4 ms·

I've worked on mice before and frankly I have no clue what sort of technical requirement would lead to an upside down charging requirement and disabling the fun

I've worked on mice before and frankly I have no clue what sort of technical requirement would lead to an upside down charging requirement and disabling the functionality in the meantime. Can you explain what that reason might be? Also if most people can't just pick up the mouse and use it, it's a broken design. In my particular case, it's so much smaller than my palm that I'm sure any grip would result in RSI.

mrtksn 4y ago
Simple, the front is not thick enough to accommodate a common port like USB or Lightning. If you put it on the sides, it defies the purpose. Changing the design to accommodate a port in the front doesn't make sense because the primary function of the device is to act as a human-computer interface and optimising the design for that purpose is paramount, charging is not a primary function but something that we have to do with electronics and as a result having long battery life and short charging process is good enough solution(the battery lasts about a month, charging takes about 2 hours but will work for hours even with a few minutes or charging). Why would you compromise a design for something that needs to be done occasionally and can be done out of the service(i.e. at nigh, when not using it).
- AlotOfReading 4y ago
  So put the port on the side where you aren't supposed to grip it. If we assume that being totally nonfunctional for a couple hours a month is acceptable, merely being a bit inconvenient for the same period is surely an improvement. Also, we don't agree that the magic mouse is good human-computer interface because I'm starting from the position that causing physical pain automatically precludes it from that category. Another example of an interface in the same position is laser keyboards. They're also very cool designs, but the the fact that tapping on solid surfaces starts to hurt after awhile precludes them from being 'good' HCI.
  - mrtksn 4y ago
    You can't put it at the side, the cable will interfere with the keyborad or the laptop that is on the left and won't work at all for the left handed people. I mean, if you really think that charging a few minutes a day or leave it charging overnight once a month is a deal breaker, simply don't buy it but this is not a bad design. It is very unrealistic to expect that the mouse will be used 24/7 every day forever. If you have this use case of using mouse 24/7 everyday, this must be some kind of industrial operation and obviously this mouse is not for you but for everyone else it's a non-issue.
    - AlotOfReading 4y ago
      Won't work at all for left-handed people, as opposed to now where it works for no one during the same period? Seems like an improvement, despite my doubts that it truly wouldn't work for left-handers. Anyway, hopefully we can avoid wild mischaracterizations here. My expectation obviously isn't that things work 24/7 indefinitely. Think about how the typical user is going to discover that the battery is low. Either they'll get the notification just before it dies and have to charge it "soon" [1] or the mouse will simply die and force the matter. In some cases (think multi-user computer labs), the person who receives the notification and the person who has to charge the mouse might be two different people. I think it's reasonable to find waiting around on a mouse rather than whatever they were planning on doing irritating. [1] https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/254703/get-low-battery-notifications-for-mouse-earlier https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/254703/get-low-bat...
      - mrtksn 4y ago
        Sure, better notifications can help. Maybe once idle, can send a notification to the phone to make the user put it on charge overnight. I had the occasion where the battery died by surprise. That’s why I keep repeating that the device works for hours after few minutes o charging, you don’t have to fully charge it before use.
      - samatman 4y ago
        A few observations here. The first: this product is an optional thing. There are many mice manufactured, they all work with Macs. I, personally, have a Kensington. The last Apple mouse I had possessed a tail, and was only okay, not, for instance, good. The next one: the charge lasts a month to six weeks with normal use. Next one after that: it's your unlucky day and you didn't idly think "oh, hey, I'll plug this in over lunch" on week three like a normal person. What you do is plug it in, and take a ten minute break. Everyone has ten minutes worth of things they can do. This gets you to a real break, and now you're good for another six months. Yes, I said months, just plug the damn thing in sometimes. Set yourself a reminder. Don't be a vegetable. The amount of time you've dedicated to being irritated online about a product you don't use, is longer than the irritation a typical user of that product will experience the entire time they own it. Congratuations, I guess.
- int_19h 4y ago
  It doesn't matter how large the battery is - at some point, someone forgets to charge. With any other mouse, you plug it into the charger and continue to use it while it's charging.
- coldtea 4y ago
  >Simple, the front is not thick enough to accommodate a common port like USB or Lightning Well, that's the broken design part. >Changing the design to accommodate a port in the front doesn't make sense because the primary function of the device is to act as a human-computer interface and optimising the design for that purpose is paramount There's nothing about HCI that prevents a different design. In fact, the Magic Mouse is one of the least ergonomically optimized mice out there...
- Nullabillity 4y ago
  > Simple, the front is not thick enough to accommodate a common port like USB or Lightning. Then fire Jony Ive and make the front thicker! This isn't exactly rocket surgery.

