Updated: Multi-Touch to Go from iPhone to Mouse?
UPDATE: Looks like Engadget managed to score the mouse and keyboard diagrams from the FCC filings before Apple had them yanked. They look the same from what little outline is shown, though the new keyboard is a tad smaller.
ORIGINAL: Is Apple on the verge of releasing a new, multi-touch enabled mouse for their Mac line that harnesses the technology debuted in the iPhone? That’s what AppleInsider is claiming.
Unlike the iPhone, which garnered almost immediate and universal praise when it brought multi-touch mainstream, Apple has historically gotten the opposite reaction to their Mac mouse line, from the abysmal hockey-puck that came with the original iMac to the latest track-balling, gunk-clogging Mighty Mouse that ships in old-school white, even for the latest gen aluminum Mac Pros.
So the poetry of Apple’s latest input technology swinging full circle to one of their oldest (keyboard aside) isn’t lost on us, and goes to show just how deeply multi-touch is being explored — and more importantly, realized and integrated — into Apple’s entire product line.
And it goes to show what TiPb’s been saying for a long time, the iPhone benefitted from the Mac platform, and the Mac platform is certainly benefitting from the iPhone!
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:03 am
Get rid of the mouse altogether.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:30 am
No mouse? What, does the screen become a giant touch-pad?
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:32 am
The Mac mouse looks cool in all it’s Mac-like simplicity, but I sure do like this wireless multi-button piece of ugliness from Logitech. I just keep it in a drawer when not in use and it looks just fine.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
Please do something… My Mighty Mouse wheel sucks big time!!! My iPhone is always on my desk that would be neat.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Lol a touch screen mouse? Yeah that’ll work well.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Anything short of a return to the hockey puck will be an improvement over the Mighty Mouse. It boggles the mind that Apple, for all their elegance in other fields, just cannot seem to put it together for a mouse.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
@farmdreads:
Well, I haven’t used a mouse in nine years… and none of my Macs have had any giant touch-pad screens… so you’ve lost me there.
Anyway, if Apple’s going to head down this multi-finger-gesture road, why bother with a mouse that still has to be dragged around like a rock? Just make trackpads for desktops.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
@ Fastlane What do you use then? Just a keyboard? I’m talking about an iMac here, not a MacBook.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Pen & tablets, trackpads… (with both methods the hand is anchored and never has to move at all for cursor to access entire screen — only fingers move and is rapidly quicker and easier).
MacBooks weren’t my point anyway. This is about a mouse, and it seems odd to me to build a mouse, that requires being moved around, with finger gestures which can replace that movement. Just my opinion, anyway.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
I love my imac but I hate the mighty mouse. The trackball has went out twice and those apple mouses aren’t the cheapest! Funny my extended apple care doesn’t cover a defective mouse. Anyway I simply just went out and bought an off brand mouse with a track WHEEL and I haven’t had a problem sense. Only thing is I can’t pull up expose and open multiple desktops by clicking the wheel but I can do that via the keyboard so no major complaints.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I agree. The Mouse has had it’s day and the old fashioned days of physically moving an object around are soon behind us. Look at the Keyboard on the iPhone. No physical buttons to wear out or stop working. The Mouse is headed that direction and, by the looks of the rumor post a few days ago, perhaps remote controls as well.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
@soco my gunked up mighty mouse was covered by AppleCare, they overnighted me a new one
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
@Earless puppy.. no freaking way!!! they told me it only covers software related problems like if leaopard was just crapping out or issues like if the usb port fell out or if the cd-rom slot got jammed but that the mouse was wear and tear…thats lame..well i think i like this off brand mouse anyway lol
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I’m sure you have done this already, but when my trackball stops working I turn the mouse upside down and roll the ball on a piece of paper. I’ve done this every time my trackball stops working and it always fixes the problem. It’s happened like 20 times. Wait a second?! Twenty times? And HOW long have I had this mouse? WHAT was that I said? About TWO MONTHS?! Ok, so I bought it used, but STILL! That is unacceptable!
October 4th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
@fastlane & farmdreads:
Who said anything about dragging the mouse around? Maybe I missed something, but I think they really meant an external trackpad like device. Traditionally, trackpads have been built into laptops and the mouse has traditionally been a separate device that moves around. So, imagine if you were using your iPhone as your trackpad, you might think of it as your mouse since it is a separate, mobile input device, even though you don’t actually drag it to move the mouse cursor.