Mac users now can have a wheel mouse.

[DonLandis]

For years Mac users who love their Macs for Video editing (FCP) can now enjoy the speed and convenience of what PC editors have had for 13 years. A Mouse with more than one button. The new Apple Mouse has a scroll wheel and side buttons as well. This new $50 mouse is optional and Mac heads who decide to remain in the single button world can choose to do so.

The reviews are mixed, but mostly due to the mechanical nature, not the fact that Apple has finally offered this to it's hard core devotees.

[Mark Lamutt]

My wife uses a microsoft wheel mouse with her Mac with no problems that I know of. Is there something special about the Apple wheel mouse?

[olgeezer]

My wife uses a microsoft wheel mouse with her Mac with no problems that I know of. Is there something special about the Apple wheel mouse?

Yes, Its made by Apple. Its name should help sell a couple "Mighty Mouse"

[DonLandis]

Mark- I'm no Mac head but as I understand it, the advantage is that many of the robust Mac apps lack basic conveniences that PC users of similar applications have had for years with the wheel mouse. One that I mentioned was the Final Cut Pro's lack of wheel support that will now have due to Apple's change of offering. PC users have had video editing software that has a fast response timeline using the wheel button that permits the timeline to be zoomed and scrolled rapidly during editing. If you are used to this efficient way, using FCP became awkward and slow to execute the same procedure. With needing to do this many times a minute during editing video, editing with FCP just took much longer to do the same user operations. In this one example, FCP users have been brought up to speed of editors on PC apps like Vegas. I don't use FCP but have taken several classes on it and wheel functions have never been enabled. Maybe you could ask your wife if Microsoft apps on a Mac using a wheel MS mouse support scrolling with the wheel. I'd be curious to know that.

[Mark Lamutt]

I'll try to remember to ask her. I know that the the wheel can be used in Safari and Mail - that's about all that I've used her Mac for, but the wheel has worked as a scoll in both of those.

[lazaruspup]

The biggest advantage to "Mighty Mouse" is 1. addition of a scroll type function with the scroll "pebble". It allows you to scroll up and down or side to side with minimal movement, similar to a tiny track ball. 2. touch sensitive buttons on the front. When you press the entire mouse down in a mechanical click, you select with your finger either to apply pressure to the left or right hemisphere and in that motion it gives you the corresponding left or right click. This is the biggest advantage as many of us for years have had to use CTRL-CLICK to get right click functions. It also has built-in audio feedback to provide simulated sounds from your mouse. I have not used one as of yet, but yes, the reviews are mixed.