Apples discovers two button mouse

More innovation from the land of Apple

Published on March 15, 2005 By Frogboy In WinCustomize News

To better assist Windows users wanting to convert to the Macintosh, Apple is apparently working on a two-button mouse.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas odds makers are currently taking bets on how long it will take for Macintosh advocates to claim that Apple invented the two-button mouse and Microsoft and "PeeCee" users merely copied it from them.

Comments (Page 2)

Jafo

on Mar 15, 2005

they have been working on it for a while, perfecting it.

Guess it IS quite a challenge....to count to two.

Took 'em decades to perfect one button....heaven knows how long it'll take them to work out how anthropomorphics and ergonomics will control a second button placement....

ZiUL

on Mar 16, 2005

I think that apple will use something like the ipod technology to replace the mousewell. That would be nice

HG_Eliminator

on Mar 16, 2005

maybe mac has decided its given its users the "finger" long enough and decided to use two of them

MrWampire

on Mar 16, 2005

Now if we could only get M$ to swallow its pride also and give up on the stupid "right-click, drag thru forty submenus" bit and give us real keyboard shortcuts, the world would be a truly happy place.

harrison1701

on Mar 16, 2005

It's nice of Apple to finally help out us poor Windows Users who are stuck with an OS that constantly requires a multitude of mouse buttons to work it.
Have you ever tried to work Windows without a mouse, or with one mouse button. It isn't possible.
A mouse should be point and click and everything should be accessed via simple menus, or key presses. mm. that sounds familiar.

joeKnowledge

on Mar 16, 2005

Basically all mouses, even cheap mouses with balls has in least a scrollbutton.

That is funny in more ways than one... balls... track balls.

yeah, even the cheep-o mouses have a mouse wheel and 2 buttons...

Septimus

on Mar 16, 2005

It's odd it has taken to now for them to announce it.

OSX works fine with my MS Explorer and that includes the left/right scroll and all 5 buttons.

Gollums

on Mar 16, 2005

Although I tend to try not to use a mouse at all, unless I have to; since OSX is based on BSD, I was wondering how long it would take Apple to come out with the hardware to support their OS. I mean, have you ever tried to use a GUI on top of a Unix/Linux or BSD based OS, and NOT use the third mouse button? It's a pain!

Still it's all about marketing, and as has been shown: that is not Apples' forte. I mean MS can market ice-cubes to Inuits, and Apple could develop an air-conditioner that was only powered by ambient air and still not be able to market it people living in a desert. Some of the best technologies have come out of Cupertino over the past 20 years, but they don't end up going anywhere.

horiz0n

on Mar 16, 2005

If you've used OSX you've probably figured out you don't need more than one mouse button, and other mice don't really function with more than 2, all those extra buttons are just basically hotkeys that do what your keyboard does and most people usually end up using them for ctrl, alt, tab, shift, etc etc...

So on windows you don't need more than 2, mac you don't need more than one, and all the other buttons are just for whatever else you use to generally keep your other hand off the keyboard as much.

But no scroll wheel? Talk about a productivity killer, having to stop what your doing to go to the scroll bar to reposition or see more makes everything go slower, and using it annoying. Windows users are so accustomed to using the mouse wheel the scroll bar generally works just as a visual referrence as to what your current position is out of how much content.

But thats just the way these things ship. How many of you use the crappy mouse came with your dell, hp, compaq, gateway, sony or whatever. Many people replace them immediatly with a mouse that works better and has more features. The same is true with mac and pc, the standard mouse often gets replaced by one that suits the individual better, which means all these logitec 8 button rechargeable nimh laser shooting can opening mice we all love, are used on both mac and pc and work no differently.

Mac isn't becoming able to use more than one mouse button, or able to use a scroll wheel. You've been able to use them pretty much just as long as you have on a pc. PC's just generally ship with a mouse that has them on there as a standard. And the "standard" mouse that comes with a mac is simply getting an extra button that it doesn't need, just to help pc users who couldn't adjust to using an operating system with a mouse that doesn't need more than one button any better than those people that can't seem to figure a reason to replace their vcr with a dvd player.

If apple really wanted people to use the mice they make, they'd put a scroll wheel on it, that ipod-like touch sensitive idea sounds awesome.

tehStealth

on Mar 16, 2005

I'm not sure why people don't notice it, but there really arent any more 2 button'd mice anymore! EVERYONE should have a 3 button mouse by now, because almost all scrollwheels are acutally a button too. OMG how I HATE using a mouse w/o a scrollwheel. And by now they're gonna come standard with 5 (like Intellimouse)

kona0197

on Mar 16, 2005

OSX works fine with my MS Explorer and that includes the left/right scroll and all 5 buttons.

Explain to me how someone can use MS software on a Mac? I thought that was near imposible?

Bichur

on Mar 16, 2005

maybe mac has decided its given its users the "finger" long enough and decided to use two of them

Mac's gone British!

DesignCaddy

on Mar 17, 2005

"Took 'em decades to perfect one button"

i don't know.. i find those standard mice very uncomfortable, and very poorly functional. i often find the mouse chord twists and when it rests agains the mouse, you can't even click down.. it 'jams' too easily.

horizon: i cna't see how using windows with one button is any different than mac os. you double click to activate something (and you can even set it to single click to activate), single click to select. mac users have become acustomed to holding down a keyboar key and clicking to get the right click menus.. windows users are just acustomed to having a second button and i find that much easier. you can work with one hand! with two buttons on a mac it feels natural as well to just right click everywhere.

then there is design apps.. much easier to click different buttons on the mouse to get your options. its just better interfacing. i noticed other designers who use macs all use microsoft multi buttoned mice

PinkChampaign

on Mar 17, 2005

Hmm, not much to say that hasn't already been stated...except this...
"There once was a man from Nantucket...."

LMAO

~ The ever so bubbly one...
~ Pink Champaign

Drop125

on Mar 17, 2005

Hmm since Apple did invent the mouse I guess PCs are the copiers right5..Since Apple does own the first patent on a one button mouse before anyone else thought of it......

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