digg

Facebook Connect Join Digg About

Apples New Mighty Mouse to Use An Accelerometer, Like the Wiimote

gizmodo.com — Essentially, the "Mightier Mouse" will use two different mechanisms to track movement. The first, that we already know and love, is the optical tracking sensor. This will stay intact. The new feature will be the accelerometer, as you've seen in the Wiimote.

Who dugg this? Made popular Dec 31, 2006

Digg DudeWhat is Digg?

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Digg surfaces the best stuff as submitted and voted on by the community. Take the Tour to learn more.

85 Comments

show profanity settings
expand all
  • WiCk3D, on 10/12/2007, -5/+58I don't care if they will use an accelerometer or not, just fix that damn scroll ball XD
  • danielwsmithee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20I thought the whole point was power consumption. It goes into a sleep state until it detect movement on the accelerometer then switches on the laser which consumes more power. Your batteries now last 10 times as long in the wireless version. I'm sure there will be lots of neat apps that use it for other things like the accelerometer in the MacBooks but it's primary purpose is power efficiency.
  • Mexrocker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Let the Nintendo-Apple conspiracies begin/continue....
  • cohman2001, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Remember, this is Gizmodo this is coming from.. Remember? The iPhone stuff?
  • 0siris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9windows compatible?
    *in case your wondering, the other iMac mouses are.
  • zweben, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I hope it allows mid-air mouse usage.
  • drumnbass, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Innovation doesn't always have to be about _invention_ - it's also about figuring out how to improve on existing ideas and concepts.
  • HesNikke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8off topic: wow man, if you jumped, you'd hit the question block above you! O_o
  • kasted, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9the apple mice cost too much, I like my MX518 with my mac mini.
  • shrewduser, on 10/12/2007, -7/+13i don't understand: if the mouse is tracking its way across a flat surface, then it already understands which way its moving and its acceleration.

    the only conclusiong i can make is that its also designed to be picked up and handled in a non conventional way... ? (in addition to the conventional way)

    but outside of gaming what use could it have? unless.... this IS for gaming... and that apple wants to gain a gaming advantage over its windows rival (which apple has failed to even get a foothold in)

  • kodek, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9No. This might be used for some kind of "presentation mode."
  • cohman2001, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9http://digg.com/apple/Clean_Your_Mighty_Mouse
  • justnick, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5No, like linux and creative. Multiple desktops is very innovative and that ipod ui is amazing.
  • lofiboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4At least when apple copies, it's done right.

    Sony tried to copy Xbox Live and look at /that/. *shudder*
  • NiGHTSChao, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Christ you fanboys just do not understand that Sony is not trying to have a Wii-mote like design

    the patent they made back in 1999 for the SixAxis has DIFFERENT goals then the Wii-mote, they are not supposed to be doing the same kinda actions
  • stuartjmoore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Although they both use accelerometers, they work completely different as mice. The Wiimote barely uses the accelerometer for mousing, it's mostly the IR camera. The Apple mouse would use the accelerometer to track which way and how much the mouse it being pushed, just like a regular mouse, not mid-air.
  • samadam, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6They both use accelerometers, they both work just as well. The advantage the wii has is the sensor bar and camera., That allows the wiimote to tell both distance and position as well as angle. The accelerometers can only sense relative position (that is, movement from a spot) and angle.
  • OrangeTide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3the current mouse has like 4 buttons (left, right, squeeze, scrollball click) and a 2D scroll. what are you talking about?
  • kodek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My dad has an MX518 and I have a Logitech G5 for my mac and one for my PC. I like the G5 a lot better than the MX518. The MX518 isn't a bad mouse, though.
  • boomwad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Aha! When you pivot the mouse on the pad, the cursor on the screen should rotate accordingly!
  • MioTheGreat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I think it's safe to say that the MX518 is the apex of mouse engineering.
  • stepnet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ok.. the iTV will have a mighty mouse compatible wii built in.

    How's that for a theory?

    Oh, and the other controller will be the iPhone.
  • ShadowMarth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ryland, Nintendo hasn't started copying Apple until very recently, in their aesthetic designs. That was my point. I don't recall Nintendo copying anything else from Apple....
  • sephiroth965, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Hehe, the ball bearings in my VX Revolution are so smooth that if I hold my mouse in the air and lightly swing it around it scrolls up and down the page.
  • duke, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I'd buy almost anything from Apple . . .

    . . . except a mouse (LOL)
  • kdmaster, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Like Vista?
  • mastertop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2As of how I understnad it, it would use both, but mostly accelerometers, but, there's something I don't understand, aren't accelerometers supposed to detect only acceleration, so, if you move at a constant speed it wouldn't "move" the cursor, and at very slow speed it may not be so precise too.. Wait & see.
  • arjayl642, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Gizmodo:
    "Apple recently filed a patent for a "hybrid low power computer mouse". What does this mean?"

