While there are many users, gamers in particular, who shy away from Apple's buttonless offerings
Many? I have yet to come across a single person who likes any of the Mighty Mouse models that Apple produced. They are all reviled and considered some of the worst mice that were ever created by a hardware company.
Steve Jobs was no genius, he got a few things very right and quite a few others very, very wrong.
I used the MightyMouse for a while, for work and didn't mind it.
There were occasionally misfires with the left/right capacitive sensors, for example if you left your right finger on the mouse while depressing the left finger. This would not work for gamers at all, and they were the most vitriolic in their disdain for this mouse.
This was one of the first mice that I was aware of that properly implemented left/right scrolling, which I used very often. It was also a decent mouse to throw in your laptop bag, as it had a door to prevent junk from getting into the optical sensor and doubled as a power switch, used built-in wireless, and took AAs. I never used the squeeze function, however... When then Magic Mouse came out, I switched to that, and still use it.
Interesting trivia: this mouse had a built in speaker, which is what generated the auditory feedback for scrolling the wheel. Very odd...
I kind of like the Magic Mouse. It basically gives me a built-in trackball and inertial scrolling, something I've wanted in a mouse for many years. It's too bad the ergonomics really suck, and that not having a dedicated right mouse button makes it completely unusable in some cases. (Games?)
A bunch of recent Logitech mouses feature an unlockable "free spin" wheel. Basically, you can "lock" the scroll wheel and then it functions as a notched, precise operation for small adjustments. Alternatively, you can "unlock" it and then it scrolls very smoothly and nearly forever. Ideal when you want to move across a large document. It's hard to describe and they do it better at [1].
I would really encourage you to try one mouse with that function. You could be very pleasantly surprised :)
I really like the idea of those Logitech mice, but having briefly used one, I find that the flywheel mechanism really compromises the middle click. The Magic Mouse also has the advantage of being able to scroll in any direction, which is far more useful than you might think. Finally, it's just nice to have a device that has a minimum of mechanical parts; I feel a lot more confident dropping my Magic Mouse on the floor, since there's not a lot in there that can break.
I find the mouse forces you to hold it at a slant, very different to the demo videos you'll find in System Preferences for the mouse. The right-click functionality is there, but it's hidden and the stiff nature of the protective shell means if you right-click on the far far far right of the mouse, the left click actually gets engaged.
Not a great design. I might dig out the Belkin bluetooth mouse instead.
The hardware is great but the developers don't care about the platform for games. Many of the games you'll see for Mac are from films that Pixar did (Wall-E, the Incredibles).
And Homeworld 2, but only on OLD OLD systems. This makes me sad.
Ah I see your point. They have made the move to non-discrete graphics for their Mac Mini systems as Intel's offerings have improved significantly, but my MacBook has an nVidia 650M in it I think, which does me alright when I reboot to Windows on it.
But then again, I am not really playing modern games so am not really stressing it that much; (having said that, the fans do go mental in it).
I wonder whether it is a vicious circle for gaming on the Mac? Nobody buys a Mac to game on because there's no games on the platform, so developers don't write for Macs because nobody plays games on them etc. etc. etc.
He was both very very smart, very very lucky, and good fortune to know to get it right on the first time - even if the first time wasn't the right time for the product (see NeXT)
A genius is a person who is capable of incredible leaps of understanding and originality. That's difficult to measure so we recognise geniuses through the work they achieved...the theory of evolution marks Darwin as a genius, and relativity does the same for Einstein. Jobs may well have been a genius, but his achievements aren't at the level most people think of as genius.
We use computers all the time. For the average consumer, that mouse is pretty nice. I don't mind using mine when I'm surfing or just doing email. Editing text and doing Photoshop with the Mighty Mouse is hideous. I use a Logitech Anywhere MX - the thing will track on glass.
From my limited use of it: clicking with it--since the whole body clicks--moves the cursor out of place, such that I lose precision clicking. The scroll ball is atrocious. It gets dirty and loses function, and it's not easy to clean.
I work at a place with about 10-20 Macs. The batteries die faster than I can replace them. I get about 20 batteries per month and we churn through them. I gave up trying to get people to turn them off, put them all in a draw and a helpful colleague replaced all with el cheapo MS corded mice. Much better.
He didn't get anything wrong. Many people prefer form over function (look at all the 'designer' kitchen utensils) and this was also Steve Jobs' design philosophy.
Comments
Many? I have yet to come across a single person who likes any of the Mighty Mouse models that Apple produced. They are all reviled and considered some of the worst mice that were ever created by a hardware company.
Steve Jobs was no genius, he got a few things very right and quite a few others very, very wrong.
I used the MightyMouse for a while, for work and didn't mind it.
There were occasionally misfires with the left/right capacitive sensors, for example if you left your right finger on the mouse while depressing the left finger. This would not work for gamers at all, and they were the most vitriolic in their disdain for this mouse.
