Magic Mouse announced

I played with one for a few minutes at the store. I really liked the basic scrolling feature, both vertical and horizontal. Two finger swipe felt awkward; maybe I'd get used to it. The overall shape of the mouse was not particularly comfortable, with its sharp edges. But I've been using right-hand specific Logitech mice for years.

For me, if the shape was refined and it got controls for Expose, Dashboard, and such, I'd be interested. And for the casual mouser, I'd recommend it. But for the crazy people that use something like an MX Revolution, the Magic Mouse is not yet a replacement.

Not a bad mouse.  Verdict still out whether I like it better
than the Logitech MX Revolution.

If you are on a 27" or larger screen I highly recommend 
that you install Zoom Mouse.  The tracking on the magic
mouse is far too slow to make it across the entire real
estate in a timely manner.  Once Zoom Mouse is installed
there is a world of difference in tracking speed.

I got the Zoom Mouse and I guess because I am on the 21.5" screen it didn't seem to make any difference with tracking than without it.

Magic Vs. Revolution:
http://www.marco.org/242751156

Like the author of the article linked above
I did not want to like my magic mouse
over the MX REVOLUTION.

At first, I didn't.  But after 3 long days
of continues use, I have grown to really
appreciate this Magic Mouse and I no
longer have the urge to return to my
Logitech MX Revolution.

The best thing about this mouse is
its scroll feature.  I love the fact that
I slide my finger across the top to
scroll up and down and with a two
finger swipe, go backwards and
forwards in my Safari browser.

Coincidentally, someone told
me that Magic Mouse works just
as well in Firefox as it does Safari
with all the gestures intact.  Have
yet to test it.

I have smaller hands so the size
of the mouse seems to fit perfectly
within them.  I am really rather
impressed with this new Apple
innovation and happy to see that
others are feeling similarly.

Quote: I've not encountered any of the issues he describes in the first couple of paragraphs. Logitech does not have the best reputation for OS X drivers, but I've not found them to be that bad; mostly slow to update for major OS revisions.


Ron - you don't miss Dashboard or Expose or Volume controls from the Revolution?

Never used Dashboard or Expose -- so no.

Quote: With all due respect... My head just exploded! It's like when I talked to an old friend last year -- a long time computer user -- and found that he had never used a scroll wheel on a mouse. It boggles my mind.

Those are two indispensable features to me. If you've never tried them, give them a chance. They are two of the Mac-iest of Mac features! And if you tried them and didn't like them...different strokes, and all that :)

I don't use Dashboard either.  But you can have my Expose 4 virtual screen setup when you pry it from my cold geek fingers.  Command-Arrows for the win!

I rarely use Dashboard and Exposé only once in awhile.

My mind boggler is people who don't use Command-Tab/Tilde. And I seem to have a hard time convincing people about app launchers like Quicksilver.

I had a chance to try the Magic Mouse last night. The scroll IS rather nifty. I can see an adjustment period for the mouse - doing gestures on a movable object takes a bit of synapse re-wiring, but I don't see it taking long.

Different strokes... I LOVE Expose, which I launch with the scroll button click on the Mighty Mouse. It's by far the quickest app-switcher for the way I work. Cmd-Tab is probably better for keyboard-centric folks. And I tried Quicksilver, but I ended up using it almost exclusively for app launching, which I can do just as fast with plain 'ole Spotlight. So I ditched it (and yes, I KNOW QS does more, but I just never had a need to get into the "more").

I'm still adjusting to my new Magic Mouse. I do miss the third button/click functionality, and I'm hoping a future driver update will add that. Seems to me they could make a two-finger click an assignable action.

I really love the scrolling feature, but I find I often generate little scrolls accidentally while moving the mouse. In most cases these are just a minor annoyance, but I found Google Maps almost unusable because almost every time I moved the mouse I'd generate a small scroll action which GMaps would translate as a mega-zoom into or out of my current map position. I think this is just a learning curve for me on how to properly handle the mouse, but... Anyone else bothered by this??

One thing I don't miss is the Mighty Mouse's side buttons. Rarely use 'em, they're simply too awkward for me to activate.


Sam, I assume you mean Spaces?? Love it too. Keep my Parallels session in its own Space. It's a great demo to switch instantaneously between Mac & Windows with a Cntl-Arrow keystroke. 

