[HN Gopher] I Hacked the Magic Mouse
___________________________________________________________________
I Hacked the Magic Mouse
Author : nmstoker
Score : 393 points
Date : 2023-11-18 00:06 UTC (22 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (uplab.pro)
(TXT) w3m dump (uplab.pro)
| softskunk wrote:
| i think i recall reading somewhere that apple designed the mouse
| in the way they did in order to prevent people just leaving the
| mouse on charge 24/7 and hence not using its wireless capability
| while negatively affecting the battery.
|
| i'm not saying i agree with apple's decision, but i find the
| perspective interesting.
| rcruzeiro wrote:
| Im not sure about that as both the Magic Trackpad and Magic
| Keyboard both have the charging ports on their backs.
| wlesieutre wrote:
| Neither of those gets wiggled around during use though.
|
| The wireless mice I've had with optionally connected cords
| for data/charging do tend to have a big glob of plastic at
| the end that locks into the mouse housing so none of the
| strain is on the actual USB connection.
|
| Things like these:
|
| https://www.amazon.com/Gaming-Mouse-Cable-Meters-
| Copper/dp/B...
|
| https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251800588456430.html
| bogantech wrote:
| It would be quite simple for the firmware to handle such use
| cases as that with some battery management.
|
| They just want to control exactly how you use their products
| elzbardico wrote:
| Nah, it was a pure aesthetically oriented decision from John
| Ive. The ergonomics could be a lot better too.
| aerio wrote:
| Jony Ive*
| parker_mountain wrote:
| A more plausible explanation was that the cable strain of not
| using a specialty cable was also an issue. Look at where the
| cable attaches to the mouse on a conventional mouse - it's
| usually very reinforced internally or extenernally
| dkarras wrote:
| it has become a meme, but really a non-issue in real life if
| you used the mouse yourself really. A minute or so of
| charging is enough to power it for a whole day of use. plug
| it again when you leave your desk for a bit and you'll have
| enough charge for days.
| stephenr wrote:
| Who do you think you are dispelling memes and
| disenfranchising the chuds who need something to complain
| about. I mean really? Why do you have to bring actual use
| and reality into it?
|
| Seriously though. This is absolutely correct. I get that
| some people don't like it, but I really don't get the
| obsession with the charging port.
|
| I guess I should be glad that these people didn't complain
| the Apple Watch can't be worn while it's charging.
| djmips wrote:
| You could just spring for two mice. And if you do find
| yourself in a rush and your mouse dies then just go for the
| backup and charge the dead mouse and it becomes the backup.
| 2muchcoffeeman wrote:
| Use AA batteries.
| shepherdjerred wrote:
| It'd be hard to fit AA and even AAA in the profile of the
| Magic Mouse.
|
| The obvious response is that the mouse should be thicker to
| accommodate those batteries, but that goes against Apple's
| entire ethos.
| numpad0 wrote:
| 1st gen MM uses 2xAA. Apple even had a branded NiMH bundle
| for that and keyboard.
| imwally wrote:
| Still use this one every day.
| gumby wrote:
| I still have and use an Apple branded AA chargers (came
| with Eneloops in Apple livery). It has the same
| connection system as the external chargers so I normally
| have it connected to a long cable. Used it
| internationally with the same adaptors as for my MacBook
| charger.
| password4321 wrote:
| Received a refurbed Mac and someone had swapped out their
| mouse for my rechargeable one... always a song and dance
| to re-connect every time the batteries die. (I pretty
| much use another mouse to get to the Bluetooth icon on
| the menu, I'm no Mac expert.)
|
| I always shake my fist in the air and curse "Eric
| Seifert's Mouse" semi-silently in frustration!
| Tagbert wrote:
| The reason for the thinness of the Apple Mouse is so that
| gestures can be used on the top like a trackpad. If it were
| domes like a typical Logitech mouse, you couldn't do that.
| Whether those gestures turned out to be useful is another
| question but that was the reason.
| cwalv wrote:
| I find the gestures really useful. It's the only reason
| I'd continue using a mac outside of work
| 2muchcoffeeman wrote:
| I imagine they also wanted to make 1 mouse ambidextrous.
| Maybe they should just tilt it and ask the user to choose
| handedness. I use a track ball and split keyboard and it
| has never been an issue no one can use my setup except
| me.
