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Apple Mighty Mouse

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Mighty Mouse / Apple Mouse
Apple Mighty Mouse (wireless version).
ManufacturerApple
TypeMouse
Release dateAugust 2, 2005
DiscontinuedOctober 20, 2009 (Wireless)
ConnectivityUSB (Wired)
Bluetooth (Wireless)
PowerUSB (Wired)
Either 1 or 2 AA (Wireless)
PredecessorApple Wireless Mouse, Apple Pro Mouse
SuccessorApple Magic Mouse
RelatedApple Keyboard
Apple Wireless Keyboard

The Apple Mouse (formerly Apple Mighty Mouse) is a multi-button USB mouse manufactured and sold by Apple Inc. It was announced and sold for the first time on August 2, 2005, and a Bluetooth version was available from 2006 to 2009. Before the Mighty Mouse, Apple had sold only one-button mice with its computers, beginning with the Apple Lisa 22 years earlier.

On October 20, 2009, the wireless Mighty Mouse was discontinued and replaced by the multi-touch Magic Mouse. The wired version of the device remains available, but was renamed the "Apple Mouse" as of the same date, due to trademark issues with another manufacturer of a device named "Mighty Mouse".[1]

About the mouse

The Mighty Mouse is made of white plastic and has a recessed Apple logo on the mouse's face. The mouse has four functional "buttons": a left capacitive sensor, a right capacitive sensor, a track ball with a pressure sensor and side squeeze sensors. The track ball enables users to scroll a page or document in any direction, including diagonally. Two of the above-mentioned inputs are not physical buttons. Rather, the touch-sensitive topshell (mentioned below) and the pressure sensing trackball allow the mouse to detect which side is being touched or whether the trackball is being held in.

The mouse emits a sound when the scroll ball is rolled, but this is not a direct product of the ball moving; the sound is actually produced by a tiny speaker inside the mouse.[2] There is no way to disable this feature other than physically disabling the speaker inside the mouse.[3]

Currently, Mac OS X is the only operating system that fully supports the mouse without third party software. When used with Mac OS X, the sensors can be set to launch applications or trigger features of the Apple operating system, such as Dashboard and Exposé. If not used with Mac OS X, the mouse behaves as a four "button" mouse with a vertical and horizontal scroll wheel. There are third-party drivers (XMouse,[4] AppleM[5]) that provide more functions to users of other platforms such as Windows.

The Mighty Mouse does not report whether the right and left sensors are activated simultaneously. In fact, it reports a right-click only when there is no finger contact on the left side of the mouse. Thus a right-click requires lifting the finger off the mouse, then right-clicking. This also means that the Mighty Mouse cannot support mouse chording, used by CAD software, games, and other applications where multiple functions are mapped to the mouse.

Versions and sell dates

  • On August 2, 2005, Apple introduced Mighty Mouse, at the suggested retail price of US$49.[6]
  • On 12 October 2005, Apple began shipping a Mighty Mouse with every iMac, and on 19 October 2005, with the PowerMac G5 line as well. The user has a choice to upgrade to an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse. The only option to not purchase this mouse offered at the time was with the Mac Mini.
  • On 25 July 2006, Apple released a wireless Mighty Mouse[7] (part numbers MA272LL/A and MB111LL/A) which uses Bluetooth 2.0. The new version uses two AA batteries, but can run on a single AA battery to reduce weight. Wireless Mighty Mouse was priced at $69.
  • On August 7, 2007, Apple slightly updated the Mighty Mouse, changing the color of the squeeze areas to white. As of September 2009, the wired version of the Mighty Mouse costs $49, while the wireless version costs $69.
  • On October 20, 2009, Apple was forced to rename the Mighty Mouse the Apple Mouse (part number MB112LL/A) due to legal issues regarding the name. This version of mouse was continued to bundle with Mac Pro to August 9, 2010, when new models included the Magic Mouse.
    • On the same day, Apple announced and released a completely new mouse called the Apple Magic Mouse, built with an aluminum base with a multitouch panel. Like the trackpads on the Macbooks, this new version also introduced gestures. This version uses two AA batteries and was priced at $69.

