It was 40 years ago this week that Douglas Engelbart gave the first public demonstration of what would become the modern computer mouse, affectionately called “The mother of all demos.” With that in mind, we’ve decided to take a look at the evolution of the Apple Mouse.
The current version is the Mighty Mouse, of course. With its scroll wheel and touch sensitive clicking surfaces, it’s loved by some and despised by others. I’ll admit that a wired Mighty Mouse is my main mouse, which will undoubtedly make some of you gasp. Still, we can’t fully appreciate the Mighty Mouse without acknowledging its predecessors.
When you think of old Apple mice, you probably think of the ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) variety. But even those were preceded by the DB-9 connector mice that shipped with the Apple Lisa. In fact, those were the first commercially available mice. They were clunky, square-ish affairs that featured a single button — a design decision that Apple has refused to abandon all these years (yes, the Mighty Mouse isn’t a single-button mouse, but certainly looks it from an overhead perspective).
The boxy shape was kept largely intact until 1993, when Apple released the Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II. I can remember using one of these with a Performa and being amazed by it. “it’s not square! It fits in my hand! This is incredible!”
Also “incredible” was the amount of time I spent removing the ball and scraping the gunk off of the rollers.
The design stayed pretty much the same until the “hockey puck” was released with the iMac in 1998. Apple’s first USB mouse, the hockey puck divided the Mac community. Some declared it the best thing since copy and paste. Others, like me, considered it an abomination.
Just two years later, Apple got the message, retired the hockey puck and introduced the Pro Mouse. The lozenge-shaped device was the immediate predecessor to the Mighty Mouse we all know and love (or despise) today.
There are Apple mouse fanboys, and those who’d never touch one. In fact, even your favorite TUAW bloggers are divided. Below is a gallery of our favorite and current mice, plus a few vintage examples. Finally, we threw in a few alternate input devices as well.
Let’s face it. If there’s anything you’ve ever needed to hear on the Xbox 360, it’s the sound of zombies creeping up behind you. If you haven’t played Left 4 Dead, then you don’t know about all of the creepy sounds: the gurgling of a Boomer, the wail of a Witch, and the raspy sounds of a Smoker. It’s all part of the game, and paying close attention can keep you alive. For awhile.
If you’re tired of your roommates, significant other, or neighbors telling you to dial down the sound on your gaming rig, then you definitely need some high-quality cans that will keep you blissfully unaware while the rest of the world goes about it’s business. With that in mind, you need to get in on our Joyswag Holidaze Left 4 Dead and Turtle Beach Ear Force X3 giveaway.
To enter, chime in down below and let us know why you need a pair of high-quality Turtle Beach wireless gaming headphones attached microphone and chat capability to accompany you against the Infected in Left 4 Dead. Yes, we said wireless. Which unfortunately leaves you with one less thing that you can garrote the undead with.
To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment telling us why you need a pair of gaming headphone to help you kill zombies
You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec … and Mars — it’s in Canada, right?)
Limit 1 entry per person per calendar day
This entry period ends at 12:00pm ET on Wednesday, December 17th. We’ll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive one copy of Left 4 Dead for Xbox 360 (ARV: $59.99), one pair of Turtle Beach X3 Headphones for the Xbox 360 (ARV: $119.99).
Is the end of 2008 approaching already? In honor of another year of gaming gone by, Joystiq is hosting five straight days of Joyswag giveaways. Check back every day for new prizes, new chances to win, and the possibility of keeping more money in your own pocket.
The folks at UK based Games Faction are giving some holiday cheer to fans of their downloadable sci-fi RTS game Project Aftermath. The developers have just released a free add-on for the full game and also reduced the price of the full version to just $9.99 for the holidays.
The add-on puts in a new “tactical deployment system” for the game that adds new items such as turrets, beacons and at the third tier a new six man Containment Team. The add-on also brings 20 new challenge levels to the full game, broken down into normal and extreme challenges. The full game can be purchased through several outlets including the just added Gamersgate service.
It may be viral, but it’s too hilarious not to post. We just came across a YouTube video in which a Chinese woman, who the internet has lovingly dubbed “Shanghai Lady”, finds her beloved Chevrolet Captiva held captive by a tow truck driver. The South Korean-made CUV is on the hook, tail held high with its front wheels planted, when the lady confronts the tow truck operator. After a short spat she decides she’s had enough, gets into her vehicle and starts it up. The tow truck driver gives the rear wheel of the Captiva an angry kick, but that doesn’t stop her. She puts it in gear and proceeds to drive off, tow truck in tow. Like any great comedy, the driver is left to chase his truck on foot. It’s good for a nice chuckle before you sign off for the night and expresses what a lot of us hope we might have the intestinal fortitude to do if caught in this same situation. Follow the jump to see the clip.