|
| The constant need to have lithium ion is really terrible.
| Battery life is less of an issue when I can swap
| batteries quickly with common sizes.
| dividedbyzero wrote:
| I have a 2xAA Magic Mouse that I still use occasionally.
| Feels a little heavier than the later models, can't tell
| them apart otherwise without looking at the bottom.
| RulerOf wrote:
| I'd go a little farther than that--I suspect that they were
| worried a chunk of users would assume the device required the
| cord for normal operation.
| cwalv wrote:
| Being able to charge it while in use might extend the life of
| the mouse past the life of the battery
| tonyedgecombe wrote:
| The fact that you only need to charge it once a month
| indicates the battery isn't going through many cycles. I
| expect the battery to last a very long time.
| Ringz wrote:
| @Cwalv is still right. Especially if you value
| sustainability higher than the manufacturer's share price.
| And you should always do that.
| goosedragons wrote:
| No, it was entirely to recycle the design and tooling of the
| Magic Mouse 1 which used AA batteries. The Magic Trackpad 2 and
| Magic Keyboard came out the exact same day as the MM2 but both
| of those happily work plugged in and even work wired while
| plugged in.
| mslt wrote:
| Supply chain guy - This is it right here. Hardware
| accessories like mice aren't driving substantial sales or
| revenue; they're just a cost of doing business if you sell
| PCs.
|
| But swapping tooling and retraining staff on assembly is
| extremely disruptive for a manufacturer. That disruption is
| passed back to the 1st party brand in incremental FOB and
| per-unit surcharge.
|
| The incremental cost eats at your margin, which eats at your
| profit, which eats at your street price.
|
| So, if you're forced to choose between margin erosion and
| incremental cost for a product that has little effect on
| sales growth, you save the money and recycle the design.
|
| People will bitch about the port on that mouse while they
| walk to the Apple Store to buy a new Mac that comes bundled
| with said mouse.
|
| Apple will save millions annually by not optimizing a product
| that doesn't really make them any money on its own.
|
| When it's reasonably cost effective to make a better
| peripheral, they will. Until then, they're going to pay more
| attention to their books than people's complaints, because
| mice don't drive their business.
| wredue wrote:
| Oh there's no shortage of people that defend the MM.
|
| That anyone uses this mouse for an extended period is
| insane. It's heavy a fuck, not ergonomic in the slightest,
| has insane uncomfortable edging, and cannot be used plugged
| in.
|
| This mouse has no redeeming qualities at all.
| grishka wrote:
| The first-gen magic trackpad is even worse. It sits so close to
| a USB port, it's on the same spot on my desk 99.999% of the
| time, it has no valid reason to be wireless, yet it needs 2 AA
| batteries _just because_. Charging and swapping them is
| cumbersome and it always dies when you least expect it.
| Bluetooth is finicky too at times. I was looking forward to a
| USB-C magic mouse to replace it yet it didn 't come.
| GlumWoodpecker wrote:
| As a hobby project: cool. But as a solution to a problem, how
| about not supporting companies that make ridiculously overpriced
| products with hugely deficient functional designs? Apple
| consistently makes products that work worse than their
| competitors', for quadruple the price, but, hey, I guess they
| "look nice".
|
| ...which is subjective, personally I think Apple products look
| absolutely atrocious, with half of screen real estate of their
| software attributed to _padding_ , and all their product's
| surfaces the blandest possible solid colors imaginable. So when a
| product not only functions worse, is several times the price, but
| also looks bad, what's left?
| favorited wrote:
| > with half of screen real estate of their software attributed
| to padding
|
| Padding is incredibly important for readable text content. For
| example, WCAG recommends that blocks of text be no more than 80
| Latin glyphs wide.
|
| https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-cont...
| presbyterian wrote:
| > Apple consistently makes products that work worse than their
| competitors', for quadruple the price
|
| This is also subjective. Personally, I find Apple products to
| work _far_ better than the competition. I have to use Windows
| every day at work and I find the experience miserable, and I've
| had 3 different Android phones and always find myself returning
| to the iPhone.
