Apple to kill off the mouse!!!

[trip1ex]

Well said.

The reaction that you can't do video editing or this or that with the mouse is just a reaction from people used to one type of control device and not another.


And whether some know it or not, the trackpad is, today, the de facto standard input device for Apple given that they sell many more laptops than desktops.

 

[darrellishere]

Ow your so right! These gestures feels so natural to a large no of people!

I can just see all the media moguls loving this input method. It also works great with 24" screens, where you can navigate so much more easily!!!

I hate using my mouse since getting my Air! The lack of a multi-touch trackpad makes using my iMac a real chore, pain in the backside, and I've been dreaming about this trackpad for a while now.

So many people have come to the same conclusion/idea on their own, that it has too happen!

The new shorter keyboard is scarily looking like a preemptive product!! Left/Right Handed!
Wow go apple! Please!!!!! Apple is implementing multi touch into Snow Leopard, lets hope for desktops !!!!!!

Fingers crossed (No pun intended!) we may find out or not at the media event.

 

[SkyBell]

Look, this is all flawed logic. There is no way Apple could kill the mouse, even if they wanted too. I could see them stop making mouses, but that's hardly "killing it."

 

[soulman901]

The OP probably had too much Mountain Dew in the morning when he got up,
Lay off the 2 Liters, they'll only give you heartaches and high blood pressure.

 

[Fomaphone]

The OP probably had too much Mountain Dew in the morning when he got up,
Lay off the 2 Liters, they'll only give you heartaches ...

did you mean chest pains or social torment?

 

[soulman901]

Chest Pains. Oh and let's not forget our number one favorite, Diabetes.
Although I'm not saying he'll get it. In fact, I'm telling people to lay off a lot of Suger Water. I drink a lot of Tea and not that much coffee.

 

[K3mp]

Multi-Touch works well when the screen is in the 3.5 inch to 10 inch range. A 24 inch multi touch screen would be really aggravating and a pain in the butt. So pretty much what I am saying is multi touch is great on the iPhone. It would probably be good on a netbook, but a mouse would be much better on a desktop then a touch screen. I really doubt they will kill the mouse completely.

 

[hawaiipoolman]

here is a mockup of the keyboard Apple should have come out already... maybe we will get lucky and see this on the 3/24 with a black chicklet illuminated keyboard...

my original post
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/661082/

to be honest i dont think the mouse will ever be killed...with that being said I think the mockup that I made will be a superior input device then the current mighty mouse. I recently sold my aluminum macbook for an imac and immediately i knew i needed a trackpad. Not only will the average user enjoy the new gestures apple has created, but it will also allow developers to develop more multitouch applications without owning a new Macbook. I think we will see a black chicklet backlit keyboard with the trackpad addon option within the year. well at least I hope so...

 

[Lesser Evets]

What say you MacRumors readers?

I SAY--WHAT'RE YOU SMOKING?

It's a possibility in future, but how far in the future? 5 years? Probably. Something will kill off the mouse in the future.

It'll be a long time before they take my ancient MS Trackball-thumbball device from under my hand. The buttons. The control with minimum effort. The ergonomics. Wonderful.

The main problem with a pad like is mocked up is that you have to suspend your hand instead of resting it. You can't rest your fingers without fouling up everything.

Viva le mouse-type-things. It isn't even close to being killed off by touch pads until they figure out how to make comfortable touchpads.

 

[lukecro]

Mouse Trapped, Killed

. . . Despite complaints from some that the mouse is a better device for design work and video editing, I have to wonder about how true this is -- I know tons and tons of people that do professional graphic design and video editing on their laptops, using the built-in touchpad instead of an external mouse. Thanks to various trackpad-like input methods being used on laptops for over a decade now, this method of control is very mainstream for just about every computer device EXCEPT for the desktop. . . . But, anyway, I'm tired of the Days of Mice. I don't need a full touch-screen monitor, and I'll continue to use keyboard shortcuts forever, but let's stop dragging our collective feet and Kill the Mouse in exchange for a brilliant, easy to use, intuitive multitouch input device that gives users a cohesive experience across desktops, laptops, iPods, and smart-phones/PDAs.

Look, this is all flawed logic. There is no way Apple could kill the mouse, even if they wanted too. I could see them stop making mouses, but that's hardly "killing it."

Oh, it's possible.

 

[old-wiz]

Cold Dead Fingers

They will get my mouse from my cold dead fingers.

 

[Dmac77]

The mouse will be around for a long time. Most people prefer a mouse to a trackpad or multi touch. Apple may introduce a trackpad accessory, or add multi touch to the computers, but they will still be compatible with a mouse, and they will be for a long time.

Don

 

[ditzy]

Despite complaints from some that the mouse is a better device for design work and video editing, I have to wonder about how true this is -- I know tons and tons of people that do professional graphic design and video editing on their laptops, using the built-in touchpad instead of an external mouse. Thanks to various trackpad-like input methods being used on laptops for over a decade now, this method of control is very mainstream for just about every computer device EXCEPT for the desktop.