Technical features

  • Touch-sensitive top shell
  • 360 degree enabled clickable track ball
  • Force-sensing side "squeeze" areas
  • Optical (LED) tracking in wired version
  • Laser tracking in wireless version
  • Compatible with Macintosh, Windows and Linux PCs
  • Programmable functions for the four "buttons"
  • Auditory feedback with built-in speaker[8][9]

Criticism

Although the Mighty Mouse can sense both right and left clicks, it is not possible to press both sensors simultaneously. The user must learn to lift the left finger off the sensor surface before attempting a right-mouse click.[10]

The scroll ball will eventually become clogged with dust and require cleaning. While there are methods to clean the ball without dismantling the mouse some users have complained that the Mighty Mouse is difficult to clean because the scroll ball mechanism is hard to take apart.[11][12]

Name

Prior to launching the device, Apple received a license to the name "Mighty Mouse" from Viacom, and subsequently CBS Operations, as owner of the Mighty Mouse cartoon series, the title having been registered in the U.S. as a trademark with respect to various merchandise (such as T-shirts and multivitamins) associated with the character.[13] However, the trademark did not cover computer peripherals, and CBS did not apply to trademark the term in the U.S. with respect to computer mice until mid-2007.[14]

On May 21, 2008, it was announced that Man & Machine Inc., a supplier of keyboards and mice to laboratories and hospitals, had sued Apple Inc. for trademark infringement over its use of the name Mighty Mouse.[15] Man & Machine Inc. had four registered or pending trademarks on various computer pointing related technologies, including "Cool Mouse", "Really Cool", and "Man and Machine and Design".[16] The particular Mighty Mouse trademark in dispute was first filed by Man & Machine Inc., on December 18, 2007 with the description "Computer cursor control devices, namely, computer mice" — after CBS's filing, but claiming first use in 2004, before the introduction of the Apple device. There also was another scroll mouse named Mighty Mouse developed by NTT and ETH Zürich in 1985.

Following opposition proceedings on both sides against the other, CBS subsequently withdrew its application, allowing Man & Machine to register the U.S. trademark for computer mice.[14][17] As a result, Apple stopped selling mice under the "Mighty Mouse" name on October 20, 2009, when it introduced the wireless Magic Mouse and renamed the existing wired mouse the "Apple Mouse".[1]

Incidentally, CBS was successful in registering "Mighty Mouse" as a trademark for computer mice in some other countries, including Canada,[18] although Apple nevertheless chose to change its product name internationally.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Apple Magic Mouse page, accessed 20 October 2009
  2. ^ MacDailyNews. Apple's new 'Mighty Mouse' provides audio feedback for clicking and scrolling.
  3. ^ Macworld. Apple Mighty Mouse Input Device Review. See the last paragraph under the "All those buttons" section.
  4. ^ http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm
  5. ^ AppleM Pro - 横スクロール対応 マイティーマウス(Mighty Mouse)のドライバ
  6. ^ Apple Introduces Mighty Mouse
  7. ^ Apple Debuts Wireless Mighty Mouse
  8. ^ "On the bottom half of the mouse, we observed the presence of a speaker" from Dissecting Mighty Mouse
  9. ^ YouTube video showing presence of speaker on wireless version of the mouse: Apple wireless mighty mouse disassembling & cleaning
  10. ^ Dissecting Mighty Mouse: Page 1
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ Mighty Mouse: Dirty Mouse
  13. ^ USPTO record for trademark application no. 73738658
  14. ^ a b USPTO record for trademark application no. 77224649, filed 9 July 2007, "abandoned after an inter partes decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board" on 4 June 2009
  15. ^ Man & Machine sues Apple over Mighty Mouse - Washington Business Journal:
  16. ^ http://www.trademarkia.com/company-man--machine-inc-761485-page-1-2
  17. ^ PCWorld. "Apple Mighty Mouse Caught in Trademark Trap." 9 October 2009.
  18. ^ Canadian Trade-Marks Database record for application no. 1234482
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