    ...I think it means that Apple is planning on creating a hybrid low-power computer mouse.
  • fraggle35, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Could it be to browse files on the iTV?
  • ryland2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://madmac.us/post/follow-the-leader/
    Not to say i don't like Nintendo though, but it has been a while...
  • fraggle35, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@insomniac8400
    innovate |ˈinəˌvāt| verb [ intrans. ] make changes in something established, esp. by introducing new methods, ideas, or products : the company's failure to diversify and innovate competitively. • [ trans. ] introduce (something new, esp. a product) : innovating new products, developing existing ones. DERIVATIVES innovator |-ˌvātər| noun innovatory |-vəˌtôrē| adjective ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin innovat- ‘renewed, altered,’ from the verb innovare, from in- ‘into’ + novare ‘make new’ (from novus ‘new’ ).
  • jhub908, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1agreed, the stupid mighty mouse that came with my mac pro is the most uncomfortable POS i've ever used and almost instantly went back to my logitech mouse.
  • fraggle35, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1is there a right click issue? mine works fine.
  • metafore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1anyone that reads through the entire patent copy deserves a digg. and he's right, accelerometer is a cool word.
  • paulsmerdon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2These patents have a habit of being used in unexpected ways and should be interpreted in a broad sense. This patent, if it is ever used in a real product, could be used for many different things besides a mouse. Whenever I see "energy efficient" in anything I immediately think of mobile devices. Could this be a patent related to iPod/iPhone navigation in disguise or maybe some type of remote control for the iTV product?
  • pauldonnelly, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How quickly does your mouse die? If you're not measuring your battery life in days, then you need a better mouse.
  • saladtossser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i got an energy efficient idea! do you know about those self winding watches that use energy from arm movements? why not put one of those in the mouse with a generator!
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3let me explain why nobody can rationalize what function this serves. That is because it serves no purpose and any possible purpose it could serve would be redundant and superfluous.

    suck it up, this is a stupid idea.
  • Dimah, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I guess it be using the mouse in a 3D Desktop environment?
  • duke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Apple's mice and their longtime insistence on the single button are a joke, hence the laughter. Even hard core Apple aficionados replace the mouse at the first opportunity.
  • Sabin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I love bawls and wiis
  • ryland2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Actually, I put it there to help people who do not know what an accelerometer make the connection.
  • ShadowMarth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I don't support your placement and use of "LOL", but your point is very accurate.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1still lacks forward and back buttons???
  • Aeternus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1[quote from mastertop]
    As of how I understnad it, it would use both, but mostly accelerometers, but, there's something I don't understand, aren't accelerometers supposed to detect only acceleration, so, if you move at a constant speed it wouldn't "move" the cursor, and at very slow speed it may not be so precise too.. Wait & see.
    [/quote]

    But the accelerometer will know that it accelerated to that speed, so the mouse cursor moves at that speed, and then there is the deceleration (just an acceleration in the opposite direction or negative acceleration depending on how you are looking at it) which will occur when you stop moving the mouse eventually (constant speed -> rest) and so it will know that the mouse has stopped (acceleration + the time taken so you know the increase or decrease in speed).
  • bdub92, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I love how the title reads : "Apples New Mighty Mouse to Use An Accelerometer, Like the Wiimote" as if the wiimote was the first device to use accelerometers...
  • Sabotage, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What you should have said was 'Apples mouse to Use An Accelerometer, Like the Macbook/Pro'. As if Apple copied the wii design.
  • tripple-breve, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Let's do everything except put another ***** button on it.
  • SuperSunny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1hey i've been sleeping like for the last 2 days don't blame me! blame too much bawls the last week
  • central183, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am a huge Apple fan, however, I must say their mice have always been awful. Design as always overpowered function every time. Apple mice are uncomfortable and heavy. I use a nice Kensignton mouse with rubber grip, a gentle slope, and two side buttons.

    I program the useful side buttons to go "Forward and Backward" in Safari or "Page Up" and "Page Down" in InDesign or Acrobat. To me that's a better innovation that any new gimmick like "Accelerometer".

    A mouse should be lightweight while keeping your wrist from bending too much. The more crap they put into these mice like AA batteries, the heavier the mouse gets. This also causes the side slopes to become steeper which causes your wrist more fatigue.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 85 of 85 discussions

  • Add a Comment

    Login or register to comment!
    Or, sign-in super fast with your Facebook account ...

© Digg Inc. 2009 — Content created and posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain | Terms of Use Updated | Privacy Policy
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.