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Apple's newest peripheral is the Magic Mouse
As rumored, Apple has just introduced a new mouse called the Magic Mouse. This mouse will bring Multi-Touch capabilities to desktop Macs for the first time, something that the iPhone has had since its release in June 2007 and the MacBook Air since it was released in February 2008. It loses the scroll ball found on the Mighty Mouse, but adds support for scrolling gestures. This mouse is also wireless, using Bluetooth, and has a four month battery life. This mouse is available for $69 in late October, and requires Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8 or later.
Apple's Magic Mouse: one button, multitouch gestures, Bluetooth, four-month battery life
Ready for some more Apple news? Good. Say goodbye to the Mighty Mouse (for reasons beyond those legal entanglements) -- the Magic Mouse has arrived. Hate buttons or moving parts? So does Apple, and nothing exemplifies the company's march towards a buttonless future more than this "two button" laser mouse, which has one button and no scroll wheel -- just a multitouch surface (a hard acrylic) across the top. With the Magic Mouse you're able to do familiar gestures from the Mac trackpad playbook such as two-finger swipes, but you can also do single-finger horizontal and vertical scrolling, complete with a software-based inertia (see a video here). Sorry kids, no pinch zoom. The wireless device boasts a four-month battery life, and will be available today for $69. Full press release is after the break. Update: Check out our hands-on! %Gallery-75970% %Gallery-75976%
Apple Store down for updates, new iMac and more on the way? Update: part numbers!
And here we go: the Apple Store is down, presumably to update it with all the new gear we're expecting today. New iMacs, plastic MacBooks, multitouch input peripherals, maybe a new Airport Express -- we could get everything, we could get nothing. You'll know as soon as we do.Update: Kasper from AppleInsider just hit us up with some last-minute leaked part numbers, which reveal a new iMac with a 21.5-inch display, some new mini configs including a server with two hard drives and no optical drive, new AirPort gear, and yes, a new 60W MacBook power supply. See? Dreams do come true. Oh, and that's apparently just part of the list, so we'll see what else happens when all this stuff actually hits.MC207LL/A - K84 BEST BTR- USA MC238LL/A - MAC MINI 2.26/2x1GB/160/SD/AP/BT-USA MC239LL/A- MAC MINI 2.53/2x2GB/320GB/SD/AP/BT-USA MC340LL/A - AIRPORT EXTREME (SIM DUALBAND) - USA MC343LL/A - TIME CAPSULE 1TB (SIM DUALBAND) -USA MC344LL/A - TIME CAPSULE 2TB (SIM DUALBAND) - USA MC408LL/A - MAC MINI 2.53/2x2GB/1TB/NO ODD/AP-BT-USA MC413LL/A - IMAC 21.5"/3.06/2x2GB/1TB/4670-256MB-USA MC434LL/A - APPLE VESA MOUNT ADAPTER MC461LL/A - MACBOOK 60W MAGSAFE POWER ADAPTER - USA
Apple to introduce host of new machines, new multitouch input devices tomorrow?
We're not sure why John Gruber and Dan Lyons are having some sort of megalomaniacal Apple super-pundit standoff, but we'll sit here and take the spoils: Gruber's just one-upped Lyons's earlier vague tease of new Apple gear tomorrow with a pretty specific list of things he's apparently heard we'll see, including new iMacs and plastic MacBooks, revved Mac Minis (including one that runs OS X Server), a new multitouch "Magic Mouse" (ha!) and some sort of multitouch desktop trackpad accessory. That pretty much covers every rumor and vague whisper we've heard over the past few months, so it's actually a fairly conservative set of predictions, outside of that trackpad -- which itself may or may not be related to this multitouch input device patent from a couple weeks ago. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning -- at this point we're half expecting a tablet, a pony, and some sort of multitouch waffle maker as well.
WPI students create wireless 3D ring mouse
No doubt we've seen some snazzy takes on mousing instruments, but when Popular Science dubs your twist on the critter we couldn't do without an Invention of the Year, you've accomplished something. A team of WPI undergraduate students were able to win such an honor by crafting the MagicMouse, a "three-dimensional computer mouse" that allows users to "control and manipulate items on a computer screen just by pointing at the monitor." While we've seen similar ideas for helping disabled individuals interface with a computer, this wee iteration actually fits around one's finger and "uses an array of receivers to track the motion of a tiny ultrasonic transmitter." The cursor is moved by waving one's hand back and forth, while moving closer and backing away enables zooming functions to be utilized, which should make handling those CAD drawings a good bit easier. Perhaps most notable, however, is the relatively low cost of assembly, as the entire contraption (rechargeable Li-ion and all) cost just $155, and we're sure you know how far that could fall if a bulk buying manufacturer brought it to commercialization. A few more pictures after the jump.[Via Popular Science and Gizmag]
