Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Is 'The Mouse' from DVForge the Multi-button Mouse Apple Should Have Built?

Charles Moore - 2005.01.31 - Tip Jar

DVForge calls The Mouse, their optical USB pointing device, "The Mouse Apple Should Have Built."

Apple's second USB mouse, the "buttonless" optical unit, is a major improvement over their original "hockey puck" USB mouse. It looks great, is ergonomically better, and its optical technology is superior. But its action is still too stiff, and it only has one button - and no scroll wheel.

I quit using the Apple USB optical mouse that came with my G4 Cube after few days and switched to a third-party mouse with a lighter action and multiple buttons.

There is indeed room for "a better mouse."

The Mouse from MacMice Workplace Products Co. of Hendersonville, TN, is one interpretation of what a better mouse should be. I've been using a The Mouse for the past several months as my main pointing device, I liked it from the get-go, and I like it better the longer I use it.

Appearance-wise, it pays more than a little homage to Apple's USB optical mouse, but in my estimation it's a nicer mouse to use. Like the Apple unit, The Mouse is a nearly symmetrical rectangular ovoid in shape and of about average size for computer mice, and the entire clear mouse housing cover (an aluminum-colored model is also available) serves as the button - or more accurately in this case two of the three buttons. The front half of the case is split and serves as left and right buttons.

This configuration does not provide the same sort of satisfyingly precise tactile feedback that a regular mouse button mounted on a mechanical switch mechanism does, but it's not bad at all once you get used to it. The mouse also incorporates a scroll wheel with a delightfully light and silky-smooth action and also a third button click function.

The left/right button click action is slightly lighter than with the Apple mouse, but still stiffer than I prefer. I find the scroll wheel button click uncomfortably stiff, but I hardly ever use it.

The Mouse itself is nicely balanced and weighted. It glides smoothly and almost effortlessly on my mousepad. It has 800 dpi tracking resolution, with a fast, responsive optical tracking mechanism for accurate pixel-level editing.

When you move the mouse, the red optical sensor lights up causing the entire skirt of the housing to glow - a very cool effect.

If you are using Mac OS X 10.1 or higher, no driver installation is necessary for basic support of mouse clicking and the scroll wheel. If you're still using Mac OS 8.5.1 through 9.2.2 - or you want more mouse functionality than the built-in OS X drivers provide - proprietary drivers are downloadable at the MacMice support page. MacMice's MouseCommand drivers are full featured to satisfy demanding multi-button mouse users, with assignable scroll button, left-handed operation, adjustable clicking and motion, built-in adjustable cursor acceleration, reversible horizontal scrolling.

MouseCommand v9 driver works with Mac OS 8.5.1 through 9.2.2, and the v10 version works with Mac OS 10.1 through 10.2.8. MouseCommand v11 has been specifically tweaked for Panther.

Aside from the button stiffness, my only real complaint about The Mouse pertains to its cord, which as with Apple mice is a tad on the short side at 31.5" (I'm a fan of six foot mouse cables). It is also very small diameter wire that MacMice says is purposely the most soft, supple materials they could find, which makes it nice to handle, but I'm wondering about long-term durability, especially with rough treatment.

Other than that, the quality of materials and standard of finish are first-rate.

The Mouse is available in both clear-over-white and an "aluminum" version to harmonize with aluminum PowerBooks and the G5 towers. The USB cable is silver-gray as well. The Mouse dimensions are 2.2" wide, 4.4" long, 1.2" high.

The Mouse sells for $39.99.

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and began writing for Mac websites in May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com. If you find his articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings

Pismo WiFi Networking Issue Finally Solved?, 11.24. It turns out the problems wasn't the Pismo, the Buffalo WiFi card, or Mac OS X 10.4. It was the Wireless G router - Linksys to the rescue!
Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature, 11.23. Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
Soft Touch Keyboards, Wireless Mouse Options, Loving SeaMonkey 2, and More, 11.18. Also the future of browsing with PowerPC Macs and the multiple mouse input bug introduced with OS X 10.5.8.
4 Mac Browsers Updated Recently, 11.16. A look at the release version of Safari 4.0.4 and preview versions of Firefox 3.6, Chrome 4.0, and Opera 10.10.
More in the Miscellaneous Ramblings index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
November 24 in LEM history: 98: Microsoft's heavy hand - 00: Looking at the iMac - 04: The best Mac for the holidays - Picking the right replacement for a dead mouse - Better battery for 15" AlBook
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Miscellaneous Ramblings ©1999-2009 by Charles W. Moore. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.