|
| As for the price, Apple products do cost a bit more, but
| quadruple is quite the exaggeration. Comparable ultrabooks to
| the MacBook Pro (Dell XPS line, ThinkPad X1) aren't massively
| far off, and they're made of plastic, not aluminum, which makes
| a difference in durability in my experience. As for mobile, the
| iPhone is priced in line with other high-end smartphones like
| the Galaxy and Pixel lines.
| diego_moita wrote:
| > how about not supporting companies that make ridiculously
| overpriced products with hugely deficient functional designs?
|
| You made a very good point.
|
| This whole post reminds me the whole iPhone Jailbreak thing:
| people devoting an huge amount of time and effort to "fix"
| something Apple doesn't want to be fixed.
|
| And they're even proud of it! I find it to be utterly pathetic.
|
| Over and over again Apple forces their manipulative decisions
| over their costumers and the majority just follows along.
|
| And the funniest thing is the standard reaction on HN, a place
| for Apple fanboys. When Microsoft does the same this place
| erupts with anger, e.g: all the complaints about adds and
| telemetry on Windows. If Apple does it they invent excuses and
| over-complicated workarounds for it.
| adastra22 wrote:
| Congrats on beating out one of the OpenAI threads!
| LorenDB wrote:
| Huge respect for the RGB :)
| Brajeshwar wrote:
| First, I've small hands. I started with the Mighty Mouse[1]. The
| current Magic Mouse is comfortable for my usage. The Mighty Mouse
| (Wireless) was the perfect one.
|
| I tried one of those Magic Mouse "enhancements" (2009-2010) -- a
| white silicon contraption -- that sits atop the mouse. It was
| handy, and I used it for a while. I eventually got used to the
| mouse in its form and stopped trying any modifications.
|
| I have tried the Master Series from Logitech, and I like them but
| don't use all the functions. I like the simplicity of the Magic
| Mouse.
|
| Charging - I do it once in 45 days, or when it complains -- leave
| it charged -- have tea, walk/run, or read. Charging was never a
| problem, and I believe everyone else making a lot of noise about
| the charging is just overblowing it. If you remember to leave it
| charged overnight, it needs no charging for the next month or so.
|
| 1. https://cdn.oinam.com/img/oinam/brajeshwar-apple-mighty-
| mous...
| giobox wrote:
| The Mighty Mouse size was nice, but not sure it was worth the
| constant hassle of cleaning the tiny track ball of whatever
| microscopic dust mote blocked it from working again and again -
| every single Mighty Mouse I ever owned would regularly jam up
| and be a pain to unjam. No other mouse I've ever owned or
| abused has had a button or wheel stop working, ever.
|
| I do miss the distinctive "click" Apple mice of this era made a
| lot though.
| jonhohle wrote:
| The Mighty Mouse is almost the perfect mouse, IMHO. Its two
| flaws are 1) (as the sibling comment pointed out) how the
| scroll ball accumulates junk and is impossible to clean without
| cutting open the mouse and the implementation of the side
| buttons.
|
| Having a first party Apple mouse with real middle click support
| is awesome. The multi direction scrolling has become a
| mandatory mouse feature for me. The size and weight are
| fantastic. For those that have used it, and don't know, the
| nearly haptic tic while scrolling is an internal speaker which
| provides great feedback (especially when the rollers get stuck
| and the clicking stops so you known it's time to clean the
| ball).
|
| I find the Magic Mouse uncomfortable, it has no native middle
| click, no side buttons. Its best feature is that it fixed the
| scroll ball.
|
| I finally broke down and bought a new, old stock Mighty Mouse a
| few months ago. The scroll ball feels so smooth.
| karmakaze wrote:
| The photos show why every magic mouse I've had always wore funny
| with the 'right button' getting mushy. There's only one
| microswitch and the right one is just a leaf spring.
| zozbot234 wrote:
| > There's only one microswitch
|
| Classic Apple mouse design. They never change, do they?
| narrowtux wrote:
| Think about having one plane (the entire glass) pressing 2
| microswitches. Debouncing one switch is hard enough, now
| you've got to debounce 2, and detect if the user was doing a
| really fast double click, or just pressed in the center of
| the mouse.
| krater23 wrote:
| Debouncing buttons is a solved problem at all. Thinking
| that Apple is so good that they put the charging port out
| of a reason to the bottom but aren't able to debouce two
| buttons is silly.
| theobromananda wrote:
| I wasn't even aware that it could do right click. The magic
| mouses I had seen didn't want to do that.