With all of that in mind, how many people are really going to be left using mice five years from now if Apple and other vendors roll out slick little Macbook Air-style clickable multi-touch pads that you can plop down next to your keyboard where your mouse currently sits, and then start swiping, pinching, zooming, twisting, and double-clicking your way to productivity?

I have tried the new and improved apple trackpads. They are absolutely better than anything else out there apart from one thing. The mouse.
If I am force to use a trackpad, I'd prefer an apple one but if I have a choice I'd always use a mouse.
Do I think that it is possible even probable in the future that apple will offer the option of a trackpad instead of a mouse, absolutely. I'd probably even order that in the knowledge that I'd be ordering a third party mouse anyway. But I'd try it as a novelty, then remember why I don't like trackpads and go back to using a mouse.

 

[Liam8]

I doubt it

I doubt that apple would take away the mouse. It would be really awkward to use a trackpad at a desk. But you never know.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

(Non-multitouch) trackpads have been around for many years even for PC users, they just haven't caught on. Maybe multi-touch (on trackpad, not screen) will change this.

 

[Gunga Din]

Mouse is best. Trackpad and touchscreen are both quite slow to use, especially in pro use. I have a laptop with external mouse because I HATE the trackpad, it's so slow.

2nd this. Only thing that would work faster would be voice activated commands. "open mail" and the mail client opens. Maybe they should introduce voice commands.

Of course this could cause some problems in a crowded office or while playing music lol.

 

[Hellhammer]

2nd this. Only thing that would work faster would be voice activated commands. "open mail" and the mail client opens. Maybe they should introduce voice commands.

Of course this could cause some problems in a crowded office or while playing music lol.

And think about gaming. "Kill that noob!" "Shoot to the head!" "You ****ing voice command thing , why you won't work!?!?" This kid would need that

 

[SkyBell]

2nd this. Only thing that would work faster would be voice activated commands. "open mail" and the mail client opens. Maybe they should introduce voice commands.

Of course this could cause some problems in a crowded office or while playing music lol.

Voice commands have been around for a while. I use them all the time on my iBook G4 which is running 10.4. "Open iTunes" "Switch Windows" etc., check out your system preferences for "Speech."

 

[lukecro]

Enter the mighty Magic Mouse

So, it looks like the "Apple to kill the mouse" rumors were half true - the mice are still alive, but now they're slathered in pinch-swipe-tap multitouch trackpad goodness. Are we witnessing the Evolution of the mouse, or is this just one more step in the eventual mouse assasination that will end in trackpads next to every computer, multi-touch keyboards, Hippo Remote iPhone app adoption by a mass audience, Minority Report middle-of-the-air gesture technology, better voice-recognition control, and no mice to be seen anywhere?

 

[Michael CM1]

Last poster, they should really highlight when the OP is months old!

It was funny seeing all this "they're gonna kill the mouse!" I thought, "no, Apple is just making it a helluva lot better and killing those dumb wheels." If I had $70 and the need for a new mouse, I'd get one. But my Mighty Mouse works pretty darn well aside from the famous "clean me once a week!" trackball. The wired Mighty Mouse I have at work is amusing to watch the idiots I work with try to use. They have no clue it has two buttons and so they wonder why the right-click menu keeps popping up.

 

[macchiato2009]

out of all new products yesterday, it is true that the magic mouse made its impression !

rivals such as MS and Logitech will have now to fill the gap with their products

i assume that all patents are owned by Apple

i don't see how they will be able to catch up

 

[lukecro]

Yeah, between the slick new Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse, and Wacom's tablets (like their Bamboo Touch trackpad, which isn't as pretty as the Apple Magic Trackpad, but it has similar multi-touch functionality plus some decent drawing/graphic abilities that might make it better than the Magic Tackpad in some respects), the traditional mouse is really gonna get hammered over the next few years. I'm sure a lot of other companies will start racing out new multi-touch mouse replacements soon as well.

I love using the trackpad on my Macbook Pro, so I can't wait to add a trackpad to my iMac. Just trying to decide whether or not to get the Magic Trackpad or a Wacom.

I've also tried a lot of iPhone Apps that act as trackpads/remotes for my Mac. My favorite among those is the Hippo Remote Pro -- its trackpad works really well, and its advanced remote functionality is great for controlling the computer while sitting on the couch (the Hippo Remote even has specialized interfaces for programs like VLC, Firefox, etc., plus app-launching, so it's a pretty amazing universal remote for any Mac) . . . But the iPhone is just too small to use comfortably as a full mouse replacement for regular work (word-processing, graphic design, etc.) -- I'm thinking the Magic Trackpad is the right size and shape to finally let me throw my old Mighty Mouse in a drawer for good (although I'll also keep using Hippo Remote on the iPhone for media playback/web-surfing from the couch).

If the Magic Trackpad was a bit cheaper and worked better with Windows, I might even buy one for my office computer too (where I have to use a second-rate Dell running Windows XP; bloody nightmare).

 

[REM314]

Ill stick with my mouse thanks. Apple has a bad track record for setting trends in the desktop community unlike their iDevices.