About a year ago, Apple released what they called “Mighty Mouse”, their first-ever multi-button mouse. Unlike other mice that you can left-click or right-click, the Mighty Mouse doesn’t have two buttons on the surface to click. It instead has a smooth surface with sensors on the left and right side that sense which “click” you want to click.

It also has a “button” on both sides of the case that can be squeezed (it’s actually “pressure sensitive”) to invoke one of many programmable options. The top of the Mighty Mouse bears a “scroll ball” that scrolls in both the vertical and horizontal directions, which also doubles as a fourth programmable button. Because of its uniform shape, Mighty Mouse can be used by either righties or lefties.

While it serves its purposes well, the Mighty Mouse is not as programmable as other multi-button mice, and although I haven’t experienced this, some users claim that the scroll ball gets dirty and can become gummed up and erratic.

Here’s some tips for keeping your Mighty Mouse scroll button clean. No more eating peanut butter from the jar with your fingers and then editing photos in Photoshop. No more web surfing while cleaning your carburetor.

This week, Apple released a wireless version of the Mighty Mouse. Cosmetically and functionally, it’s just like its “tailed” sibling. However, under the hood, the wireless Mighty Mouse gets a laser tracking system instead of an optical system. Apple claims that the laser system delivers 20 times the performance of optical, providing more accuracy and responsiveness on more varied surfaces. No mouse pad required.

Mighty Mouse uses Bluetooth 2.0 wireless technology, built into all new Macs. No USB dongle-thingy required. Apple states that you can use the mouse up to 30 feet from the computer – perhaps a non-feature for the home user (unless you’ve got a REALLY big display), but something that could be useful in a Keynote or PowerPoint presentation environment.

Mighty Mouse runs on one or two AA batteries. It has an advanced power management system that switches to low power modes during inactivity. It also has an ON/OFF switch, which is particularly useful when carrying it around in your laptop bag. Some other wireless mice don’t have a power switch, causing movement while in the bag to keep the mouse awake and use precious battery power.

Mighty Mouse retails for $69, and currently ships in 3-5 business days from Apple’s online store.

© 2006 Peter F. Zimowski