In My Experience... | myPod. (1912)

I'll be the judge. « prev
This is why there have been no posts recently. » next

myPod.
[ Posted by Dan on April 30, 2003 | 15 Comments ]

Being the well renowned Apple-phile in my family, I was assumed to buy an iPod as soon as it was announced. They were/are after all, pretty cool little devices. But being the well seasoned Apple-phile, I knew the prices were going to be totally out of control and I was right about that, wasn't I. Being the possessions interloper that I am, I managed to receive a few Apple Store gift certificates totalling $250, but that still was $150 away from the 10 gig model at the time

The recent announcement that Apple has revamped the iPod line and made the 10 gig model $300 means that I can spend $50 and get a sweet ass new iPod with the cool little controls, lighter weight, and smoother edges. I can hardly wait until Friday to go buy one (and get a free tshirt, hehehe).

In somewhat related news, Apple is "[attempting] to patent [an] iPod-like 'scroll-disk' mouse" for use on the desktop. TheRegister notes...

Another benefit the applications cites is that the user doesn't need to take his or her finger off the disk to continue scrolling - "ie. the disc can be rotated through 360 degrees of rotation without stopping" - unlike a scroll-wheel, which forces you to continually pull your finger off the wheel if you want to go beyond whatever arc of the wheel is exposed.

This isn't really a big deal to me at all, based on the fact that computers are pretty smart and can be programmed to see how fast I am scrolling the scrollwheel and match that on screen. I don't see the benefit in racing thru a doc, but I do the benefit when slowly scrolling thru a doc, or attempting to finely control the movement thru a menu. The scrollwheel doesn't click into place, but allows for that analog style of input that makes modern video game controllers so awesome.

Consider the methods of use of this iPod like mouse wheel thing. Would you have to hold it in your hand, or can you cup it like a normal mouse. I tend to race back and forth between the mouse and keyboard a lot, and adding in an extra step of 'picking up' and 'putting down' would be pretty crappy HCI. The physical implementation is inherently different on a mouse than on an iPod and I'll be interested to see what they come up with. In the meantime, I'm buying myPod.

The important question is of course...
one button or two?

-Posted by JC on April 30, 2003 02:30 PM

oh, and I should probably note that I have an IBM mouse somewhere around here that has a sort of stick thing that your fingertip can rest on... you pull it down or push up or to left or right and it scrolls, just like a scroll wheel, but without needint to move your finger back to the top constantly.

Now, something like that might be a cool addition to the laptops, though.

-Posted by JC on April 30, 2003 02:33 PM

I remember reading about the
PowerMate
USB Multimedia Controller & Input Device
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/index.html
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,51258,00.html

Basically a big knob as an interface device.

-Posted by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com on April 30, 2003 02:57 PM

I'm not a fan of IBM's TrackPoint because the thing is so hard for me to control. It has so much resistance that it makes me not want to nudge it - and I shouldn't have to fight with an input device, really.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the iPod's scroll wheel would be very handy on a mouse. If the rumored "piles" feature makes it to OS X 10.3, it may prove more useful.

Also: I'm fine with one button.

-Posted by Paul on April 30, 2003 03:08 PM

powermate's kinda cool for what it's for, which is basically itunes. definitely looks fantastic.

the IBM mouse was a pain at first but you can change the sensitivity level til it's usable. I still prefer the tactile feedback a scroll wheel provides, though.

one button... I'd rather have two, but I only use my ibook to test websites and surf the web anyway, it's not powerful enough to actually DO anything on.

-Posted by JC on April 30, 2003 06:18 PM

powermate's kinda cool for what it's for, which is basically itunes. definitely looks fantastic.

the IBM mouse was a pain at first but you can change the sensitivity level til it's usable. I still prefer the tactile feedback a scroll wheel provides, though.

one button... I'd rather have two, but I only use my ibook to test websites and surf the web anyway, it's not powerful enough to actually DO anything on.

-Posted by JC on April 30, 2003 06:18 PM

5 buttons for me please. I use the MSFT Intellimouse Explorer, and I have to say it's the best mouse I've ever owned, and it's good enough that I'be bought it more than twice.