| breakfastduck wrote:
| you have to specifically turn it on in settings on macOS.
| grishka wrote:
| It only needs one switch because it detects which button you're
| clicking by where you're pressing down on the surface.
| Retr0id wrote:
| I think there's already a solution: flat-flex QI charging pads,
| like this one: https://www.mobilefun.co.uk/iphone-lightning-qi-
| universal-wi...
|
| I don't endorse that particular listing, it was just the first
| one in my search results. It has a QI wireless power receiver,
| and a right-angled lightning connector. The intended usage is to
| plug it into an iPhone and put a case on top - but I think it'd
| work just fine on the bottom of a magic mouse. You could put the
| power transmitter under the mouse mat and never worry about
| charging ever again!
|
| I haven't tried this so maybe there are practical reasons why
| it's a bad idea. Has anyone tried it?
| djmips wrote:
| A key problem is that charging via the lightning port on a
| Magic Mouse disables the mouse from working. This was only
| fully apparent for me from skimming the linked videos in the
| original post. That is why the person who 'hacked' the magic
| mouse went to all the trouble of creating a parallel charging
| circuit which directly charges the battery while in operation.
| ushtaritk421 wrote:
| I bought a Logitech
| Aleksdev wrote:
| Seriously that charging spot is ridiculous!
| ryandrake wrote:
| Good for this guy, wow. Nice project.
|
| I always thought that the Magic Mouse was really the ideal
| technology for interacting with a Mac--just too bad that it's so
| unergonomic. I can't prove it, but I blame a decade of Magic
| Mouse use for my very painful RSI, which I now have the pleasure
| of experiencing using any mouse at all.
|
| Apple's input devices are beautiful, but they totally blow
| comfort. It's as if their industrial designers are all in their
| early 20s and have never experienced joint pain.
| jahewson wrote:
| I suspect you're right. I very much enjoyed the Magic Mouse but
| had similar issues with wrist discomfort. The neutral position
| of the human wrist is vertical - thumb pointing up as if
| shaking hands with someone. The Magic Mouse is so low-profile
| that it forces the wrist into an almost 90deg rotation.
| Ergonomically, it's highly problematic.
|
| The solution for me was to switch to a vertical mouse (well,
| almost) that allows the wrist to remain neutral. Because I
| missed the gestures I added a Magic Trackpad on the left side
| of my keyboard. Of course this suffers from the same ergonomic
| problem but I only reach for it sporadically so the impact is
| minimal.
| lwhi wrote:
| A vertical mouse was a game changer for my RSI. Stopped it in
| it's tracks.
| eastbound wrote:
| Why don't you put the trackpad vertically?
| ryandrake wrote:
| Tried the vertical mouse, but no help. My wrist seems to be
| permanently fucked. I use a trackpad 100% now, no problems.
| Epa095 wrote:
| My 2 cents: I had rsi, then I started bouldering. At first
| I got more pain. The original rsi, but also the 'forearm
| pump'. But then after maybe half a year the pain
| dissappeared. Not just the new pain, but the old pain as
| well.
| bitwize wrote:
| Building strength seems to help with all sorts of pain
| issues. I once banged up my arm pretty good in a fall;
| what helped was going to the gym and doing curls and
| extensions with whatever the arm could support: five
| pounds, ten pounds, whatever.
| thathndude wrote:
| Blood flow is the most likely explanation there. The
| simple act of activating those muscles forces blood flow,
| which can often be restricted in a healing area. Same
| reason we apply warmth to an area and encourage light
| massage.
| throwuxiytayq wrote:
| It's like the body reaches a false equilibrium in which
| the injury doesn't heal completely unless you "knock it
| out" of the equilibrium again.
|
| From personal experience: if you have mild pain from past
| injury/strain, don't give up on trying to fix it. Move a
| lot, improve your muscle strength and try to stimulate
| circulation. Be careful not to repeat the injury, but
| don't avoid the pain altogether (eg. by reducing the
| amount of movement). It's possible that the pain will
| improve or disappear, even if your injury didn't heal by
| itself for years.
|
| (Oh, and go see a physiotherapist a couple of times if
| you haven't already.)
| thathndude wrote:
| A lot of "injuries" we have can be fixed with exercise.
