My New Mouse

ID: 050512.0937

I replaced my Apple Bluetooth wireless optical one-button no-scroll-wheel mouse with a Macally BTMOUSEJR Bluetooth wireless optical two-button scroll-wheel mouse. With one exception, this is the best mouse I've ever had. (The one exception is it takes a few seconds, and at least one mouse click, for my Mac PowerBook G4 to recognize it as a Bluetooth device upon startup, or coming out of sleep mode. The Apple Bluetoooth mouse never had this problem.)

It's a mystery among all but the most ardent Mac-heads why Apple persists in providing only one-button no-scroll-wheel mice, requiring users to press the sole mouse button (or the trackpad's single click-bar) while pressing the Ctrl key to display shortcut menus. But, that's the Mac way, and there's no changing it. (How's that for thinking different!)

Unlike the Apple Bluetooth mouse, the BTMOUSEJR will also work under Windows, providing, of course, the Windows machine has Bluetooth capabilities. And, like my previous favorite mouse — Microsoft's Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse, which also works under both Windows and Mac OS X — it has a small form factor. In fact, I would have bought Microsoft's IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth mouse, but it's just too big and clunky.

Bluetooth wireless mice are great. Unlike my old Microsoft Notebook mouse — which I also used occasionally on my Mac — there's nothing sticking out of USB ports to supply wireless transmission. It's all done from within the machine, via Bluedtooth. This may seem like a small issue — the transmitter for the Microsoft Notebook mouse is small enough to fit into a storage slot beneath the mouse — but it means my Dell laptop always needs an extra two inches in back to accommodate the transmitter. The transmitter's USB connection's a little sloppy, somewhat easily dislodged, and easily stressed when lifting the laptop off a surface.

As anyone who's felt the tug of a mouse cord can attest, wireless mice are a must-have. I've given presentations sitting at a table while my laptop's sitting at the presenter's station several feet away. (The limit for Bluetooth transmission is 33 feet.) And optical? If you have cats, you either use an optical mouse, or resign yourself to cleaning mouse balls — yes, yes: we all know the double entendre.

A final note to Apple: Coming from using a Dell 2.4 GHz Windows laptop to a Mac 1.7 GHz PowerBook was a little disapppointing. Everything seemed really slow; much slower than I'd expect from decreased CPU speed alone. Now that I've replaced the Apple mouse however, things seem much snappier. I think it's the two-button issue. It's much faster to right-click than it is to click and keypress. One action's faster than two. Get it?

But then, what do I know.

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