New Apple Mouse
New Apple mouse
The much criticized Apple ‘hockey puck’ mouse will indeed begin to slowly disappear from the company’s desktop offerings starting some time this summer.
Since AppleInsider first broke the story on Apple’s new optical, USB mouse and keyboard over a month ago, several industry sources have come forth in attempts to paint a clearer picture of the new peripherals. Most recently, however, sources from within the company have willingly submitted a set of 3-D rendered sketches of the new mouse unit, which can be viewed throughout this article.
Since this mouse is wireless, you’ll enjoy the freedom to use it practically anywhere. Not only does the optical tracking engine allow it to work well on most surfaces, but the fact that it’s wireless means you can use it in your left hand or your right, on your pants leg, keyboard tray — or from across your office. There’s no cable to clutter your desk and tether you to your computer.
As Macworld New York slowly approaches, sources have begun to reveal addition rumors on Apple’s newly designed Optical USB mouse — specifically those pertaining to its behavior.
According to sources, the new mouse currently has the ability to support up to 3 mouse actions, and possibly more. These mouse actions produce the same results as second and third buttons on multi-button mice, sources said, but without the physical presence and clutter of three individual buttons.
Documentation currently making the rounds as part of the Mac OS X project reveal two new API calls for mouse-click actions. The first, called ‘TipSwitch’ — referring to the tip or rocking action need to produce a mouse click on Apple’s new mouse — is treated as the left (primary) button. ‘BarrelSwitch,’ which is the second listed mouse action, is treated as the right (secondary) button.
Dubbed Mighty Mouse, the new $49 pointer has a 360-degree scroll wheel and can be programmed to recognize a click on either the left or right side. For Apple purists, it can also act as a single-button mouse.
Multibutton mice have been standard on Windows PCs for years and even the Mac OS has long recognized a right click. However, the company has stuck by its single-button design, refining it and adding a Bluetooth wireless version, but maintaining only a single-click option.
In related news, there has been some misconception that our artist renditions (not Apple Computer images or sketches) depict a right-handed mouse only. The mouse is described by sources as a universal mouse that can be used in either hand. The renditions are said to be rough sketches depicting the overall appearance and style of the new mouse, though the unit is much sleeker and compact in reality.
Apple has apparently seeded these mice prototypes in more than one casing; some being generically colored in an extremely simple enclosure to deter leaks about its style. The company has, however, put a number of units with all their cosmetic enhancements out in the field of their closet developers, sources said. A previous AppleInsider report revealed a source’s 3-D rendition of what is rumored to be one of the more complete prototypes.