|
| This is why a lot of what PT's do is teach you simple
| exercises to work ALL of your muscles, including those
| that might not get activated in our day to day existence,
| leading to problems.
| Karrot_Kream wrote:
| Me too posts are frowned upon on HN, but vote counts are
| hidden so I'll say for others: me too. I developed RSI as
| a teen from spending too much time at a desk with bad
| posture and have dealt with flare-ups into my adulthood.
| They were miserable and some days I had to take off work.
| Once I started bouldering, it went away within months.
| It's probably the forced blood flow in the area, but
| whatever it was helped tremendously. I can still hurt my
| wrist if I type in a terrible position, but it only hurts
| a bit and doesn't turn into the sustained RSI I had.
| Aerbil313 wrote:
| I had always a sneaking suspicion that my RSI pain is
| psychologically triggered, as when I was in a bad mood my
| fingers didn't "want to" be worked with. After reading
| similar comments on HN I grow more skeptical of this over
| time, which lead me to disbelieving it's a real pain and
| not a psychologically caused one.
|
| I use my fingers on keyboards all day long. Body adapts and
| grows stronger with use, it doesn't get more and more
| vulnerable. After I realized this it went away. Now I can
| use them 15h/day with 4.5h/day sleep with no problems.
| tempodox wrote:
| With the exception of a few select programs where a mouse is
| indispensable, I'm a happy Magic Trackpad user for over 10
| years now. No RSI ever.
| zukzuk wrote:
| I developed pretty nasty tenosynovitis in my inner wrist from
| using a Magic Pad over a year. I even tried switching to
| using it with my left hand instead of my right, and
| eventually developed the same problem in the other wrist.
|
| It got bad enough I opted for cortisone injections.
|
| This was about 10 years ago. I've avoided Apple's input
| devices since, opting for proper ergonomic keyboards and
| mice, with no further RSI thankfully.
| walteweiss wrote:
| Same with me. I use a gaming mouse on the right from my
| keyboard and a trackpad on the left. Very convenient for me.
| bitwize wrote:
| > Apple's input devices are beautiful, but they totally blow
| comfort. It's as if their industrial designers are all in their
| early 20s and have never experienced joint pain.
|
| Riddle me this: My wife _loves_ the hockeypuck mouse. The only
| thing that remains of her Tangerine iMac is its orange
| hockeypuck; I bought her a USBA-to-USBC dongle so she can use
| it with her MacBook Air.
|
| Fortunately, she uses her computer infrequently enough to be
| relatively unaffected by RSI issues, so that may have something
| to do with it.
| eviks wrote:
| Yes, it's the "form over function" school of design that Apple
| is famous for
| jxdxbx wrote:
| I find mice that are _too_ "ergonomic" to be difficult to use.
| rtaylorgarlock wrote:
| The opposite for me, except that I'm in the 'larger than
| normal hands' camp. Ergo-optimized devices for the masses
| don't fit my hands, but they're close enough that I've
| adapted. Parametric 3d-printable ergonomic desk stuffs on my
| to-do list for a few years now.
| jmholla wrote:
| Have you tried vertical mice? I hvae one and it helps with my
| carpal tunnel (which incidentally I'm pretty sure was caused by
| Mac's butterfly keyboards and their lack of travel distance).
| raverbashing wrote:
| Yeah, I honestly don't get the hate about the magic mouse
|
| "Oh but you have to charge it upside down", yes. Every something
| like 3 months I have to stop for some 15min (if I don't remember
| to charge it first) to be able to use it for the rest of the day
| and then charge it when I'm not using
|
| It is really one complaint that's more internet meme than an
| actual grievance
| al_borland wrote:
| For a company as obsessed with design as Apple, it's a bad
| design. A mouse sitting upside-down, or on its side, on a desk
| is not exactly elegant. Even if it's just for a short period of
| time every 3 months, it's still an ugly solution. It's on par
| with the Apple Pencil that charged in the bottom of the iPad.
|
| A MagSafe connection to the front of the mouse seems like it
| would be much better.
|
| I have an old AA version of the Magic Mouse, I'd much rather
| use that over the current Magic Mouse, though I currently use a
| Logitech. If they ever move the charging port off the bottom, I
| might give the Apple mouse another look.
