Get the most out of your Mac Mouse :: Media Lightbox Blog

Get the most out of your Mac Mouse

Posted 23rd March 2010 by Ben

I am not an apple “fan-boy”. I don’t just use apple products to look cool and I certainly don’t think I’m brilliant just because I have a mac. I use them because they are useful.

I find them faster and more reliable than PCs. That being said, a lot of people will disagree and say a PC can be a lot faster than a Mac if you have the right parts. But then does the PC come with all of the useful software that a Mac does?

This debate has been going on for years and as the only Mac user in the office, it is something I will be steering away from. Instead, I will talk about something a little more light-hearted.

All Mac desktop computers come with the new “magic mouse”. I have a Macbook with the older version of the mouse, called the “mighty mouse” and a 24″ iMac with magic mouse. I only recently purchased the magic mouse after my other mouse bit the dust (or rather the dust bit it?). This post sums up the advantages and disadvantages of the two mice, how to maintain them and what plug-ins I’d recommend you download to get the most out of your mouse.

Mighty Mouse

The wireless version of the mighty mouse became available from 2006. It uses laser tracking. Currently Mac OS X is the only operating system that fully supports the mouse. Unlike the new magic mouse, the mighty mouse has force-sensing side “squeeze” areas and a clickable trackball on the top. These buttons are used to access spaces, exposé or the desktop.

Cleaning your Mighty Mouse

Has your tracker ball ever become blocked or stopped working? This is a fairly common issue with Mac mice. After a bit of research, I tried and tested various methods people had suggested for cleaning the mouse. After a few goes, I returned the mouse to its original scrolling glory. Try one of these useful resources:

Magic Mouse

The Apple magic mouse came out on October 20th, 2009. It was the first mouse widely available to the public that supported multi-touch. The mouse isn’t as tall as its predecessor. It is also missing buttons on the side and the clickable wheel on the top, meaning users can no longer access spaces, exposé or the desktop from the click of a mouse button anywhere on the screen. It may look nice and be a breakthrough with mouse technology but is this mouse lacking some basic features?

Magic Mouse Plug-ins

There are two plug-ins that I couldn’t live without for my mouse.

The first is MouseZoom. If you find the tracking on your mouse is too slow, even when set to the highest value, you NEED this plug-in.
The second is MouseWizard. MouseWizard is software which allows you to customize your gestures and even access spaces, exposé or the desktop with a magic mouse.

Which mouse suits me best?

The wireless mighty mouse is £39 or $59 whereas the magic mouse is £56 or $69. To me this seems like a large price difference, so the question is, is the touch-sensitive magic mouse really worth the extra dosh?

I am one for straight answers and the simple answer is no! If anything I prefer the mighty mouse. Apple have always been heavily focused on getting the design right and I think we can all agree that the magic mouse looks a lot sexier than the mighty mouse. However, in this case, Apple have gone for design over useful functionailty. The magic mouse is missing buttons on the side and the lack of scroll wheel means there is no button on top either.

Do I really NEED to swish my fingers on the mouse to scroll down the page? Is it really worth £56 to have a mouse with this capability, rather than a scroll wheel? For me, the answer is no. As with all apple products, I’d advise potential magic mouse buyers to wait a few years until they hit the nail on the head!

To finish up, I’d advise you to take a look at DRBUK’s video below, explaining why the magic mouse is not ergonomic (despite what you might think!) and why he prefers the Logitech range. Check it out:

So whether you’re a Mac fan or not, free-up space on your computer or server by using the fast and easy-to-use free online storage & FTP hosting of MediaLightBox.com – check us out by signing-up for a FREE TRIAL account!