mrtksn 4y ago

Simple, the front is not thick enough to accommodate a common port like USB or Lightning. If you put it on the sides, it defies the purpose. Changing the design to accommodate a port in the front doesn't make sense because the primary function of the device is to act as a human-computer interface and optimising the design for that purpose is paramount, charging is not a primary function but something that we have to do with electronics and as a result having long battery life and short charging process is good enough solution(the battery lasts about a month, charging takes about 2 hours but will work for hours even with a few minutes or charging). Why would you compromise a design for something that needs to be done occasionally and can be done out of the service(i.e. at nigh, when not using it).

AlotOfReading 4y ago
So put the port on the side where you aren't supposed to grip it. If we assume that being totally nonfunctional for a couple hours a month is acceptable, merely being a bit inconvenient for the same period is surely an improvement. Also, we don't agree that the magic mouse is good human-computer interface because I'm starting from the position that causing physical pain automatically precludes it from that category. Another example of an interface in the same position is laser keyboards. They're also very cool designs, but the the fact that tapping on solid surfaces starts to hurt after awhile precludes them from being 'good' HCI.
- mrtksn 4y ago
  You can't put it at the side, the cable will interfere with the keyborad or the laptop that is on the left and won't work at all for the left handed people. I mean, if you really think that charging a few minutes a day or leave it charging overnight once a month is a deal breaker, simply don't buy it but this is not a bad design. It is very unrealistic to expect that the mouse will be used 24/7 every day forever. If you have this use case of using mouse 24/7 everyday, this must be some kind of industrial operation and obviously this mouse is not for you but for everyone else it's a non-issue.
  - AlotOfReading 4y ago
    Won't work at all for left-handed people, as opposed to now where it works for no one during the same period? Seems like an improvement, despite my doubts that it truly wouldn't work for left-handers. Anyway, hopefully we can avoid wild mischaracterizations here. My expectation obviously isn't that things work 24/7 indefinitely. Think about how the typical user is going to discover that the battery is low. Either they'll get the notification just before it dies and have to charge it "soon" [1] or the mouse will simply die and force the matter. In some cases (think multi-user computer labs), the person who receives the notification and the person who has to charge the mouse might be two different people. I think it's reasonable to find waiting around on a mouse rather than whatever they were planning on doing irritating. [1] https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/254703/get-low-battery-notifications-for-mouse-earlier https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/254703/get-low-bat...
    - mrtksn 4y ago
      Sure, better notifications can help. Maybe once idle, can send a notification to the phone to make the user put it on charge overnight. I had the occasion where the battery died by surprise. That’s why I keep repeating that the device works for hours after few minutes o charging, you don’t have to fully charge it before use.
    - samatman 4y ago
      A few observations here. The first: this product is an optional thing. There are many mice manufactured, they all work with Macs. I, personally, have a Kensington. The last Apple mouse I had possessed a tail, and was only okay, not, for instance, good. The next one: the charge lasts a month to six weeks with normal use. Next one after that: it's your unlucky day and you didn't idly think "oh, hey, I'll plug this in over lunch" on week three like a normal person. What you do is plug it in, and take a ten minute break. Everyone has ten minutes worth of things they can do. This gets you to a real break, and now you're good for another six months. Yes, I said months, just plug the damn thing in sometimes. Set yourself a reminder. Don't be a vegetable. The amount of time you've dedicated to being irritated online about a product you don't use, is longer than the irritation a typical user of that product will experience the entire time they own it. Congratuations, I guess.
int_19h 4y ago
It doesn't matter how large the battery is - at some point, someone forgets to charge. With any other mouse, you plug it into the charger and continue to use it while it's charging.
coldtea 4y ago
>Simple, the front is not thick enough to accommodate a common port like USB or Lightning Well, that's the broken design part. >Changing the design to accommodate a port in the front doesn't make sense because the primary function of the device is to act as a human-computer interface and optimising the design for that purpose is paramount There's nothing about HCI that prevents a different design. In fact, the Magic Mouse is one of the least ergonomically optimized mice out there...
Nullabillity 4y ago
> Simple, the front is not thick enough to accommodate a common port like USB or Lightning. Then fire Jony Ive and make the front thicker! This isn't exactly rocket surgery.