| raverbashing wrote:
| > A MagSafe connection to the front of the mouse seems like
| it would be much better.
|
| Yes, but even that would change the aesthetic of the mouse
| when right-side up. Though yes, I like your suggestion
|
| > It's on par with the Apple Pencil that charged in the
| bottom of the iPad.
|
| That's probably worse though. And yes I agree it is bad
|
| Basically yes, while charging upside down is ugly I think
| they kinda accept it because it's not "while in use" (also
| there might have been some space or other design constraints,
| etc)
| lloeki wrote:
| I think GP might have suggested a flush connection that
| would allow the mouse to stay flat and even operable while
| charging.
|
| In any case, given the thinness of Lightning, I still don't
| see how it would be impossibly ugly to have had such a
| connector at the top end of the mouse, turning it into a
| wired one during charge. The current Magic Mouse design is
| a compromised "plywood on the back of a chest of drawers"
| design.
|
| https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/445621-when-you-re-a-
| carpen...
| raverbashing wrote:
| Well yeah it's not like Apple had great mouse design on
| Steve's days ;)
| VeejayRampay wrote:
| don't be a basic fanboy, it's bad design
|
| everyone knows it's bad design
| firexcy wrote:
| My contrarian view is that the Magic Mouse _can_ be ergonomic as
| long as you use to be keyboard-centric and treat the Magic Mouse
| primarily as an extra-large scroll wheel. Then you'll find the
| scrolling experience with the Magic Mouse is even better than one
| with a traditional mouse or a trackpad because you can speed-
| scroll with any finger, at any angle, and with minimal frictions.
| I especially enjoy scrolling with the right tip of my ring
| finger.
| mission_failed wrote:
| So, the magic mouse is fine to use if you don't use it as a
| mouse...?
|
| I can't decide which is more appropriate, "Think different" or
| "you're holding it wrong"
| tempodox wrote:
| I do have a mouse pad that says "Think different" (from the
| previous millennium) but none that says "You're holding it
| wrong". That's a serious gap that any competent mouse pad
| producer should hasten to fill.
| thebruce87m wrote:
| Reminder: he never said "you're holding it wrong"
| rasz wrote:
| You are right, he said:
|
| >Gizmodo put their video on the web people were touching x
| marks the spot here and they were seeing a large drop in
| bars
|
| > doesn't seem like a good idea if you can touch your phone
| one particularly grip your phone in a certain way and the
| bars go way down
|
| and the fix was adding hysteresis to Cellular signal meter
| so it wont immediately react, no bars going down on screen
| = fixed.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqSLZ1jqhFQ
| rollcat wrote:
| I got me a magic trackpad specifically because Apple's
| trackpads are so nice, and it allows me to pan/zoom large
| canvases in both dimensions (I've put it between the split
| halves of my keyboard, and sometimes use it with my left hand,
| while the right stays on the mouse). I've never considered
| panning/scrolling with one finger, it sounds very convenient. I
| guess this is something that could be hacked in software?
| Trackpads just send the coordinates of the touch points to the
| OS right?
| goosedragons wrote:
| I find scrolling is even more enjoyable with a trackball. You
| get an entire ball to spin!
| alpaca128 wrote:
| For me nothing beat scrolling with an unlocked scrollwheel on
| my old Logitech mouse. It could keep spinning for >10 seconds
| and allowed super fast scrolling. Though FPS games with
| weapon switching bound to the mouse wheel did not like that
| feature at all...
| pcdoodle wrote:
| The updated version is good too (m720), it's both bluetooth
| and the oldschool USB adapter in the base. AA battery
| powered / buy it for life design.
| graphe wrote:
| Try the home and end button, or the pgup pgdn button.
| lloeki wrote:
| Anecdata: however nice is inertia scrolling, me scrolling on
| the Magic Mouse 100% reliably triggers carpal RSI in under
| 5min: the activating finger tendon transforms itself into a
| scorching hell in short order.
| jbverschoor wrote:
| It will never be ergonomic.. swiping left and right in that way
| is not how the body works
|
| The whole product is full of bad decisions
| 1B05H1N wrote:
| Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they
| didn't stop to think if they should.
| hbgl wrote:
| Maybe in the next version apple can disable the mouse when it
| detects that it being used in third-party plastic shell.
