The Mighty Mouse is the worst mouse ever made.

Jared Meyer

Jared Meyer

Veteran
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I honestly don't think a worse mouse exists. I currently have three Mighty Mice, one of them the $70 wireless version. What complete pieces of crap. I've collected the two wired versions with systems I've bought this last year and purchased the wireless soon after. Horrible purchase.

It didn't take long for all three of them to exhibit the same EXACT problem with that pitiful, minimalistic excuse for a scroll ball....namely, it doesn't work. After a month or two of use, it becomes so gunked up with invisible lint or dust or whatever that it spins erratically, if at all, and has no scrolling effect whatsoever on the screen.

That's the most glaring issue and it has been VERY widely reported. The unreliable scroll ball is pretty much the rule, not the exception.

Besides that, the right click (there's no real button separation, just different "zones" on the top of the mouse) is almost as erratic -whether in a Windows or a native OS X environment. On the wireless version, the only way to get the right click to respond as it should is to restart the mouse -and this happens several times a day.

Add the fact that it has absolutely NOTHING going for it ergonomically, and you've got yourself a really terrible excuse for a mouse.

The two wired mighty mice came with different mac systems over the last couple years but I'm pretty disappointed that I paid $70 for the wireless and even more disappointed that not ONE of them works as it should.

So, frustrated out of my mind by trying to scroll and right click in Final Cut Pro and documents and web browsers, which is what I do all day, I went to Staples an hour ago and picked up the Logitech MX Revolution for $60.

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Holy Gliding Scroll Wheel, Batman.....I may be late to board the "real mouse" train, but this is the most amazing mouse I've ever used. It's wireless but has a rechargeable battery built in and charges in a cradle. It's incredibly accurate, glides like nobody's business and is 100% reliable responsive. Definitely recommended.

I'm probably happier than I should be since I'm coming from such crappy mice, but seriously, DON'T BUY A MIGHTY MOUSE and if you are still using the one that came with your Mac, replace it as soon as humanly possible. :)

What's everyone else using? Anything you're really thrilled with? I got lucky with this one....it's pretty much the only "expensive" mouse Staples had and I figured just about anything would be better than that white abomination...
 
That's funny. I have the mighty mouse, which doesn't exhibit any of the problems you listed. And my sister bought my Dad the Lexmark for Xmas. Cool mouse.
 
wow you actually used the apple mouse ? I currently use a Microsoft intellimouse for everything. I always get great deals on them on black friday. Even when I used to do tech support for apple on a mac I brought my microsoft mouse from home because it's crap compared to other mice
 
But the Mac mouse sure is pretty.

I have the VX Revolution. It's almost the exact same as the MX, but a couple less features, but also much smaller. That MX is a beast.
 
SilverWolf said:
wow you actually used the apple mouse ?
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Lol! Yeah I know...I think I just wanted to like it for way too long. Definitely kicking myself for not buying a real mouse sooner.

DevonSloan said:
But the Mac mouse sure is pretty.

I have the VX Revolution. It's almost the exact same as the MX, but a couple less features, but also much smaller. That MX is a beast.
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Yeah, like everything Mac it does have a cool design - but that's about it.

I think the VX is the "notebook" model? Guess that just means smaller. I don't have any non-Apple mice to compare it to but the MX fits my hand pretty well. The Revolution has a great design. I'll definitely look to Logitech first now for future mice...:)
 
:( I was playing with the buttons and lost my post.

The main idea was.... yes the MX is ergonomic, but huge compared to normal mice. The VX is normal mouse sized, maybe even slightly bigger. There is a "VX Nano" for notebooks.

Then I went on to ask if you use all the fancy buttons. Then I said how I dont. Then I started playing with my buttons and Fubared my post.

Erk.

Oh.... what do you have the scroll wheel set to? I have mine on free spin 90% of the time but will switch to the middle setting if I need a little more control. I think that is best feature. And the steel wheel is great.
 
I actually am waiting for something to finish rendering so I haven't been able to restart the computer after installing the MAC version of the mouse software.

The software - the Logitech Control Center- "doesn't recognize any Logitech products" so far, so I haven't customized any of the buttons...I'll play around with it a little more after I restart but I've never used many mouse shortcuts so probably won't miss it if it ends up not working.

Scroll speed is at the default as well...seems great though. I'm assuming that's something else you tweak from the Logitech Control Center?
 
