I have one button and it is all I use, and I see no need for more. De gustibus non disputandam est.
However, it doesn't matter. Mac OS X will contentedly allow you to use that surplus of buttons with no problem. You may even be able to unplug your current mouse from your pc, plug it into the mac, and have it work just fine.
Really? I didn't think that was possible. And I think we are now the only blog in the universe in which "de gustibus..." appears twice in the comments.
Is it a USB mouse? I've had good luck using PC mice on my machines, although the more buttons you have the more likely it is that you'll need custom drivers to get all of them recognized.
And c'mon, that has to be one of those Latin phrases that everyone knows, along with "veni, vidi, vici" and "caveat emptor" and "exit".
Left click; right click; copy; paste; scroll; back; minimize; minimize all; alt-tab (custom logitech alt-tab that's pretty neat). That's nine, because the scroll wheel doubles as a button. I do use them all, although if I could get select-all to become a button, I would substitute that for something.
Other people prefer keyboard shortcuts, but I like using the mouse.
Someone who likes using one button can use one button on a three-button mouse with a wheel.
Also, the mac transparent gelcap mouse is horribly shaped -- ergonomics out the window. Style over substance. Prepare to discover many elements of the Mac designed with this same philosophy.
more likely it is that you'll need custom drivers to get all of them recognized
The scrolling and other extra-button functionality may require support from the OS and from specific applications beyond what a custom driver can handle. Do not assume your mac-compatible mouse will function as it does on your PC. (I'm not saying it won't -- just test it out somewhere.)
However, the #1 reason not to buy a mac is that it's a proprietary platform where they screw you on price. Complain about Microsoft... good lord. Apple's margins are in the 20's on PCs (that's after the retailers get their cut). Nobody else's are -- Dell's was under 19% in their last annual filing -- and remember, that's including their margin as manufacturer and as retailer. How does Apple keep those margins up? Is it efficient manufacturing? No. It's that they've got Mac users over a barrel. Period.
-Magik "I actually like the Mac style, I just don't like being ripped off." Johnson
Over a barrel how? Presumably one isn't locked into a Mac. If you don't want to pay a premium, that's understandable, but I'm not sure how Apple is doing anything wrong.
I didn't say they were doing anything wrong. They're practicing capitalism. Their approach is a closed-off platform (hence, over a barrel) where they can gouge consumers. Apple's products are expensive. I choose not to buy into a more expensive platform. That's my recommendation to you as well.
Mac isn't just about style -- it's about designing computer-human interfaces coherently rather than by accretion. One mouse button is all I need, and I get along perfectly efficiently. The fact that all my common tasks aren't packed onto my mouse means that they're spread out across my keyboard and desktop.
Ogged, even if you don't go with Mac, you have good alternatives to Microsoft. If you want high performance (and compatibility with MS-programs and files) for minimal price, there's Sun Microsystems's open-source StarOffice, run on Linux.
I have a Linux machine running OpenOffice at home (though I don't really use it). But I hear enough good things from Mac users that sometimes I get, you know, curious.
There are other considerations, of course, but I like that it's not Microsoft, it's (supposedly) very stable, the hardware is beautiful, there's now enough free software to do just about anything one needs to do. It's not so much that I've settled on a Mac as my next computer, but that, for the first time, I would seriously consider one.
Mac isn't just about style -- it's about designing computer-human interfaces coherently rather than by accretion. One mouse button is all I need, and I get along perfectly efficiently. The fact that all my common tasks aren't packed onto my mouse means that they're spread out across my keyboard and desktop.
Bob,
The Mac is the command economy of interface design. I repeat: people who want just one button can use one button on a three-button mouse. Also, you claim that on the Mac commands are spread across the keyboard as well as the mouse. But the Mac interface often does not provide effective keyboard navigation of dialog boxes, something that is available in essentially every Windows dialog box.
And you have no response to the fact that the Mac gelcap mouse is an ergonomic disaster. Its flat design forces your hand & wrist to rotate over to the left (for righties), increasing the strain of repetitive use and increasing the risk of carpal tunnel. This is the classic example of style over substance.
