About the mouse

The Mighty Mouse is made of white plastic and has a recessed Apple logo on the mouse’s face. The mouse has four functional “buttons”: a left capacitive sensor, a right capacitive sensor, a track ball with a pressure sensor and side squeeze sensors. The track ball enables users to scroll a page or document in every direction by rolling the ball in the desired direction. Two of the above-mentioned inputs are not physical buttons. Rather, the touch-sensitive topshell (mentioned below) and the pressure sensing trackball allow the mouse to detect which side is being touched or whether the trackball is being held in.

Currently Mac OS X is the only operating system that fully supports the mouse. When used with Mac OS X the sensors can be set to launch applications or trigger features of the Apple operating system, such as Dashboard and Expos. If not used with Mac OS X, the mouse behaves as a four “button” mouse with a vertical and horizontal scroll wheel. There are third-party drivers (XMouse, AppleM) that provide more functions to users of other platforms such as Windows.

The Mighty Mouse does not report whether the right and left sensor is activated simultaneously. In fact, it reports a right-click only when there is no finger contact on the left side of the mouse. This means that the Mighty Mouse cannot support mouse chording, used by CAD software, games, and other applications where multiple functions are mapped to the mouse.

Versions and sell dates

The wireless Mighty Mouse

On August 2, 2005, Apple introduced Mighty Mouse, at the suggested retail price of US.

On 12 October 2005, Apple began shipping a Mighty Mouse with every iMac, and on 19 October 2005, with the PowerMac G5 line as well. The user has a choice to upgrade to an Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse.

On 25 July 2006, Apple released a wireless Mighty Mouse which uses Bluetooth 2.0. The new version uses two AA batteries, but can run on a single AA battery to reduce weight. Wireless Mighty Mouse was priced at .

On August 7, 2007, Apple slightly updated the Mighty Mouse, changing the color of the squeeze areas to white. As of September 2009, the wired version of the Mighty Mouse costs , while the wireless version costs .

On October 20, 2009, Apple was forced to rename the Mighty Mouse the Apple Mouse due to legal issues regarding the name.

On the same day, Apple announced and released a completely new mouse called the Apple Magic Mouse, built with an aluminum base with a multitouch panel. Like the trackpads on the Macbooks, this new version also introduced gestures. This version uses two AA batteries and will be priced at .

The model number of the old version of the Mighty Mouse is MA272LL/A, and the new Mighty Mouse’s model number is MB111LL/A.

Technical features

Touch-sensitive top shell

360 degree enabled clickable track ball

Force-sensing side “squeeze” areas

Optical (LED) tracking in wired version

Laser tracking in wireless version

Compatible with Macintosh and Windows PCs (wireless version is Mac-only)

Programmable functions for the four “buttons”

Auditory feedback with built-in speaker

Compatible also with Linux

Criticism

Although the Mighty Mouse can sense both right and left clicks it is not possible to press both sensors simultaneously. The user must learn to lift the left finger off the sensor surface before attempting a right-mouse click.

The scroll ball will eventually become clogged with dirt and require cleaning. While there are methods to clean the ball without dismantling the mouse some users have complained that the Mighty Mouse is difficult to clean because the scroll ball mechanism is hard to take apart.

Name

Prior to launching the device, Apple received a license to the name “Mighty Mouse” from Viacom, and subsequently CBS Operations, as owner of the Mighty Mouse cartoon series, the title having been registered in the U.S. as a trademark with respect to various merchandise (such as T-shirts and multivitamins) associated with the character. However, the trademark did not cover computer peripherals, and CBS would not apply to trademark the term in the U.S. with respect to computer mice until mid-2007.

On May 21, 2008 it was announced that Man & Machine Inc., a supplier of keyboards and mice to laboratories and hospitals, had sued Apple Inc. for trademark infringement over its use of the name Mighty Mouse. Man & Machine Inc. had four registered or pending trademarks on various computer pointing related technologies, including “Cool Mouse”, “Really Cool”, and “Man and Machine and Design”. The particular Mighty Mouse trademark in dispute was first filed by Man & Machine Inc., on December 18, 2007 with the description “Computer cursor control devices, namely, computer mice” after CBS’s filing, but claiming first use in 2004, before the introduction of the Apple device.

Following opposition proceedings on both sides against the other, CBS subsequently withdrew its application, allowing Man & Machine to register the U.S. trademark for computer mice. As a result, Apple stopped selling mice under the “Mighty Mouse” name on October 20, 2009, when it introduced the wireless Magic Mouse and renamed the existing wired mouse the “Apple Mouse”.

Incidentally, CBS was successful in registering “Mighty Mouse” as a trademark for computer mice in some other countries, including Canada, although Apple nevertheless chose to change its product name internationally.

See also

Apple Mouse

Apple Keyboard

Apple Magic Mouse

References

^ a b Apple Magic Mouse page, accessed 20 October 2009

^ http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm

^ AppleM Pro – (Mighty Mouse)

^ Apple Introduces Mighty Mouse

^ Apple Debuts Wireless Mighty Mouse

^ “On the bottom half of the mouse, we observed the presence of a speaker” from Dissecting Mighty Mouse

^ YouTube video showing presence of speaker on wireless version of the mouse: Apple wireless mighty mouse disassembling & cleaning

^ “Apple Mighty Mouse on Linux HowTo” from Apple Mighty Mouse on Linux HowTo

^ Dissecting Mighty Mouse: Page 1

^
^ Mighty Mouse: Dirty Mouse

^ http://www.mightymouserepair.com/ Mighty Mouse Repair Guide

^ USPTO record for trademark application no. 73738658

^ a b USPTO record for trademark application no. 77224649, filed 9 July 2007, “abandoned after an inter partes decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board” on 4 June 2009

^ Man & Machine sues Apple over Mighty Mouse – Washington Business Journal:

^ http://www.trademarkia.com/company-man–machine-inc-761485-page-1-2

^ PCWorld. “Apple Mighty Mouse Caught in Trademark Trap.” 9 October 2009.

^ Canadian Trade-Marks Database record for application no. 1234482

External links

Mighty Mouse

Review of the mouse by Ars Technica

Apple Mighty Mouse unofficial driver for Windows (Allen Tang), installation guide for the Windows drivers XMouse and AppleM Pro

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Categories: 2005 introductions | Apple Inc. peripherals | Pointing devices

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