The Magic Mouse

Maybe it’s not magic. But it’s well-designed and cool.

First, I have to say that it took me awhile to get over thinking I was pushing around a very hard and high tech Madeleine (as in the pastry). I suppose that had something to do with me drinking coffee at the time of my first magic mouse experience.

But once I had the short-cake metaphor out of my head, I found Apple’s new mouse to be quite efficient and easy to use.

The top of this mouse is basically one shiny touch-pad that responds quite well to all finger movements and clicks. You can program the behavior of this surface quite easily with the Mouse System Preference pane. I especially like the Scroll with momentum feature which lets you scroll in any direction with a natural slowing-down effect.

The Magic Mouse Preference Pane

My primary complaint about wireless mice in the past has been poor battery life. And I was skeptical about Apple’s claim that this mouse would last on average 4 months on two AA batteries with normal use. I noticed that the mouse automatically turns itself off at shutdown, and seems to go into a sleep mode after a period of inactivity. While I’ve only had it for 3 weeks now, my battery life is still at 95%, so I’m optimistic.

The $69 price tag seemed a bit steep for me, but I’m starting to understand that excellent design and quality come at a price. If you’re completely happy with your current mouse and don’t think that these new features will add much to your computing experience, then save your money. But, if you are looking for a better way, or maybe just curious about new technology, I’d suggest test-driving one of these puppies down at your local Apple store.

You might be pleasantly surprised.