How long did it take Apple to realize that Mac users could handle a two-button mouse? Over 20 years. Mighty Mouse was Apple’s two-button mouse for the Mac masses.
Was it great? No. Good? Yes. Mighty Mouse got Mac users off the single-button mouse and Control-Click and into the late 20th century. Now we’re in the 21st century and PC users are still stuck in the 1990s using two and three-button mice.
The 21st Century Mac Mouse
What do Mac users get? A Magic Mouse from Apple. A revolutionary device, a mouse that’s so magical it’s called Magic Mouse. Is it possible to make Magic Mouse more magical? Yes. With MouseWizard.
If you have a new iMac, or if you’re a bleeding edge kind of Mac user, you’ve already toyed with or purchased Apple’s 21st century Mac mouse.
Magic Mouse is wireless, smooth, heavy, and the top surface is devoid of buttons. Think of Magic Mouse as what a mouse would be if it came from a MacBook Pro’s trackpad.
Check Here for all the delicious goody details.
Suffice it to say, you’ll need a few days to get used to Magic Mouse, but all the magic is there. Two-button clicks without a visible button (the whole surface acts as a button and a trackpad). 360-degrees scroll. Screen zoom (with that pesky Control Key). Even a two fingered swipe, ala the Mac’s notebook trackpad.
Add Magic To The Magic Mouse
There are some things missing in Magic Mouse that show up and get used often in the Mac notebook trackpad. Tap-to-Click is one. MouseWizard gives you the extra, subtle, and delicious features that Apple left out.
(click the image above for a larger, more detailed pop-up view)
The MouseWizard control panel looks similar to Apple’s Magic Mouse Preference Pane. You can set the One Finger Tap Click for right or left.
You can multiple selections for the Two-Finger features, including a Middle Click, a Fourth Click, and Zoom/Shrink. Three Fingers can also get to a Mouse Click, and you can select specific applications.
The Whole Hand function is invoked when you place your hand on the mouse (not just fingers) to bring up Sleep, or Dashboard, or Expose’ or something else.
Frankly, some of these are functions that come from Apple’s Mac trackpads in the notebook line. Others are functions that just plain should be in Magic Mouse in the first place. Hey, we’re talking innovation and Apple. Why leave it up to others to figure out what Apple probably already knows how to do?
The Gesture Locations button pops out a pane which shows you the spots on the top of the Magic Mouse which can be clicked. Each spot can be adjusted to fit your fingers.
MouseWizard also comes with a Battery life indicator. I’ve been using Magic Mouse for about three weeks and battery level is at 60-percent. There’s more Magic Mouse detail in my full review.
One more thing helps to make MouseWizard a must have if you’re using Apple’s Magic Mouse. It’s $2.50. I’ve paid $10 to $20 for specific Mac add-on utilities that did much less.
Update: Alert Mac360 readers have pointed out that Vlad Alexa’s MagicPref’s provides similar functionality, works as an OS X Preference Pane and comes as a free (for now) utility. Andreas Hegenberg’s BetterTouchTool for Mac adds enhancements to both the Magic Mouse and the MacBook/Pro trackpad.
About Kate MacKenzie
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