Quicksilver got buggy for me -- slow and a bit clunky -- after 10.5 upgrade. And then it was abandoned. And Spotlight became a mighty fine app launcher. So I'm amazed there are still people that do use QS :) Cmd-Tab, rules! Cmd-~ I got get into my mind; I use Witch for Alt-Tab instead.

Spaces unfortunately isn't very useful for me. My "work" isn't segregated by application, which Spaces requires. If Spaces segregated by document (or document folder), it would be a marvelous thing. Mostly it keeps Parallels out of the way of everything else.

You Dashboard non-users: How do you know the weather forecast and movie times without it?

Well, I am still running 10.4.11, so that explains most of it. :)

The times I've tried Spotlight to launch apps (like, just now), it takes too long. With QS I can launch an app with three letters and "Return" while Spotlight is still trying to deliver me results. Even when it does deliver quickly, I still have to arrow down to select what I want.

But, different (key) strokes for different folks. :)

Quote:
Ya.  I have f13 mapped to Expose which shows me what windows are where, but I rarely have to use it, I just go round the horn with Command-Arrows.  I consider Expose and Spaces to be the same thing based on the way I use em.

As for Dashboard I have a bunch of Widgets but I NEVER use em.  I should probably remove em all to make my experience more snappay!  ;)

I don't use dashboard because I use Yahoo widgets.

Dashboard widgets can only be displayed in DASHBOARD

mode and can't co-exist with the live desktop --something
I never understood.  I don't want to have to switch to
a "neutral" mode to see my widget information.  At
least with Yahoo Widgets, I can put as many widgets
on my desktop and not have to go back and forth in
"modes" to see them.

....and yes, I know about Amnesty Singles which I
bought but have not used in years.

As for Expose' -- is that the same as Spaces?  I have
seen Spaces demonstrated but I still don't see what
the hype is all about.  I usually deal with a 27-30"
monitor with enough real estate to put all the windows
I really need open at once upon it.

By all means, if someone wants to sell me the idea
of why I should be using SPACES/EXPOSE' I will
be happy to try it out.

I think this is the video you might wanna see.  I can't view it from here to be sure tho Ron:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1254656550190215821

Spotlight was too slow in 10.4, and I used QS then. 10.5 changed that. Spotlight was made significantly faster in Leopard; it was made usable. It also presents the first choice selected, so it works like QS, with no extra arrow-keying necessary for app launching.

On a 15" laptop, having Dashboard in its alternate dimension is a good solution; no desktop space to waste on widgets :)


Space is virtual desktops.

Expose is application / window selection. It has four modes, the primary one shows open windows and applications for easy selection. The other great Expose mode (for me) is to reveal the desktop: all the windows slide out of the way temporarily letting you at the desktop.

That one is ok, this one is better.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1254656550190215821#docid=1596652454800462840

Mix and match Spaces, Expose and command tab and you get to the heart of why I think OSX UI is hands down my favorite.

This is an interesting thread. 6 participants, and each of us use a different combination of Mac OS elements & third-party utilities to do app launching & switching. It illustrates one of the strengths of OS X - it's very adaptable to different working styles. 


For weather, I use WeatherDock, an excellent piece of donation-ware. The current conditions are right there in the menu, and I'm one click from a detailed 5-day forecast. This is on my short list of "I won't use a Mac without it" apps.

My iPhone...

I look out a window and RARELY use the iPhone The Weather Channel app.

Quote: That's cheating!
Quote: And if you're going to engage in the physical world, why even bother having a computer?
Quote: Indeed. One day I want to see how a Spaces fan uses it. I like the idea of virtual desktops, especially on a laptop, but I can't figure how people get a lot of value from Apple's particular variation.

And everyone day at work, I bemoan not having Desktop Expose in Windows.

I just bought a Logitech M500 wired mouse for work (I know, low tech but I don't want to buy an expensive wireless mouse for work), and using their Logitech software I have Expose-like action from pressing down on the scroll wheel. Just FYI in case you're interested. I'm sure that would work with just about every Logitech mouse...

I have that mouse at work as well. But what I meant to say is I miss the Expose feature that reveals the desktop. (The kludgy pseudo-Expose for application switching is interesting, but not smooth enough for me to use.)

Updated for bootcamp! http://www.loopinsight.com/2009/11/19/apple-updates-boot-camp-drivers-server-admin-tools/

Got mine a few days ago.  So far, I love it.  No issues.

That said... since I got my MBP, I find I'm not spending much time at my iMac!  :)  So I haven't used the MagicMouse a TON yet.  So many Apple products in the home... :D