5 ms·

This image http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2015/10/slide-06-apple-magic-mouse-2-100622394-large.jpg http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2015

This image http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2015/10/slide-06-apple-magic-mouse-2-100622394-large.jpg http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2015/10/slide-06..., to me, simbolizes the recent Apple.

samastur 10y ago
Magic Mouse happened on Jobs' watch.
- LaSombra 10y ago
  Well, it did, but the second iteration happened under Cook. The original one uses AA batteries while the second iteration, pictured above, uses an integrated battery that needs recharge using the Lightning cable. As you can see, there was no redesign to accommodate this new requirement besides slapping the charge port under the mouse, making it impossible to use while charging.
  - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
    It takes courage to make products that can't be used (fully) while they charge. Magic mouse, Macbook, now iPhone.
  - Bud 10y ago
    Which doesn't matter, at all, because the device charges in a few minutes. As everyone who actually uses one knows. BTW, there WAS a redesign...it's just that you don't like the redesign, which is different. Some of us like the fact that the Lightning port is hidden and not sticking out the side of the device in some ugly way. This is a vast improvement which saves all the waste and inconvenience of throw-away batteries.
    - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
      You're correct; it doesn't matter. Until it does. Edit: BTW, you'll eventually have to throw this mouse away because the battery is dead. And there are AA batteries that can be recharged and used many, many times.
    - itomato 10y ago
      Is there some unsolvable engineering dilemma related to port position, or was it cost-motivated? This is the point. If an engineer had shown this piece of work to Steve, do you think they'd still work at Apple?
      - snowwrestler 10y ago
        > If an engineer had shown this piece of work to Steve, do you think they'd still work at Apple? Yes. And it would not have been an engineer, it would have been the industrial designer. The whole point of the design is beautiful seamless surfaces and curves. That's why the charging port is underneath. Which is exactly where the battery door was, BTW. Steve Jobs is the guy who added a useless pointless screw (it literally connected to nothing) to one side of the iBook to match a (necessary) screw on the other side. Steve Jobs is the guy who told people complaining about the iPhone 4 "don't hold it that way." Steve Jobs is also dead, which is convenient for all the folks who like to invoke His Presence to support their personal opinions. Incidentally, from an engineering perspective, Li battery devices are not supposed to be plugged in all the time. This design very neatly prevents that from happening.
        itomato 10y ago
        Talk about invoking "His Presence".
        snowwrestler 10y ago
        Ha, good point--I'm as guilty as anyone, apparently.
  - moduspwnens14 10y ago
    Some of the best rated non-Apple mice have charging docks. These also prohibit usage while charging.
audunw 10y ago
I don't get the hate for this mouse design. Have you ever used it? Actually - have you ever used a wireless mouse in general? You know how rarely you need to change batteries or charge them right? To design a wireless mouse around the idea of using it while being wired would be a massive design fail. It would compromise the design of the common use case in order to improve the extremely rare use case.
- alexland 10y ago
  The design fail is not taking the obvious and consistent (albeit spaced out) need to charge the mouse into account. It's not like some people don't have to charge this mouse; everyone will charge the mouse at some point, and they will do so consistently over the years. With this design, I get a first class experience using it when the batteries aren't empty, but I literally cannot use the mouse when I need to charge it. The idea that a mouse should sacrifice such a basic functionality requirement just for the sake of a slightly better design is hilariously backward.
  - astrodust 10y ago
    Once a month I need to flip the thing and plug it in. The amount of hassle is almost zero. It charges quickly enough that on a few minutes of charging it can limp along for another hour or so. I've had other cordless mice that needed to be charged in a special cradle, which is basically the same thing, and I never heard anyone bitching about "hilariously backwards" design. Most people reviewing the product thought that was convenient.
akio 10y ago
Do you actually own a Magic Mouse? I do. I only charge it every month and a half, and for less than an hour at that. It warns me ahead of time when its battery is running low. I have absolutely no complaints about the way it charges, and I even appreciate the resulting seamless design. That image symbolizes Apple to me too. For me it represents how many seemingly poor decisions made by Apple often turn out to be less severe than they initially appeared—many even reasonable.

samastur 10y ago

Magic Mouse happened on Jobs' watch.

