Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!mha
From: mha@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Mark H. Anbinder)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: New mouse design... WHY?!
Message-ID: <7891@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Date: 7 May 89 16:28:57 GMT
Reply-To: mha@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Mark H. Anbinder)
Organization: Department of Media Services, Cornell University, Ithaca NY
Lines: 47

Apple seems to have redesigned the ADB mouse without telling anyone
about it... or at least *I* didn't hear about it until yesterday, when
I picked one up at my local dealer when they couldn't fix my old one.
At least AppleCare covers me! :-)

The new mouse looks the same from the top; the only differences are on
the underside and inside.  First of all, the ring that holds the mouse
ball inside has been replaced.  Rather than being a nice, uniform,
ridged ring, it's flat except for two recessed finger-holes that the
user is meant to use to rotate the ring for mouse-ball removal.  The
edges of these finger holes are a bit sharp for my taste... they're
beveled just enough not to cut your fingers.

The new mouse ball is much, much lighter than the old one.  It's black,
and I suppose the only advantage to this is that you can see the dust on
it more easily.  The ball is also a bit smaller.  This lightness makes
it kind of difficult to get the ball out, since turning the mouse back
over with the ring rotated to the open position no longer suffices to 
make the ball and ring drop off.  You have to shake it, sometimes more
than once, violently.  This is not an improvement.

Looking inside the mouse hole reveals what seems to be a better design.
There are no open holes for dust to collect in; the rollers are a bit 
more recessed, so they will probably get dirty less easily.  The ball-
retaining ring also seems to be designed with a smaller opening so that
less dust and oil will get inside, but we'll see over time.

The mouse is lighter overall due to the lighter ball, and this causes
problems with mouse control.  The mouse is no longer quite heavy enough
to hold itself on the mousing surface, either a desktop or a mouse pad.
If the cord gets bent down slightly at the point where it enters the
mouse, that alone is enough to hold the mouse off the surface, and moving
it does not reflect properly with the cursor.

I'm really curious why Apple redesigned the ADB mouse at all.  And, since
they did, why did they do it this way?  They seem to have made a couple
of minor improvements (involving the prevention of dirt buildup), but a
couple of problems have been created, too.  And, while they were redesigning,
why didn't they do a more thorough job?  I guess they didn't want to have
to make a new case, just new innards and bottom.


-- 
Mark H. Anbinder                                ** MHA@TCGould.tn.cornell.edu
NG33 MVR Hall, Media Services Dept.             ** THCY@CRNLVAX5.BITNET
Cornell University      H: (607) 257-7587 ********
Ithaca, NY 14853        W: (607) 255-1566 ******* Ego ipse custodies custudio