The programability of the mouse, and the robustness of the driver makes it a great input device. I can hardly belive it's a MSFT product. But regardless of manufacturer, or drivers, you can take any USB mouse and plug it into yer Mac OSX machine and you'll be able to right click like a madman.

-Posted by Dan on April 30, 2003 07:41 PM

Another vote for the MSFT Intellimouse Explorer.

What have you found to be the most useful mapping of your buttons?

Have you been able to program a button to Cmnd-Shift-click links so Safari will open them in a background tab? If so, what am I missing here?!

-Posted by Josh on April 30, 2003 11:03 PM

You can indeed create that combo in the Microsoft Mouse control panel. Go the the control panel, and click the 'add' button and then select Safari as the application.

Then click the "Buttons" tab and then click on of the bottuns on the left that corresponds to the button you would like to use in Safari to do the command-shift-click.

A dialog box will pop up. Use the "Select a command" popup to select "click" then check the "command" cna "shift" checkboxes below that. Then quit the contreol panl, go over to Safari and use the button you selected earlier.

Presto change-o!

As for my config, which is based on my being left handed...

left button set to click

right button set control click

wheel button set to double click

right "thuumb" button set to page down

left 'pinky' button set to page up

In Safari, I have the wheel button set to command-shift-click to open links in a new tab.

-Posted by Dan on May 1, 2003 10:43 AM

You are surprised that Microsoft put out a good mouse? Why? Ever since they started making peripherals they have consitently made the best, most reliable, most comfortable ones. I have the MS Wireless Intellimouse Explorer at home, and its fantastic. I will likely never buy a wired or ball mouse ever again. I also got the Logitch MX800, which is similar except its base station doubles as a charger, very handy. And its the first Logitech device EVER that didn't make we want to throw it across the room within 5 minutes of usage, they must have gotten a new designer, or at least a new set of test hands.

Also, the Microsoft office keyboard has this little panel on the left, which features a wide scroller. Seems pretty redundant you think, but it is actually pretty an excellent idea, and I'm not sure why it hasn't caught on yet. Its good for long web pages because I can alternate hands (good ergonomics) but where it really shines is when working in a terminal. No longer do you have to take your hands off the keyboard to click the scrollbar, you can just slide your pinky over and scroll up.

-Posted by Eric on May 2, 2003 02:07 PM

I'm using the Microsoft Wheel Mouse USB right now, and I agree with Dan; Microsoft makes some great mice. I've used (and own) several diffeent optical MS mouse products, and they've always been very well made and usable. (I believe Microsoft is a logitech OEM.)

I'm a simple 2 button-and-scroll user, but I used to use a Kensginton Turbo Mouse (trackball) and programmed macros galore. I've just gotten away from all that.

I love the idea of Apple making a more functional mouse product, and finally being *ahead* of the mouse curve (mouse tail?) for once :)

-Posted by Quinn MacDonald on May 2, 2003 10:13 PM

Did you know that the latest Athens PC that Microsoft is showing has built in Digital Restrictions Management and can not run Linux but the press is more interested in how the damn thing looks!!! Weak!

That is why I will probably get another mac for my next computer.

-Posted by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com on May 7, 2003 03:35 PM

To anyone that says the MS Intellimouse Explorer is the best mouse they've ever used I challange you to try either a logitech mx500 or mx700 (wireless version). I switched from a MSIE over to the logitech when the mx series came out and find them to be so much more comfortable to use.

I have the mx500 on my PC. The mx700 on my desktop mac. I even have the wireless trackball from the mx series for my powerbook. By far the best series of mice ever made.

-Posted by scH on May 7, 2003 04:27 PM

Do you really think that when MS is 100% DRM Apple will be far behind? Or Red Hat? I think there will always be a market for "unlicensed" OS installs but there will be a decreasing amount of software for them, and what is there will be the "almost as good" stuff that we currently see like OpenOffice.

-Posted by Eric on May 9, 2003 06:46 AM

I still say the Intellimouse owns. heheeh.

-Posted by Dan on May 29, 2003 03:00 PM

Comment posting has been turned off because I don't have enough time and will to deal with the constant comment spamming. I'm very sorry and will fix this sometime soon (soon = before 2004 ends).