Core77

Finally Apple has figured out how to avoid dirty and grimy mouse balls - That's magic!

It is amazing to see how far we've seen the mouse evolve. not only the inner workings, but apples instance on a '1-button' mouse and now one that looks buttonless and feature a touch interface!

not a fan of the brick though, can't even begin to understand how anyone might have thought it was even remotely attractive!

Apple Mac's have always had two Achilles heals, is that possible ? I digress. I've owned and used macs from a very young age. I'm now 36. There are two definite malfunctions in virtually every mac design, o.k. perhaps not major problems but definitely significant errors. The apple key or is it Alt or that squiggle logo? The second note worthy failure is the embarrassing historical development of the Apple mouse. The mouse has been the total functional heretic of Apple Macs since their inception, uniformly terrible and silly. The hearing-aid brown, sanding block of the late 80's was an RSI attack dog on a long leash. Then in the late 90's the I-Mac's hockey puck mouse raised the game. This clear plastic hockey-puck mouse rotated uncontrollably in your hand, it stimulated nerve clusters you never knew you had and when you attempted a firm double click it shot across the room. The last one I owned from the Mac-Pro line trumped them all. The mac pro mouse thought it was self-aware and sensual, of course it wasn't, it was just annoying . The tiny tracker sphere in the middle desensitised the users index finger after a mere days use and a light squeeze accessed a hidden function that accidently sent my sister's e-mail address to every male between 28-39 currently incarcerated. Luckily my Mac-Pro mouse broke very quickly, all of my other mice went the same way. Of course the insignificant Apple mouse is unlike the actual Apple computer which has always been reliable.

I've always wondered about this anomaly; Apple are so scrupulous with design, so why make such a flaw time and time again? I think it is a way of letting young designers cut their teeth on a rather insignificant piece of technology. A user can always find a simple replacement, no one really complains as a replacement is always inexpensive. Young designers love nothing better than reinventing the wheel and it is always charming to see what crap they come up with.

I recently found an unused PC mouse in a box, it has two solid click buttons, a robust click wheel and a tacky red glowing bottom. My PC mouse still works, it's a dream.

celyn:
You lost me at "Apple Mac's" and "Achilles heals"! ! ! !

I still use the puck mouse after getting the first one with the original iMac 10 years ago. It requires a very light touch and minimal effort to use. With just the right pad (thank you Kevin Kubota) the ball stays clean for months and the pixel-level accuracy I get is a joy.

While all my designer friends bought their nice ergo-expensive mice I stuck with the puck - and avoided the carpal ailments that many of them succumbed to.

If you are a puck hater, just do this: Pick up a single CD in your hand. See how much effort that requires? That's how much stress on the wrist the puck puts.

I don't care what they say. It's a work of art and I love it.