amccabe
09-11-2006, 10:41 PM
I got a new wireless Bluetooth Mighty Mouse from Apple and just wanted to report out on it and maybe help a few other people make the decision whether or not to get one themself.
http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/
First of all: What is Bluetooth? (for those who don't know)
Here is what Apple's Dictionary says:
"Bluetooth |ˈbloōˌtoōθ| noun
a standard for the short-range wireless interconnection of cellular phones, computers, and other electronic devices.
ORIGIN 1990s: said to be named after King Harald Bluetooth (910–985), credited with uniting Denmark and Norway, as Bluetooth technology unifies the telecommunications and computing industries."
Bluetooth is supposed to be good for transfers up to 10 Meters and is for personal devices such as keyboards, mice, cell phones, headphones, speakers, and printers.
I have been using bluetooth for about 3 years and have owned many bluetooth-enabled devices - some of which have been terrible and some have been good. It is much more finicky than RF wireless devices (RF is the standard it replaces) sometimes refusing connections, dropping connections, and sometimes not detecting devices that are next to each other.
Apple was an early adopter, putting Bluetooth modules in laptops, then desktops. Many Windows laptops now offer internal bluetooth modules, but I have yet to see a Windows desktop with internal bluetooth. However, anyone can buy a USB bluetooth module and have it residing in a desktop or laptop USB port.
I have a desktop bluetooth Logitech keyboard and mouse and have owned 2 bluetooth notebook mice (Kensington and Logitech) - all have been for use primarily with Windows computers, but I have tried them all with Mac as well. All of them have worked well most of the time, but have spells of dropping the connection about once a week and give me a major problem where they won't pair with the computer or do anything at all every couple of months.
And from the people that I know and from what I have read, this seems to be about average for bluetooth.
Anyhow, (before I forget) I should talk about the bluetooth Mighty Mouse. First of all, I should mention that I have only had it for about 3 weeks.
It had been by far the easiest to work with of my bluetooth devices. I do not have the connection dropping problems that I have had with my other bluetooth peripherals. I have tried the mouse with my PowerMac G5 2.0 with internal bluetooth, my self-built Windows XP machine with Logitech USB bluetooth receiver, with the MZ G5 2.7s with Internal Bluetooth, and with my Macbook (under Mac OSX 10.4 and Windows XP with BootCamp).
It has 4 buttons and a 360 degree scroll wheel - which are really nice once youy get used to them. The mouse comes with a driver CD for MAC, which is necessary to install to program the 3rd and 4th buttons. The driver allows the mouse clicks to do many different things, including launching applications. For Windows, they are just First, Second, Third, and Fourth click (but they all work automatically). If you were wondering, the 3rd button is if you click the 360 degree scroll wheel and the 4th button is a grey section on the sides of the mouse that you squeeze. The 4th button really sucks in my opinion - in that there is absolutely no tactile response (meaning that you can't feel it click when you squeeze it).
And the other thing about the Mighty Mouse (wired or wireless) is that the left and right click are different than usual mice. The entire mouse clicks down and a sensor tells the mouse which side of the mouse your finger is on. So what if you have a finger on both sides? Nothing - the click doesn't register. And this takes some getting used to.
The Mighty Mouse is beautiful in its simplicity - like Apples standard mouse but without the hassle of only one button. It doesn't have the ergonomics of Logitech and Microsoft's mice, but it is good for left-handed people.
The $69 pricetag (with or without educational discount) is pretty steep, but it works and works well. And that is saying a lot when it comes to bluetooth peripherals. I wouldn't recommend buying is strictly for Windows use, but it is great for Dual-Boot IntelMacs and will work flawlessly with Mac hardware from what I've seen. And it matches your apple computer and keyboard.
http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/
First of all: What is Bluetooth? (for those who don't know)
Here is what Apple's Dictionary says:
"Bluetooth |ˈbloōˌtoōθ| noun
a standard for the short-range wireless interconnection of cellular phones, computers, and other electronic devices.
ORIGIN 1990s: said to be named after King Harald Bluetooth (910–985), credited with uniting Denmark and Norway, as Bluetooth technology unifies the telecommunications and computing industries."
Bluetooth is supposed to be good for transfers up to 10 Meters and is for personal devices such as keyboards, mice, cell phones, headphones, speakers, and printers.
I have been using bluetooth for about 3 years and have owned many bluetooth-enabled devices - some of which have been terrible and some have been good. It is much more finicky than RF wireless devices (RF is the standard it replaces) sometimes refusing connections, dropping connections, and sometimes not detecting devices that are next to each other.
Apple was an early adopter, putting Bluetooth modules in laptops, then desktops. Many Windows laptops now offer internal bluetooth modules, but I have yet to see a Windows desktop with internal bluetooth. However, anyone can buy a USB bluetooth module and have it residing in a desktop or laptop USB port.
I have a desktop bluetooth Logitech keyboard and mouse and have owned 2 bluetooth notebook mice (Kensington and Logitech) - all have been for use primarily with Windows computers, but I have tried them all with Mac as well. All of them have worked well most of the time, but have spells of dropping the connection about once a week and give me a major problem where they won't pair with the computer or do anything at all every couple of months.
And from the people that I know and from what I have read, this seems to be about average for bluetooth.
Anyhow, (before I forget) I should talk about the bluetooth Mighty Mouse. First of all, I should mention that I have only had it for about 3 weeks.
It had been by far the easiest to work with of my bluetooth devices. I do not have the connection dropping problems that I have had with my other bluetooth peripherals. I have tried the mouse with my PowerMac G5 2.0 with internal bluetooth, my self-built Windows XP machine with Logitech USB bluetooth receiver, with the MZ G5 2.7s with Internal Bluetooth, and with my Macbook (under Mac OSX 10.4 and Windows XP with BootCamp).
It has 4 buttons and a 360 degree scroll wheel - which are really nice once youy get used to them. The mouse comes with a driver CD for MAC, which is necessary to install to program the 3rd and 4th buttons. The driver allows the mouse clicks to do many different things, including launching applications. For Windows, they are just First, Second, Third, and Fourth click (but they all work automatically). If you were wondering, the 3rd button is if you click the 360 degree scroll wheel and the 4th button is a grey section on the sides of the mouse that you squeeze. The 4th button really sucks in my opinion - in that there is absolutely no tactile response (meaning that you can't feel it click when you squeeze it).
And the other thing about the Mighty Mouse (wired or wireless) is that the left and right click are different than usual mice. The entire mouse clicks down and a sensor tells the mouse which side of the mouse your finger is on. So what if you have a finger on both sides? Nothing - the click doesn't register. And this takes some getting used to.
The Mighty Mouse is beautiful in its simplicity - like Apples standard mouse but without the hassle of only one button. It doesn't have the ergonomics of Logitech and Microsoft's mice, but it is good for left-handed people.
The $69 pricetag (with or without educational discount) is pretty steep, but it works and works well. And that is saying a lot when it comes to bluetooth peripherals. I wouldn't recommend buying is strictly for Windows use, but it is great for Dual-Boot IntelMacs and will work flawlessly with Mac hardware from what I've seen. And it matches your apple computer and keyboard.