 Apple Mighty Mouse (wireless version shown) | |
| Manufacturer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Type | Mouse with integraltrackball |
| Released | August 2, 2005 |
| Discontinued | October 20, 2009(wireless) June 5, 2017(wired) |
| Connectivity | USB(wired) Bluetooth(wireless) |
| Power | USB(wired) Either 1 or 2AA(wireless) |
| Predecessor | Apple Wireless Mouse Apple Pro Mouse |
| Successor | Apple Magic Mouse |
| Related | Apple Keyboard Apple Wireless Keyboard |
TheApple Mouse (A1152) (formerlyMighty Mouse) was a multi-controlUSBmouse manufactured byMitsumi Electric and sold byApple Inc. It was announced and sold for the first time on August 2, 2005, and aBluetooth version was available from 2006 to 2009. Before the Mighty Mouse, Apple had sold only one-button mice with its computers, beginning with theApple Lisa 22 years earlier. The Mighty Mouse supported two buttons, and a miniaturetrackball for scrolling.
On October 20, 2009, the wireless Mighty Mouse was discontinued and replaced by themulti-touchMagic Mouse. The wired version of the device remained available, but was renamed theApple Mouse,[1] due totrademark issues with another manufacturer of a device namedMighty Mouse. As of June 5, 2017, the Apple Mouse is no longer available to buy on Apple's website.
The Mighty Mouse is made of white plastic and has a recessed Applelogo on the mouse's face. The mouse has four functional controls: a leftcapacitive sensor, a right capacitive sensor, atrackball with a pressure sensor and side squeeze sensors. The track ball enables users to scroll a page or document in any direction, including diagonally. Instead of mechanical buttons, 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.[2][3][4][5]
The mouse emits a faint clicking sound when the scroll ball is rolled or the side squeeze sensors are depressed, but this is not directly caused by the ball moving or side buttons being pressed; the sound is actually produced by a tiny speaker inside the mouse.[6] There is no way to disable this feature other than physically disabling the speaker inside the mouse.[7]
Currently,Mac OS X is the only operating system that fully supports the mouse without third-party software.[needs update] When used with Mac OS X, the sensors can be set to launchapplications or trigger features of the Apple operating system, such asDashboard andExposé. 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 (including XMouse[8]) that provide more functions to users of other platforms such as Windows.
The Mighty Mouse does not report whether the right and left sensors are activated simultaneously. It reports a right-click only when there isno finger contact on the left side of the mouse. Thus a right-click requires lifting the finger off the mouse, then right-clicking.[3] This also means that the Mighty Mouse cannot supportmouse chording, used byCAD software, games, and other applications where multiple functions are mapped to the mouse.
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.[11]
The scroll ball will eventually become clogged with dirt and require cleaning.[12][13] 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.[14]
Prior to launching the device, Apple received a license to the name "Mighty Mouse" fromViacom, and subsequentlyCBS Operations, as owner of theMighty Mouse cartoon series, the title having been registered in the US as atrademark with respect to various merchandise (such asT-shirts andmultivitamins) associated with the character.[15] However, the trademark did not cover computer peripherals, and CBS did not apply to trademark the term in the US with respect to computer mice until mid-2007.[16]
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.[17] 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".[18] 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.[19] There also was another scroll mouse namedMighty Mouse developed byNTT andETH Zürich in 1985.
Following opposition proceedings on both sides against the other, CBS subsequently withdrew its application, allowing Man & Machine to register the US trademark for computer mice.[16][20] As a result, Apple stopped selling mice under the "Mighty Mouse" name on October 20, 2009, when it introduced the wirelessMagic Mouse and renamed the existing wired mouse the "Apple Mouse".[21]
Incidentally, CBSwas successful in registering "Mighty Mouse" as a trademark for computer mice in some other countries, including Canada,[22] although Apple nevertheless chose to change its product name internationally.