I was actually torn for a long time. In many ways I hated the mighty mouse, but I loved the scroll ball, and there's nothing else like it out there, is there? I now use a Logitech that has a "tilting" scroll wheel, but I don't like the way side-toside motion control works as well as the scroll ball. It was erratic sometimes, but in general it gave me much better 2-dimensional control than the tilting scroll wheels. Once you knew the right gentle way to manipulate it (and I won't go into any analogies to any female body parts) it would respond reliably. I wish Logitech would make a scroll wheel mouse...

As to the erratic right button - the problem is that I (and others) tend to rest both fingers on the buttons. If you lift one finger while clicking with the other, the mghty mouse is reliable; but if that's not natural to you, then the thing is a real pain in thge but and doesn't choose which button reliably. Picking the mouse up to reposition while dragging was another mighty-mouse problem. But just because of that nifty scroll-ball, I suffered with it a long time... I still miss it.

But, the worst mouse of all time? No way! The original iMac puck mouse wins that, hands down. Couldn't even move straight!
 
...but I loved the scroll ball, and there's nothing else like it out there, is there?
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Erk.

One thing I like about this mouse (VX, and I'm sure the MX is the same), I have been able to plug it into any XP or Vista box and it just immediately recognizes it and it fully functions. Vista actually takes about 5 seconds to load the driver, but in XP it is literally operational the nanosecond it is plugged in. I was curious about how the Mac handled this.

As to the scrolling, there should be a 3-position switch on the bottom of the mouse.
 
I wasn't a fan of the mighty mouse at first. Had alot of trouble getting used to it, but I had to use one at work and now find that I'm lost without the groovy little scroll wheel. I love it.
I've never had any of the problems you guys seem to have had, and never had a problem with ont having two distinct buttons.
I guess what works for ya, works for ya!

:)
 
I'm happy with my $9 Logitech laser scroll mouse. But if you want to talk crappy MacMice, the little hockey puck they sold with the old iMacs gets my vote for garbage.
 
I had a wireless MM at work (until I quit last Friday) and didn't mind it until I realized I couldn't program the buttons without chucking out twenty bucks for USB Overdrive. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Glad I have an MX700 here at home. Which is back to being the office. :)
 
Hmm. Must just be the VX. No such switch here.
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Interesting. I just read the PDF on the scroll feature for the MX:


Logitech’s SmartShift technology detects the current active application window and automatically applies the scrolling mode that best fits the task at hand. For example, when a Microsoft Word® document is the user’s focus, the wheel defaults to free-spin mode, but sets itself to click-to-click mode when the user is navigating photos in the My Photos folder. For some applications, such as Microsoft Excel®, Logitech’s technology also senses the speed at which people spin the wheel – if it is spun fast, the wheel goes into free-spin mode; if it’s spun more slowly, the wheel shifts into click-to-click mode. In addition, with Logitech’s accompanying SetPoint® software, users can specify the start-up mode – free-spin or ratcheting – for virtually any application.

Pretty cool technology. I think I prefer my little switch, though so I dont rely on what it thinks I need, or going into software to set all the applications to what I think I need, but it just takes a second to switch back and forth manually.

For those interested:

http://www.logitech.com/lang/pdf/ib-microgear_and_smartshift_EN.pdf

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I've had two MM and had to abandon both. I liked them - when they worked. The little scroll nub - first class, love it... I edited a couple of films on FCP using it... it's the best scroll feature in any mouse (that I've tried, and I've tried quite a few). Never had a problem with the second button, though the side buttons suck.

The main problem however, is that like the OP says - they just get gunked up and the scrolling stops working. I've cleaned it like they recommend, but eventually scrolling just stopped working altogether.

If they ever solve that problem, I'll be back on the MM in a New York minute.

What I hate about almost all mice I've tried is how hard it is to scroll - you have to apply too much pressure, the wheels almost always have this obnoxious stepping action, instead of being smooth like butter. Plus they all travel way too far before movement - the MM nub is so small that it's extremely responsive and takes no effort. In short, I HATE conventional scrolling wheels - MM is the way to go... except the MM stops working :(
 
Corpse: try the Logitech MX or VX. This is what I've been talking about. You can set it to a completely free setting that is like a completely frictionless steel ball rolling forever. And like I mentioned above, with a simple flip of a switch, you can bring it back to click mode. But it is still a super high quality steel wheel, not a poopoo piece of plastic.
 
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