Apple pro mouse badly designed? Just me?

liquidstrife

liquidstrife

Raver and Programmer
As many people, I am a right handed guy. I ordered an additional Apple pro mouse with my iBook so I could do precise work in some apps...one thing. Actually 2. The first is that it connects to the LEFT side of the iBook where the USB ports are. This is very inconvienient for me to go and wrap it around to the right side which leads me to my 2nd problem....ITS SHORT! The whole cable from the mouse to the usb connector is like 7 inches total!! Its horrible and is almost a waste of $59 bucks off apple! Anyone else agree/have same problem???
 
Yes, I was going to get the Apple Pro Mouse, but on trying it out found it dead useless to use if you are right handed and want to plug it into the iBook. I've put the warning up whenever somebody asks about the iBook here.
There are, of course, solutions. The guy at my Mac store has whipped up a 30 cm USB extension lead, he knows someone who simply replaced the whole cable (that means soldering inside the mouse itself, not for the feint-hearted). As for me, I just got a Logitech (the cable is too long, and has to be bundled with a plastic cable tie). It's a pity, because I quite like the Pro Mouse.
Oh, well, I'm sure you'll work something out.
 
also, it's designed to plug into the apple pro keyboard, so it doesn't need a long cord...

i saw a photo of the two and that's why i'm bringing this up
 
I actually had that problem when I first got my iBook. I use a Pro Mouse at home and plug it into a USB Hub. That's worked out perfectly because it not only gives me extra cord length but lets me plug in my printer, zip drive, mouse and palm cradle all at once.

While I'm using my 'book at the library I bring along one of the 'hockey puck' mice that I got on eBay. It has about the same length cord but I've just gotten used to it.
 
yeah i had the same problem. I gave my pro mouse to my brother since then. To solve the problem though, i got a wireless optical logitech mouse. It works great and never gives me problems. I think it actually is a good idea for the ports to be on the left side. Alot of the time, I have my cable modem, my external CD burner, my Wireless mouse receiever, my printer, and my big ass speakers hooks up all the time. It would cause problems if it were on the right side, because then i would have no room for my mouse. This is just a matter of opinion, think what you like:D
 
Hey, can anyone tell me about the logitech mouse? Specifically the wireless three button one that is form fitted for righties. I want to loose my puck mouse and at the same time surprise all my wintel friends who are bound by the myth that Macs only use one button mice. I very nearly bought one this weekend when they were on sale for 49$ but I went to the logitech website and it was unclear whether it has full support for os X. It almost sounded like it works as a point and click mouse but no buttons or scroll wheel. Anyone got one of these bad boys? They look sweet and no cords is very appealing.
 
Koelling, I can't speak for the Logitech opticals (although I have heard that their response is rather slow for games and such, if you are interested in that), I do have a Logitech Dual Optical which I think is the best mouse I've ever seen. Logitech DOES NOT have OS X drivers, which I was very disappointed by (they promise to have them soon), but USB OverDrive, a shareware app, actually adds back the missing features and then some.

$49 is a pretty good deal. My Dual Optical was $49 as well, though, and that was at a very stingy store, so you might want to look around a bit--you can probably find a better offer. I'd still say that if you can stand the cord, the tracking on this thing is really amazing (the cord is 6 feet as well, so there's a TON of extra room)... not to push you into getting mine or anything, but from using that one I really think that Logitech makes some very very good mice, and that cordless could be really great! :)
 
My advice would be to get a USB hub, not only will they give you a longer cord for your mouse and a few more USB port (the iBooks need them, only one or two USB ports) they are very cheap. You can find a 4 port USB hub for around $20 probably even less
 
Hey everyone, I wanted to update you on my mouse situation. I did get the cordless optical mouse from Logitech and I love it. It doesn't have OS X drivers but I plugged it in and it worked. In other words, OS X supports it natively (this is possibly only because of 10.1.3 since that's all I've used it under) but you can't change the settings without Logitech drivers. The little third button on the side has no functionality because of this. I got USB Overdrive but that didn't seem to improve anything.

As far as precision goes, All I have to compare with is my little puck imac mouse and this is far more responsive than that. Battery has not died yet but I'm sure that will be an issue in the future since it has no off switch.

Apple should seriously consider putting a scroll wheel on their pro mice since that is just plain common sense for web browsing.
 
Since this thread started with ibooks and I'm planning on getting one for fall semester next year, I have a question. Is it possible to turn off the track pad? It would be cool if it was something simple like an F key because when I'm typing I rest my hands on the bottom part and my wrists make the cursor go crazy. I can see this being very bad when I'm in X Windows and the window active for typing is the one with the cursor over it. Is there a built in sys pref to do this or how hard would it be to write a simple script? You obviously don't need it if you have a second mouse.
 
Yup it is possible, it automatically disables the trackpad while you're typing. It's a feature they added in 10.1 and I thank them for it everytime I'm doing my homework.
 
I was in Comp USA checking out TiBooks and someone had screwed up the name of the hard disk so I changed it to funky chicken. While I was typing it was going freaky and thats when I started wondering if you could turn that off. Does it just turn it off while word processing applications are open? Can you do modifiers to mouse clicks if the track pad is off? I am so confused.:confused:
 
Originally posted by BlingBling 3k12
also, it's designed to plug into the apple pro keyboard, so it doesn't need a long cord...
Click to expand...

That is true iff you use your equipment exactly as Steve Jobs expects you to. If you put your KB in your lap or on a keyboard drawer to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, it doesn't work. If you plug the mouse into an iBook it doesn't work. If you use a different keyboard without a USB hub, it doesn't work. The point is just that Apple isn't giving you much choice about how you use your own equipment - Think Different, but only as different as we anticipated you would.
 
The point is just that Apple isn't giving you much choice about how you use your own equipment - Think Different, but only as different as we anticipated you would.
Click to expand...
I agree with you Scruffy but at the same time I disagree. Sure people should have the right to choose. But for me, having too much cord is more debilitating than not enough. I have very limited desk space and cord restricts movement so while there are people who need more length, there are a lot of people who are very happy with it but they don't speak up because who ever thinks to themselves "Gosh I have the perfect size cord on my mouse."
 
That's true.

I love how the cable on my USB hub is neither too long nor too short!

It even feels weird ;)
 
Originally posted by Koelling
I was in Comp USA checking out TiBooks and someone had screwed up the name of the hard disk so I changed it to funky chicken. While I was typing it was going freaky and thats when I started wondering if you could turn that off. Does it just turn it off while word processing applications are open? Can you do modifiers to mouse clicks if the track pad is off? I am so confused.:confused:
Click to expand...

My guess is that when you type, it just ignores little movements that are picked up from the trackpad. If you notice, start typing really fast on the keyboard with one hand and move your finger over the trackpad with the other. You'll see that the mouse still responds (even with this feature on), and you could probably still work with the trackpad even with the feature on and while you're typing.
 
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