That is what Macs are all about. Live the dream baby. Think style.
Magik: He's already got a multi-button mouse. In Mac OS X he could just plug it in and go.
I'd also argue that the consistent menu bar location (the top of the screen: you can't miss) in all Mac programs saves enough miles of mousing and errant clicks to count as a significant ergonomic benefit. Then there are the lost hours of Windows' patching, periodic reinstalls (half-life of six months before things become flaky in mine and many others' experience, even in Win2K and XP), virus management and general frustration that are not conducive to health.
If you're someone who really believes in cheap'n'cheerful computing there's Linux which, in many setups, mimics the look and feel of Windows quite 'successfully'. And, ethically, there are spiritual benefits in sending one's cash elsewhere than Redmond.
I did know that. The point I'm making is that Apple puts style before substance. The evidence is that they give you a one-button, anti-ergonomic mouse standard with their computers. Why? Because they think it looks cool and "simple", and they don't care that it's less useful and bad for your wrists.
But I agree with you that Linux is cooler than Mac OS X or Windows.
I have one button and it is all I use, and I see no need for more. De gustibus non disputandam est.
However, it doesn't matter. Mac OS X will contentedly allow you to use that surplus of buttons with no problem. You may even be able to unplug your current mouse from your pc, plug it into the mac, and have it work just fine.
Posted by PZ Myers | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 2:59 PM
Really? I didn't think that was possible. And I think we are now the only blog in the universe in which "de gustibus..." appears twice in the comments.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 3:03 PM
Is it a USB mouse? I've had good luck using PC mice on my machines, although the more buttons you have the more likely it is that you'll need custom drivers to get all of them recognized.
And c'mon, that has to be one of those Latin phrases that everyone knows, along with "veni, vidi, vici" and "caveat emptor" and "exit".
Posted by PZ Myers | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 3:19 PM
You've got a funny notion of "everyone," mister.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 3:22 PM
Huh. It looks like my mouse is Mac compatible. Thanks for really complicating my life.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 3:25 PM
Eight buttons on your mouse and you use all of them? How much is there to do?! I must be missing something (and probably not for the first time...)
Posted by Invisible Adjunct | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 6:18 PM
Left click; right click; copy; paste; scroll; back; minimize; minimize all; alt-tab (custom logitech alt-tab that's pretty neat). That's nine, because the scroll wheel doubles as a button. I do use them all, although if I could get select-all to become a button, I would substitute that for something.
Other people prefer keyboard shortcuts, but I like using the mouse.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 7:15 PM
The answer is: style over substance.
Someone who likes using one button can use one button on a three-button mouse with a wheel.
Also, the mac transparent gelcap mouse is horribly shaped -- ergonomics out the window. Style over substance. Prepare to discover many elements of the Mac designed with this same philosophy.
more likely it is that you'll need custom drivers to get all of them recognized
The scrolling and other extra-button functionality may require support from the OS and from specific applications beyond what a custom driver can handle. Do not assume your mac-compatible mouse will function as it does on your PC. (I'm not saying it won't -- just test it out somewhere.)
However, the #1 reason not to buy a mac is that it's a proprietary platform where they screw you on price. Complain about Microsoft... good lord. Apple's margins are in the 20's on PCs (that's after the retailers get their cut). Nobody else's are -- Dell's was under 19% in their last annual filing -- and remember, that's including their margin as manufacturer and as retailer. How does Apple keep those margins up? Is it efficient manufacturing? No. It's that they've got Mac users over a barrel. Period.
-Magik "I actually like the Mac style, I just don't like being ripped off." Johnson
Posted by Magik | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 7:34 PM
Over a barrel how? Presumably one isn't locked into a Mac. If you don't want to pay a premium, that's understandable, but I'm not sure how Apple is doing anything wrong.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 7:38 PM
I didn't say they were doing anything wrong. They're practicing capitalism. Their approach is a closed-off platform (hence, over a barrel) where they can gouge consumers. Apple's products are expensive. I choose not to buy into a more expensive platform. That's my recommendation to you as well.