LaSombra 10y ago
Well, it did, but the second iteration happened under Cook. The original one uses AA batteries while the second iteration, pictured above, uses an integrated battery that needs recharge using the Lightning cable. As you can see, there was no redesign to accommodate this new requirement besides slapping the charge port under the mouse, making it impossible to use while charging.
- JustSomeNobody 10y ago
  It takes courage to make products that can't be used (fully) while they charge. Magic mouse, Macbook, now iPhone.
- Bud 10y ago
  Which doesn't matter, at all, because the device charges in a few minutes. As everyone who actually uses one knows. BTW, there WAS a redesign...it's just that you don't like the redesign, which is different. Some of us like the fact that the Lightning port is hidden and not sticking out the side of the device in some ugly way. This is a vast improvement which saves all the waste and inconvenience of throw-away batteries.
  - JustSomeNobody 10y ago
    You're correct; it doesn't matter. Until it does. Edit: BTW, you'll eventually have to throw this mouse away because the battery is dead. And there are AA batteries that can be recharged and used many, many times.
  - itomato 10y ago
    Is there some unsolvable engineering dilemma related to port position, or was it cost-motivated? This is the point. If an engineer had shown this piece of work to Steve, do you think they'd still work at Apple?
    - snowwrestler 10y ago
      > If an engineer had shown this piece of work to Steve, do you think they'd still work at Apple? Yes. And it would not have been an engineer, it would have been the industrial designer. The whole point of the design is beautiful seamless surfaces and curves. That's why the charging port is underneath. Which is exactly where the battery door was, BTW. Steve Jobs is the guy who added a useless pointless screw (it literally connected to nothing) to one side of the iBook to match a (necessary) screw on the other side. Steve Jobs is the guy who told people complaining about the iPhone 4 "don't hold it that way." Steve Jobs is also dead, which is convenient for all the folks who like to invoke His Presence to support their personal opinions. Incidentally, from an engineering perspective, Li battery devices are not supposed to be plugged in all the time. This design very neatly prevents that from happening.
      - itomato 10y ago
        Talk about invoking "His Presence".
        snowwrestler 10y ago
        Ha, good point--I'm as guilty as anyone, apparently.
- moduspwnens14 10y ago
  Some of the best rated non-Apple mice have charging docks. These also prohibit usage while charging.

audunw 10y ago

I don't get the hate for this mouse design. Have you ever used it? Actually - have you ever used a wireless mouse in general? You know how rarely you need to change batteries or charge them right? To design a wireless mouse around the idea of using it while being wired would be a massive design fail. It would compromise the design of the common use case in order to improve the extremely rare use case.

alexland 10y ago
The design fail is not taking the obvious and consistent (albeit spaced out) need to charge the mouse into account. It's not like some people don't have to charge this mouse; everyone will charge the mouse at some point, and they will do so consistently over the years. With this design, I get a first class experience using it when the batteries aren't empty, but I literally cannot use the mouse when I need to charge it. The idea that a mouse should sacrifice such a basic functionality requirement just for the sake of a slightly better design is hilariously backward.
- astrodust 10y ago
  Once a month I need to flip the thing and plug it in. The amount of hassle is almost zero. It charges quickly enough that on a few minutes of charging it can limp along for another hour or so. I've had other cordless mice that needed to be charged in a special cradle, which is basically the same thing, and I never heard anyone bitching about "hilariously backwards" design. Most people reviewing the product thought that was convenient.

akio 10y ago

Do you actually own a Magic Mouse? I do. I only charge it every month and a half, and for less than an hour at that. It warns me ahead of time when its battery is running low. I have absolutely no complaints about the way it charges, and I even appreciate the resulting seamless design. That image symbolizes Apple to me too. For me it represents how many seemingly poor decisions made by Apple often turn out to be less severe than they initially appeared—many even reasonable.