Submitted by southbaytechguru t3_z4hdvq in technology
Comments
Karmakazee t1_ixr16me wrote
Did anyone even make an optical-mechanical mouse in the 80’s? I thought that was early 2000’s tech.
Vladimir_Chrootin t1_ixr4c91 wrote
Yes, pretty much everyone did by the late '80s, including Apple - the mouse second from the left is an opto-mechanical mouse that replaced it and was becoming standard on new Macs by that time (the ones these mice were plugged into were mainly Mac and Mac Plus models, getting a little obsolete by that point).
I had a Kensington trackball on a PC at the time, which plugged into a serial port (PS/2 didn't really start to proliferate on new PCs until about 1990), and I also used the three-button mouse on the Acorn Archimedes.
wewbull t1_ixu6r9y wrote
Oh yes. Atari ST and Amiga mice were all opto-mechanical.
Optical mice first started early 90s (with special mouse pads) for things like Sun workstations.
At least, that was my experience.
Mupp99 t1_iy72101 wrote
Atari ST mice were terrible when new and only got worse as they aged.
VincentNacon t1_ixqvu7g wrote
OpenOffice Mouse would have been the perfect gaming mouse if it had better styling design and better tech performance.
It has a freakin joystick on the side!
professorDissociate t1_ixrc4of wrote
You know what would be cool? A mouse with a new type of joystick that basically doesn’t protrude from the console. Just a dip in the side that is just the right size for someone’s thumb to fit in the dip. And the dip/“joy stick” moves however you move your thumb. Then configure it to have much higher precision than the actual mouse, so that big movements are done by moving the mouse with the arm/wrist while precision is performed by extension with the thumb.
VincentNacon t1_ixrf8od wrote
Yeah, using the flat/slide joystick from PSP. Basically this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9426
OR... use the trackpad like Valve's controller had.
Qorhat t1_ixshoew wrote
I kind of loved the circle pad from the 2DS/3DS and wish the Switch used a more precise version of it
PM_FREE_HEALTHCARE t1_ixti3a5 wrote
So you want the IBM nipple on the side of the mouse? I like it
daniel2596 t1_ixrisj1 wrote
VincentNacon t1_ixs7wcv wrote
I had thought about two scroll wheels on a mouse... but not in this arrangement. Was thinking more like side by side. Seem like a long reach for the finger to go for both wheels.
daniel2596 t1_ixsfkox wrote
VincentNacon t1_ixsyjb5 wrote
Aruuughhh.... that does make me cringe but no, not quite. Just be on the same axle is more like it.
TheJadedSF t1_ixr0ud8 wrote
Yeah so many bad memories of the apple usb round one
HAHA_goats t1_ixrhjd7 wrote
I'm one of those weirdos that found it comfortable. I do not know why I'm so defective.
teh_maxh t1_ixs6kji wrote
The shape of the hockey puck is a reasonable complaint. The cable length is not. It was not intended to be connected directly to the computer, but to the keyboard.
Ninja-Sneaky t1_ixr5zm4 wrote
My carpal tunnel has gotten worse by just looking at the pics
nemom t1_ixquuhl wrote
I like the cordless Apple mouse that had the charging port on the bottom so there was no way to use it while it was charging. It sure looked sleek, though!
UnkindlyDisagree t1_ixqvxb3 wrote
That's the biggest non-problem ever. Port placement was awkward, probably because they retrofit Bluetooth tech into an old design, but 100 seconds of charge would give you 7 days of use.
I mean, come on.
warlock1337 t1_ixr3guk wrote
For some reason this happens everytime magic mouse is mentioned. Horde of people who never used it come out of woodwork to shit on this fact but anyone who actually used it knows it is not a real problem.
IYXMnx1Sa3qWM1IZ t1_ixrcf7x wrote
That's just Reddit in general, endless circlejerking about non-issues
eniko t1_ixrqega wrote
Bashing that mouse is especially stupid once you realize that it's actually a good design. If it was possible to use while charging, there's a risk that a bunch of people would leave it constantly connected, possible increasing the risk for unnecessary wear on the cable/battery/charging outlet.
TheJadedSF t1_ixr1001 wrote
It still is on their current mice, I use the magic mouse daily, my favorite mouse hands down. yeah it does suck when you have to charge up, but it has pretty long life so not such an issue
Qorhat t1_ixsikoh wrote
I really liked the acrylic one with the squeezy buttons on the side and scroll ball…nipple…thing
G_Affect t1_ixr1obb wrote
Mac is killing it.... to this day, they still suck at making mice. Like my wifes laptop one, it dies, there is no way to keep using it as it charges...
taz-nz t1_ixxvygc wrote
The fact they have never made a mouse designed to fit a human hand amazes me. You can buy a $2 no name mouse that has better ergonomics than any mouse Apple has ever made.
DoomBotQv2 t1_ixrvf86 wrote
Lgr has covered weirder mice already. Go watch his stuff instead of giving clicks to pcmag.
snarkuzoid t1_ixrgf5z wrote
All the mice these days are crap. The best was the old DePraz mouse from back in the day. Came on the Bell Labs Blit terminal and later AT&T 5620 DMD.
LegitimateCrows t1_ixrlf77 wrote
Loved my blueberry iMac mouse!
FiredForIncompetence t1_ixufakf wrote
The Roller mouse is pretty good actually. I had the opportunity to try it and it works pretty intuitively. Possibly an alternative to a mouse for cramped spaces, if you don’t want a touchpad or trackball.
Vladimir_Chrootin t1_ixr01fo wrote
I used the original Apple mouse pictured in the late 1980s.
It was terrible. It was just so bad, even by the standards of the day. Fully mechanical, (rather than opto-mechanical), so it would stutter across the pad in a jerky motion, and it had one button at a time when two or three was already standard on other platforms.
They got away with it because most customers had never used a computer before and didn't realise just how hard it sucked.