Born To Be Wild!
Written: Aug 27 '00 (Updated Sep 03 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: BEAUTIFUL, ergonomically sound, improved precision with optical tracking, smooth gliding, ambidextrous, stylish
Cons: Hefty upgrade price, single button, short cord, retains most of the tracking problems associated with every optical mouse
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| iBen's Full Review: Apple Pro (M8690G/A) Mouse |
Get your motor runnin'.... Head out on the highway... Lookin' for adventure... And whatever comes our way... Yeah Darlin', go and make it happen...Take the world in a love embrace...
Talk about a favorable first impression! Imagine if you were introduced to the public with Born to Be Wild playing! That was the way it was for the new Apple Pro Mouse on August 19, 2000 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.
The new Pro optical mouse replaced the infamous puck iMac mouse, so before I go into details about the pro mouse, I'll give everyone a little mouse history lesson. Two years ago in the summer of 1998, Apple introduced their very popular iMac computer. With that groundbreaking computer came a not so popular first Apple USB mouse. The funky blue and white round "hockey puck" was not ergonomically sound. Because of the round shape, there was no way to know the front of the mouse just by touching it. It was small and disappeared into a large hand. Well, dedicated Mac users will try their best to love their computers, including the mediocre mouse, but even the dedicated couldn't stand the mouse; the mouse usually was the first thing that people replaced when they bought their Macs.
Mac users everywhere pleaded with Apple to introduce a normal mouse, and for two years, they seemingly did nothing. People thought, "is it so hard to give us a normal mouse?" Apple gave people the impression that they had their fingers in their ears for all this time. Now, however, we know that Apple has been listening these last two years.
The Look
Apple has proven that computers don't have to be boring beige boxes; computer makers from Dell to Compaq, to HP have only now started to understand that aesthetics are important. Back in Henry Ford's day, you could get a car in any color, as long as it was black. Computer makers have gone by a similar philosophy until only recently. Even mice have begun to change from boring beige hunks of plastic to something trying to be stylish; the Microsoft Intellimouse Optical and Explorer are good examples.
The old Puck mouse may not have been very comfortable, but it was the coolest looking mouse on the planet. Apple's goal was to make something no less aesthetically pleasing than the old mouse, and they pulled it off. The new mouse looks like an elliptical droplet of water. The top of the mouse is a continuous surface; it is a translucent plastic bubble. If you look closer at the mouse, there is a second translucent black bubble inside where the white Apple symbol resides. The two layers of plastic are clear enough to give you a peek at the circuitry underneath without revealing too much. The mouse is a remarkable sight and words and pictures, though they are stunning in photos, don't do it justice. You have to see it for yourself. Truly the coolest looking mouse in existence.
The Feel and Ergonomics
Boring as it may seem, the elongated shape of a traditional mouse is probably the best fit for the human hand. Apple realized this, but they added their own kick to the formula. Instead of a regular mouse button, they have a continuous surface. The mouse "clicks" with a lever motion to the mouse's surface. The fulcrum is about an inch from the bottom of the mouse; everything above it is clickable. On the sides of the mouse are two surfaces that serve as places to hold the mouse while clicking. Apple's decision to make a continuous button this means that this mouse will fit most any hand. If you have an extremely small or large hand and place your finger on an awkward place on the mouse, it will work. For those of you who are afraid that the mouse will feel awkward, it does not. The first time I used it, I did not look at the mouse. I just started clicking around with it as I would any mouse. It felt normal and I did not realize that there was no defined button until I looked more carefully at it. The tension of the button can be changed for the pressure that you prefer; the adjustment is the small plastic ring on the bottom of the mouse.
The shape of the mouse isn't all that contributes to how the mouse "feels." Most of us are used to the resistance from a normal mouse. Friction and contact with the mouse pad is necessary with balled mice. With the optical mouse, though, Apple has reduced the need of contact. The result is that the Pro mouse glides much better than a regular mouse. Having tried the Microsoft Intellimouse Optical and Explorer, the Apple Pro Mouse even glides better than Microsoft's because Apple's mouse makes less contact with the surface and the material that touches the surface is smoother.
The Technology
The most important part of the new Pro mouse is the optical tracking technology. Instead of the traditional mouse ball and wheels, the Pro mouse uses the same technology that can be found in the new Microsoft Intellimouse models. The tracking mechanism consists of no moving parts that can clog; if you turn the mouse over, instead of a mouse ball, you will see a red glow. This is not a laser. The mouse takes many small pictures of the mousing surface every second and compares it with previous pictures to determine the direction of motion. You will never need to open this mouse up and clean out the dust that builds up with a regular mouse. The performance will never degrade with time because the parts will never wear down. This is perfect for a school environment where mouse balls are handled by hundreds of students a day and can be lost or stolen easily. Optical tracking technology also allows for extremely accurate mousing around on most any surface.
Problems
The Apple Pro Mouse is by no means perfect. There are several nagging problems.
For example, the cord of the mouse is extremely short; it was obviously designed to plug into the USB port on the Apple Pro Keyboard because it is only a few inches long. This should not be a problem for most people who would use the keyboard's USB port anyway. However, the cord cannot reach the back of a Powerbook. Sorry Powerbook users. Unless you are left handed, the cord is too short for iBooks as well. Belkin and others sell cheap USB extension cables, which aleviates the problem. (however, those cables are just a few wires if you think about it and Belkin is making a pretty penny out of every one the sell 'cause is just a few wires!)
Another problem: Optical tracking is not the miracle technology that some would like you to think. Optical tracking does not work well on very reflective surfaces like glass. Though optical mice are very precise and accurate, they have trouble with very fast movement; the tracking mechanism on every optical mouse takes pictures at a set rate. If you move the mouse faster than it can refresh such that one picture and the next picture have no parts in common, the mouse will lose all sense of direction and motion. Move an optical mouse, even Microsoft's, back and forth very quickly left to right and you can confuse it at high speeds. Now, Apple touts that its mice can maintain tracking 15% faster than the rest of the optical mice, but I still found it easy to reach that speed, though it is better than other optical mice, I can honestly say.
Finally, the pricing of the new mouse for upgrade is high. The new mouse will cost you $59 plus shipping and handling from the Apple Store. Although very good compared to the price that Apple was charging for its ADB mice several years ago ($79 for a one button mouse?) for $59, you'd expect more functionality and more buttons. There is only one button after all, and $59 can buy you a mouse with all types of cool functions. However, the mouse is still an excellent default mouse.
Conclusion
The new Pro Mouse is not exactly a great buy, but for those who must have it all and are style minded, it is great. Would I buy one? No. I would be happy to use it if it came with a new Mac, but for my current computer, I'd rather buy a third party one with more functionality. For example, Kensignton, MacAlly, and even Microsoft. If you're looking for an alternative for your older iMac or Powermac G4, you should look at the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer, which is about the same price as Apple is charging for the Pro Mouse. In addition to similar optical tracking technology, it also gives you 4 programable buttons and the all imporant scroll wheel. As a default mouse on every desktop Mac though, the Pro Mouse is excellent; Apple is the only PC maker that bundles an optical mouse standard on every desktop computer. Apple has been listening to the public and they have responded in true Apple style. They don't just give people a "normal" mouse... they redefine "normal" completely. It is the symbol of Apple's basic philosophy. They refuse to adhere to the status quo but instead they innovate and find better ways to do things.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
iBen
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Location: Marlborough, MA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 50 members
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