do I see a lag.
>> Otherwise, mine is as responsive as any wired mouse. Maybe Apple mice
>> are different? Mine is a Kensington.
>
> I notice this problem with Logitech mouse as well, so it's not
> Apple-specific. Did you try the test I outlined?
No. The article in which you outline a test seems not to have made it to
the usenet server I am using. Odd.
> If you compare a wired mouse with a wireless mouse, side by side, I
> am sure you will see the difference.
Ah. I won't have access to a wired mouse between now and next summer, so
I can't run a comparison test anyhow. But I have been using computer
mice, both wired and not, for a couple of decades so I think I would
notice if one of them became laggy. I am quite easily irritated by even
small delays in any user interface. Probably not good for my disposition.
Fred Moore
Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
> + John Smith <john....@for.example>:
>
> > I have a venerable MacAlly Bluetooth mouse (which was one of the first
> > available Bluetooth mice for the Mac if not the first) and couldn't be
> > happier. The mouse works perfectly well with 2 AA recharchables which
> > must be recharched about once a week.
>
> Ditto for my Kensington one. Except it uses AAA batteries, which is nice
> from a weight perspective. A rodent with two AA batteries in it feels
> heavy; two AAA ones, much less so.
Thanks for the data, John and Harald. Power management software must
have improved in these kind of devices since I tested them last.
Jolly Roger
Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
> + Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com>:
>
> > In article <pcopr8g...@math.ntnu.no>,
> > Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
> >
> >> I don't see this lag that people are complaining abot. Only if it's been
> >> long enough without use that the mouse went to sleep do I see a lag.
> >> Otherwise, mine is as responsive as any wired mouse. Maybe Apple mice
> >> are different? Mine is a Kensington.
> >
> > I notice this problem with Logitech mouse as well, so it's not
> > Apple-specific. Did you try the test I outlined?
>
> No. The article in which you outline a test seems not to have made it to
> the usenet server I am using. Odd.
>
> > If you compare a wired mouse with a wireless mouse, side by side, I
> > am sure you will see the difference.
>
> Ah. I won't have access to a wired mouse between now and next summer, so
> I can't run a comparison test anyhow. But I have been using computer
> mice, both wired and not, for a couple of decades so I think I would
> notice if one of them became laggy. I am quite easily irritated by even
> small delays in any user interface. Probably not good for my disposition.
Here's what I said:
I think "lag" was a bad word for me to use. It's hard to describe; but
I'll try. It's not that the mouse takes too long to respond. It seems to
respond quickly enough. The problem to which I refer is seemingly one of
accuracy.
Here's a way to see the problem. Position a window on the screen. And
then focus on the first letter of the title of the window. Now pick a
place on the desktop that is around an inch or so away from the first
letter of the title of the window. Then try positioning the mouse cursor
from one point to the other quickly. With a wired mouse, I find I can
accurately hit each point. With a Bluetooth mouse, I often overshoot or
undershoot, and end up circling around to adjust.
Adjusting the Tracking Speed setting in System Preferences > Mouse
doesn't seem to help much. Even as lower settings, it's still harder to
hit the target than it is with a wired mouse.
I'm not sure why this is, but I believe it has something to do with the
response time of Bluetooth.
James Sidbury
Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> I'm not sure why this is, but I believe it has something to do with the
> response time of Bluetooth.
I agree with this. I had a MS bluetooth mouse that felt sluggish, much
more than my bluetooth mighty mouse. But the current mouses that I'm
using do not seem to exhibit this behavior much at all if any. These
are not bluetooth but rather RF. And they are laser.
dick
Tom Stiller
James Sidbury <DrJames...@hotmail.com> wrote:
And you think bluetooth is not RF?
Harald Hanche-Olsen
> In article <DrJamesSidbury-2F5...@news.individual.net>,
> James Sidbury <DrJames...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> [...] But the current mouses that I'm using do not seem to exhibit
>> this behavior much at all if any. These are not bluetooth but rather
>> RF. And they are laser.
>
> And you think bluetooth is not RF?
More to the point, the non-BT wireless mice, which typically communicate
via a dongle on a USB port, don't need to deal with any overhead
associated with the bluetooth protocol. I am not convinced that there is
noticable such overhead, but I wouldn't rule it out either.
Dick Sidbury
Tom Stiller <tom_s...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> In article <DrJamesSidbury-2F5...@news.individual.net>,
> James Sidbury <DrJames...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > In article <jollyroger-64D17...@news.individual.net>,
> > Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I'm not sure why this is, but I believe it has something to do with the
> > > response time of Bluetooth.
> >
> > I agree with this. I had a MS bluetooth mouse that felt sluggish, much
> > more than my bluetooth mighty mouse. But the current mouses that I'm
> > using do not seem to exhibit this behavior much at all if any. These
> > are not bluetooth but rather RF. And they are laser.
>
> And you think bluetooth is not RF?
I didn't say that. I just don't know a specific name for the wireless
mouses that are not bluetooth which have a receiver that typically plugs
into a USB port.
dick
Tom Stiller
Dick Sidbury <DrJames...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Not to nitpick, but you did say "These are not bluetooth but rather RF."
Harald Hanche-Olsen
> Not to nitpick, but you did say [...]
Not to nitpick, but if that isn't nitpicking, what is?
8-)
Walter Bushell
Harald Hanche-Olsen <han...@math.ntnu.no> wrote:
> + Howard Brazee <how...@brazee.net>:
>
> > I'd pay a premium for wired.
>
> Which only goes to show that people are different. Presumably you keep a
> tidy desk, free of the kind of clutter that mine is full of and which
> tends to get in the way of the mouse cord? Actually it's a struggle even
> to keep an open area big enough for mousing on, which is one of several
> reasons I generally prefer trackballs. I know, in this I'm the odd one.
No, no no. The neat thing about a wired mouse is that you can't lose it.
With a wireless mouse, I'd have to tie it to the computer and the wired
doesn't need anything extra.
--
A computer without Microsoft is like a chocolate cake without mustard.