Reasons NOT to Upgrade to the Magic Mouse
This past weekend, Apple officially launched their new Magic Mouse for individual sale, meaning that you don't have to buy an iMac to get the Magic Mouse, for $69 (USD). A lot of Mac users complained that the Mighty Mouse (now dubbed the "Apple Mouse") was not very useful and lost function quickly (particularly the trackball, which the Magic Mouse did away with). Because of this, a lot of people are buying the Magic Mouse without thinking about if it's worth it. Having not owned a Mighty Mouse, I can only give my thoughts about why you shouldn't buy the Magic Mouse based on what I've seen from Apple and videos about the mouse.
1.) It's $69 (USD) down the drain: Buying the Magic Mouse is quite an investment to make. Especially if you have one of the 2009 MacBooks, you really don't need to shell out the money. $69 in the US can almost get you a full tank of gas! It just seems like a high price to pay, when you can pay a little more and get, say, the Logitech MX Revolution/Performance MX.
2.) If you have a Unibody MacBook, you have one built-in: As I said in #1, you don't need to get the mouse because the Unibody MacBooks have multi-touch. Not only that, but the trackpads also support gestures, which the Magic Mouse does not. Granted, you still get the one-touch scrolling and swiping to got back and forth. However, on the MacBooks, you also get functions to switch your apps and can right click with two fingers, and much more (which I will get to soon.)
3.) No support for Expose´: On the Mighty Mouse, as well as the MacBook trackpads, you get full built-in support for Expose´ activation (on the Mighty Mouse, squeeze the sides. On the MacBooks, swipe four fingers down). The Magic Mouse eliminates that support and makes it a bit inconvenient to press F3, especially if you have gotten so used to the gestures or the Mighty Mouse way.
4.) (Special thanks to Hunter for making such a good point, and to everyone else for correcting my previous point!) Touch sensitive clicking isn't fun. I prefer to have my hand rested on my mouse, with the mighty and magic mouse, you can't really do that. You can't have both fingers on the mouse, because it screws up the touch. So I have to keep one finger suspended above the mouse in order to click correctly. (Right out of the mouth of a user of both mice)
5.) You have to ask yourself one question -- Does your current mouse work?: Going back to reason #1, the Magic Mouse is quite a price to pay for something you may not need. Ask yourself "Does my Mighty Mouse/Trackpad function as it should?" If the answer is no, then go ahead and buy the Magic Mouse. However, if the answer is yes, then it may not be the best investment right away.
These are just my thoughts on the Magic Mouse. Overall, it's not a necessary purchase right now. As I like to emphasize in all my posts, these are merely my thoughts. The choice falls onto you. All I can say is that I don't plan on getting the Magic Mouse right away, purely because I don't need it. It really depends on how you feel about it. I do hope that this helps anyone decide if they want to buy it or not.
Please leave a comment with your thoughts on the Magic Mouse; if it's a good investment, if it's necessary, if you plan on getting one. Also, please let me know if you think there are other reasons not to get the Magic Mouse just yet.
My YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/randomsvideolibrary
Mike Khuraibet Nov 1, 2009 at 7:21 PM
Reader Comments (12)
The Magic Mouse works with Leopard as well...
From apple.com:
Minimum Requirements
A Bluetooth-enabled Macintosh computer
Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0
"If you have a new unibody MacBook, you have one." That is false. Having a mouse is different than having a trackpad. Gimme a break.
I also do not own the magic mouse, but i have been using a logitech mouse for years now and i love it!
Dude you have got your facts wrong the magic mouse requires 10.5.8 or 10.6.1 thus it can be used by both leopard and snow leopard. http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/ look at the requirements at the bottom of the page.
I just purchased the 27in iMac. The only other Mac I owned before this purchase was the black MacBook. I have fallen in love with this iMac and the Magic Mouse. Granted, I am coming from the basic MacBook that does not have the fancy trackpad the new MacBooks have. For me, the Magic Mouse is great because it came with the iMac. My next favorite mouse is the Microsoft Bluetooth mouse. That was the most rugged and versatile mouse I have ever owned until now. I do not know if I would have purchased the Magic Mouse if I had not purchased the iMac. I am very impressed with this mouse and Mac. Apple never ceases to amaze me.
I bought it tonight having a Logitech MX Revolution, Mighty Mouse and now the Magic Mouse. I never had a problem with the trackball on the Mighty Mouse and I think it's a great buy. Yeah it's 69 dollars but multitouch is incredible!
Just bought it tonight and i LOVE IT!
Multi-Touch is Amazing on it.
Definitely worth $69.
Replaced my Wireless Mighty Mouse!
None of these reasons are really valid. It's a mouse! A very low priced mouse for what it does. I have the Mighty Mouse and still got the Magic Mouse because of this simple reason: it's better than the Mighty Mouse!
I don't agree with those points, It's an excellent mouse and well worth buying.
You don't need to have Snow Leopard, Leopard will work just fine.
You should edit this.
My main issue I have with the Magic Mouse is the same I had with the Mighty:
Touch sensitive clicking isn't fun. I prefer to have my hand rested on my mouse, with the mighty and magic mouse, you can't really do that. You can't have both fingers on the mouse, because it screws up the touch. So I have to keep one finger suspended above the mouse in order to click correctly.
That's just my opinion on it all. If you like it, that's fine :) I'll just never be able to use either.
Personally, I would go to an apple store, use one myself. If I don't like it. Walk over to radioshack and buy mysel an HP mouse or something.