I try really hard to be an Apple fan-boy…I really do. I love my Macbook Pro, really like my Mac Mini and adore OS X. I even like my AppleTV units pretty well (a little less with the new GUI, but that’s another story). BUT, I’m really starting to take a very negative view of my Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse.
I’ve had my Mighty Mouse since I bought my Macbook Pro in March of 2007. It took a little getting used to because of the touch-sensitive way it handles left and right clicks. I got over that pretty quickly. Being able to scroll in any direction rather than just up or down like most mice was a really neat feature. Not being able to scroll one direction or another when the thing got dirty was a pretty major annoyance. About 4 months ago, I finally broke down and followed the advice of a YouTube video that detailed how to take the mouse apart to clean the scroll wheel. I had to glue the “beauty ring” back on the bottom when I was done, but life was good after that and I was scrolling in all directions at will.
Then last week the thing started acting up again. Are you kidding–only a few months since I’d completely cleaned out every nook and cranny in this thing? So tonight I pried my glued-on beauty ring off the bottom of the mouse and set about trying to clean it out once again. OOPS! I don’t have a screwdriver with me (I’m on-site at the moment at a client in Rhode Island) small enough to get these eagles-need-a-magnifying-glass-to-see tiny screws out of the roller ball assembly. Not to worry though, I’ll bet the hotel desk has an eyeglass repair kit around here somewhere so off to the front desk I go. Sure enough, they found one–which I BROKE trying to loosen said tiny screws that I swear I purposefully didn’t tighten down all the way last time.
So that’s it…I’m done with the Mighty Mouse. I’m headed home tomorrow and one of my prime objectives this weekend is to “buy a better mouse” (that’s a parody on “build a better mousetrap” in case you missed it). My only real requirements are that it either be Bluetooth (since that’s built into my Macbook Pro already) or it be USB with a retractable cable. I don’t want to have to hang some wireless receiver out the side of my laptop. That would be a big pain as much as I travel.
Anyone have any recommendations on a good replacement for the Mighty Mouse?