-Magik
Posted by Magik | Link to this comment | 09-16-03 9:31 PM
Mac isn't just about style -- it's about designing computer-human interfaces coherently rather than by accretion. One mouse button is all I need, and I get along perfectly efficiently. The fact that all my common tasks aren't packed onto my mouse means that they're spread out across my keyboard and desktop.
Posted by Bob | Link to this comment | 09-17-03 7:47 AM
No need for custom drivers. Download USB Overdrive; support for 8 buttons, all customised.
Posted by Steve | Link to this comment | 09-17-03 7:52 AM
Thanks Steve. Next time I'm buying a computer, I will seriously consider a Mac, which I haven't done until now.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-17-03 7:55 AM
Ogged, even if you don't go with Mac, you have good alternatives to Microsoft. If you want high performance (and compatibility with MS-programs and files) for minimal price, there's Sun Microsystems's open-source StarOffice, run on Linux.
Posted by Bob | Link to this comment | 09-17-03 9:16 AM
I have a Linux machine running OpenOffice at home (though I don't really use it). But I hear enough good things from Mac users that sometimes I get, you know, curious.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-17-03 9:18 AM
Just curious. Why are you thinking of a Mac? I am considering one as well.
Posted by GT | Link to this comment | 09-19-03 2:22 PM
Here are a few pages to consider:
http://www.kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/000169.html
http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2003_archives/001950.html
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/
There are other considerations, of course, but I like that it's not Microsoft, it's (supposedly) very stable, the hardware is beautiful, there's now enough free software to do just about anything one needs to do. It's not so much that I've settled on a Mac as my next computer, but that, for the first time, I would seriously consider one.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 09-19-03 2:38 PM
Mac isn't just about style -- it's about designing computer-human interfaces coherently rather than by accretion. One mouse button is all I need, and I get along perfectly efficiently. The fact that all my common tasks aren't packed onto my mouse means that they're spread out across my keyboard and desktop.
Bob,
The Mac is the command economy of interface design. I repeat: people who want just one button can use one button on a three-button mouse. Also, you claim that on the Mac commands are spread across the keyboard as well as the mouse. But the Mac interface often does not provide effective keyboard navigation of dialog boxes, something that is available in essentially every Windows dialog box.
And you have no response to the fact that the Mac gelcap mouse is an ergonomic disaster. Its flat design forces your hand & wrist to rotate over to the left (for righties), increasing the strain of repetitive use and increasing the risk of carpal tunnel. This is the classic example of style over substance.
That is what Macs are all about. Live the dream baby. Think style.
-Magik
Posted by Magik | Link to this comment | 09-20-03 2:29 AM
Magik: He's already got a multi-button mouse. In Mac OS X he could just plug it in and go.
I'd also argue that the consistent menu bar location (the top of the screen: you can't miss) in all Mac programs saves enough miles of mousing and errant clicks to count as a significant ergonomic benefit. Then there are the lost hours of Windows' patching, periodic reinstalls (half-life of six months before things become flaky in mine and many others' experience, even in Win2K and XP), virus management and general frustration that are not conducive to health.
If you're someone who really believes in cheap'n'cheerful computing there's Linux which, in many setups, mimics the look and feel of Windows quite 'successfully'. And, ethically, there are spiritual benefits in sending one's cash elsewhere than Redmond.
Posted by Steve | Link to this comment | 09-20-03 5:00 AM
Steve:
I did know that. The point I'm making is that Apple puts style before substance. The evidence is that they give you a one-button, anti-ergonomic mouse standard with their computers. Why? Because they think it looks cool and "simple", and they don't care that it's less useful and bad for your wrists.
But I agree with you that Linux is cooler than Mac OS X or Windows.
-Magik
Posted by Magik | Link to this comment | 09-20-03 7:42 PM