This was one of the first mice that I was aware of that properly implemented left/right scrolling, which I used very often. It was also a decent mouse to throw in your laptop bag, as it had a door to prevent junk from getting into the optical sensor and doubled as a power switch, used built-in wireless, and took AAs. I never used the squeeze function, however... When then Magic Mouse came out, I switched to that, and still use it.
Interesting trivia: this mouse had a built in speaker, which is what generated the auditory feedback for scrolling the wheel. Very odd...
I kind of like the Magic Mouse. It basically gives me a built-in trackball and inertial scrolling, something I've wanted in a mouse for many years. It's too bad the ergonomics really suck, and that not having a dedicated right mouse button makes it completely unusable in some cases. (Games?)
A bunch of recent Logitech mouses feature an unlockable "free spin" wheel. Basically, you can "lock" the scroll wheel and then it functions as a notched, precise operation for small adjustments. Alternatively, you can "unlock" it and then it scrolls very smoothly and nearly forever. Ideal when you want to move across a large document. It's hard to describe and they do it better at [1].
I would really encourage you to try one mouse with that function. You could be very pleasantly surprised :)
[1] http://xahlee.info/kbd/mouse_with_spinning_flywheel.html
I really like the idea of those Logitech mice, but having briefly used one, I find that the flywheel mechanism really compromises the middle click. The Magic Mouse also has the advantage of being able to scroll in any direction, which is far more useful than you might think. Finally, it's just nice to have a device that has a minimum of mechanical parts; I feel a lot more confident dropping my Magic Mouse on the floor, since there's not a lot in there that can break.
I find the mouse forces you to hold it at a slant, very different to the demo videos you'll find in System Preferences for the mouse. The right-click functionality is there, but it's hidden and the stiff nature of the protective shell means if you right-click on the far far far right of the mouse, the left click actually gets engaged.
Not a great design. I might dig out the Belkin bluetooth mouse instead.
Steve Jobs was a genius, but he wasn't the tech god that he's lionised as.
Given the hardware capabilities from Apple systems, I doubt real gamers will care for the systems anyway.
At least that is one of the reasons I am yet to buy one.
The hardware is great but the developers don't care about the platform for games. Many of the games you'll see for Mac are from films that Pixar did (Wall-E, the Incredibles).
And Homeworld 2, but only on OLD OLD systems. This makes me sad.
Sorry but if I compare what GPUs Apple systems have with what I can get for the same price for other systems, it is not that great.
When measuring available video RAM, shader levels and OpenGL version support, Apple systems don't fare that well.
Each of us has different set of use cases when buying a computer.
On my case the CPU/GPU combo vs cost is the number one.
Ah I see your point. They have made the move to non-discrete graphics for their Mac Mini systems as Intel's offerings have improved significantly, but my MacBook has an nVidia 650M in it I think, which does me alright when I reboot to Windows on it.
But then again, I am not really playing modern games so am not really stressing it that much; (having said that, the fans do go mental in it).
I wonder whether it is a vicious circle for gaming on the Mac? Nobody buys a Mac to game on because there's no games on the platform, so developers don't write for Macs because nobody plays games on them etc. etc. etc.
Are you suggesting a genius would not make mistakes?
I'd neither suggest that, or that Jobs was one.
He was both very very smart, very very lucky, and good fortune to know to get it right on the first time - even if the first time wasn't the right time for the product (see NeXT)
So what does it take to be a genius then? If Einstein had been born in the middle ages would he still be remembered as a genius?
A genius is a person who is capable of incredible leaps of understanding and originality. That's difficult to measure so we recognise geniuses through the work they achieved...the theory of evolution marks Darwin as a genius, and relativity does the same for Einstein. Jobs may well have been a genius, but his achievements aren't at the level most people think of as genius.
In other words: "I don't know but I'll tell you when I see one."
That's the problem with these sorts of definitions. It's nearly impossible for anyone to agree on the edge cases.
We use computers all the time. For the average consumer, that mouse is pretty nice. I don't mind using mine when I'm surfing or just doing email. Editing text and doing Photoshop with the Mighty Mouse is hideous. I use a Logitech Anywhere MX - the thing will track on glass.
I edit text all the time with a Mighty Mouse and find it fine. What do you find hideous about it?
From my limited use of it: clicking with it--since the whole body clicks--moves the cursor out of place, such that I lose precision clicking. The scroll ball is atrocious. It gets dirty and loses function, and it's not easy to clean.
I goofed. I use a Magic Mouse, not a Mighty Mouse.
I work at a place with about 10-20 Macs. The batteries die faster than I can replace them. I get about 20 batteries per month and we churn through them. I gave up trying to get people to turn them off, put them all in a draw and a helpful colleague replaced all with el cheapo MS corded mice. Much better.
Any functionality that provides scrolling or zooming is completely whacked with it. Google Maps, for example.
He didn't get anything wrong. Many people prefer form over function (look at all the 'designer' kitchen utensils) and this was also Steve Jobs' design philosophy.