| hahamaster wrote:
| There are thousands of mice available on the market, and almost
| all of them can be used on a Mac. It's strange that anyone
| bothers to _fix_ any mouse. Just buy a mouse that fits your
| requirements.
| kojeovo wrote:
| it's a hobby project..
| blamazon wrote:
| What if one of my requirements is that the top of the mouse
| supports multi touch gestures?
| lemper wrote:
| bro, let him cook. he hasn't cross the line.
| hahamaster wrote:
| I'm not saying he shouldn't do it, I'm just saying it's
| strange.
|
| Magic Mouse was designed to be held with two fingers and
| moved with the wrist.
|
| Personally I would never buy a product completely,
| diametrically different from what I need and then adapt it.
| But I guess some people like the challenge and I have no
| problem with that.
| hhh wrote:
| Ivan creates a lot of great projects, it's a hobby.
| nicexe wrote:
| I have one of those wireless magic mouse that takes 2x AA
| batteries. The optical sensor started behaving in a weird way
| back in 2018 I think, so I stopped using it. I wouldn't mind
| risking breaking it by trying to fix the sensor (cleaning the
| lens from the inside is probably enough), adding a rechargeable
| battery (and whatever circuitry that entails) and maybe even
| enhancing the ergonomics if it still works after that.
| robofanatic wrote:
| To me the most annoying thing about magic mouse is the placement
| of the charging port.
| creesch wrote:
| Cool, if you read the linked article you will see that this is
| also being addressed :)
| sunrise54 wrote:
| https://mousebase.io
| nrabulinski wrote:
| Except it's not comparable because they make a case for the
| Magic Mouse, don't allow charging it and use a lens to have the
| sensor track while this guy added a charging port and
| disassembled his mouse to have the sensor truly be on the
| surface
| tzs wrote:
| In practice most people don't care about the charging port being
| on the bottom because even if you forget to charge it for several
| weeks and it actually stops working it only takes two minutes to
| charge it up enough for 8 hours of work.
|
| As far as ergonomics goes, I've never had any more problems with
| a Magic Mouse than with any other mouse including ergonomic mice.
|
| People make fun of "you're holding it wrong", but really RSI does
| come down to holding and manipulating things in ways that aren't
| good for you. What ergonomic design does is try to make it so you
| that you will discover and use a good way of holding the thing on
| your own and/or try to make it so that it is hard to hold it in a
| bad way.
|
| That doesn't mean that things that do not have an ergonomic
| design cannot be used ergonomically. It just means you might have
| to consciously work at holding and manipulating them safely at
| least until that becomes habitual.
|
| For the Magic Mouse the way I hold it has my fingers and palm and
| wrist in the same position they would be in if I were just
| resting my arm on the table. The mouse is the right size and
| shape to fit well in the dome make by the curve of my resting
| fingers and resting palm.
|
| I don't really have a grip on it. It is more caged than held.
| Movement is mostly moving my whole arm. My wrist has barely any
| movement at all. Even when scrolling the wrist barely moves.
| Instead my arm backs up and raises so my middle finger can bend
| down and scroll.
| KerrAvon wrote:
| A lot of us care about the charging port being on the bottom.
| It's ludicrous. I can leave any top of the line Logitech mouse
| plugged in all the time and never have to even think about
| charging.
| costanzaDynasty wrote:
| People complain about the charging port, but I complain about
| having to pay extra for a black Magic Mouse.
| tonymet wrote:
| The Magic Mouse charge port is deliberate. Apple knows that
| people would leave the cable connected if it were placed at the
| edge. that would undermine the wireless aesthetic.
| mig39 wrote:
| And if people left it plugged in all the time, it messes with
| the battery life?
|
| The idea that Apple did this because they didn't know what they
| were doing is weird. Of course they knew what they were doing.
| You can charge it in a minute or two.
| dreamcompiler wrote:
| It wouldn't mess with the battery life if the charger were
| smart, but not all of them are. Including Apple's.
| ladberg wrote:
| Additionally, all the existing lightning cables would not make
| good mouse cords because of their length, flexibility, and lack
| of strain relief.
|
| Apple chose not to allow people to keep a cable connected not
| just for the aesthetics but also to keep them from reusing
| existing cables (instead of an hypothetical lightning mouse
| cord) and getting a poor UX.
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