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AFTER long arguing that one button was all that was required on a mouse, Apple has finally given over to a multi-function pointer, offering a new mouse with scroll ball and four function buttons.
Known as the "Mighty Mouse", the new unit is physically similar to the company's conventional mouse, but now comes with a scroll ball that allows vertical, horizontal and diagonal movement.
The four "buttons" - hidden right and left sensors on top, and buttons on either side - are programmable, and the mouse can also be used as a one-button device.
Apple has in the past steadfastly defended its one-button mouse, which, apart from cosmetic makeovers and an optical rather than mechanical movement system, has seen little change since the earliest days of the company's personal computer business.
Functions, such as contextual menus, that could be accessed by dedicated mouse buttons on Windows machines needed either "click-and-hold" or a combination of keyboard and mouse on a Mac.
But many Apple users, attracted by programmable buttons and features like scroll wheels, junked their standard pointers for after-market units such as Microsoft's Explorer series.
The new Apple mouse requires the "Tiger" release of Apple's OS X operating system for full functionality on a Macintosh-based system, and will also run on Windows machines with Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
The standard one-button mouse will also continue in the company's product range. |