If you’re tired of being scammed at ATMs by kind, gentle-hearted con artists (and then forgetting it ever happened), you’ll be stoked to know that Japan is looking out for you. Chiba Bank has installed phone signal jammers at four unnamed ATMs at bank branches in the Tokyo region, and while it has gone down as the first institution to go to such lengths, we highly doubt it’ll be the last. It’s not entirely clear what exactly the criminals were able to convince people to do via mobile, but it’s probably something like “psst… get me out some cheddar and meet around back.” Not that we have any experience in the field or anything…
Just three weeks after the – by all accounts, very successful – launch of the New Xbox Experience, Microsoft is ready to trumpet some statistics related to the new interface. To help us navigate this panoply of numbers, Microsoft lent us the services of one Mr. Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, who served as our tour guide through the press release.
First, with 14 million folks suddenly using an entirely new interface designed to make content easier to find, you’d wonder how successful it is in that regard. Well, glad you asked! Microsoft reports that Marketplace downloads of TV episodes were up 30% and movie downloads an impressive 49% the week after the NXE launch. This is in spite of competition from Netflix’s ample on-demand offerings in both areas. Wondering how many folks are using Netflix? Yeah, so were we … Greenberg told us they’re not providing that data just yet, but we wouldn’t be surprised to hear them noting that as a success during next month’s CES.
What is the prefect merge between a regular keyboard and one made for gaming? Logitech thinks it has the answer with their newly announced G13 Advanced Gameboard. The oddly shaped 25-key device is due out later this year for $80
As you can see in this Logitech-supplied video the G13 isn’t meant to replace your current keyboard but enchance your current one or serve as a better way to play PC games from the almost always cramped laptop keyboard set-up. All 25 keys are programmable and there even a mini-joystick that’s designed for your thumb. The G13 also has an LCD screen (much like other recent Logitech gaming keyboards) that gives out info and stats about games and your PC system.
Today, Apple issued both SMC and Firmware updates for their entire line of unibody MacBook computers, and the MacBook Air. Read on to discover what was changed for each system, and how you can get the updates.
MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.2 (Download Page) This update “improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights on the MacBook (late 2008) model.”
EFI Firmware Update 1.3 (Download Page) This update “fixes several issues to improve the stability of the MacBook (Late 2008) model.”
MacBook Pro15″ SMC Firmware Update 1.2 (Download Page) This update “improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights on the MacBook Pro (late 2008) model.”
EFI Firmware Update 1.6 (Download Page) This update “fixes several issues to improve the stability of the MacBook Pro (Late 2008) model.”
MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.1 (Download Page) This update “improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights on the MacBook Air (late 2008) model.”
EFI Firmware Update 1.1 (Download Page) This update “fixes several issues to improve the stability of the MacBook Air (Late 2008) model.”
To download these updates, you can either launch Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update), or download the appropriate installer packages from the Apple Support Download website. There are additional installation instructions that you will need to follow after the download completes.
Has this update improved your MacBook/Pro/Air’s performance? After you install, come back here and let us know!
Update: As our commenters have pointed out, older MacBook and MacBook Pro models do not require these updates. Our apologies to everyone who has been frantically clicking Software Update.
We’ve been enamored with the idea of stuffing a Suzuki Hayabusa-derived V8 engine into an appropriately light and sporty four-wheeled conveyance since we first learned of such a powerplant’s existence last Spring. The task of creating a ‘Zuki-powered sled is set to become significantly easier now that Hartley Engineering has managed to rework the ‘Busa block a bit. An entirely new crankcase has been designed and hewn from a huge chunk of 6061 T6 aluminum. It may not be a V8, but this new inline-four engine, known as the H2, is a diminutive powerhouse that can bolt right up to a standard automotive transmission. Why is this a big deal? Motorcycle gearboxes generally don’t have a dedicated reverse gear and usually output their high-revving power via a chain. Now, the prospect of a 140-pound engine with over 200 horses powering something along the lines of a Super 7 has us salivating once again. Those with equally imaginative minds can now begin plotting their next projects, as the H2 is expected to be ready for purchase in early ’09.
Not that you’d be interested, because DRM isn’t a clumsy or expensive solution to a problem that exists largely (or even solely) in the heads of the film and music industries, but a new version of Tunebite is out, and among its many features is the ability to make unprotected dupes of tracks downloaded from Nokia’s Comes With Music service. This isn’t the “crack” everyone’s talking about — there’s nothing new about software that records protected audio off the sound card — but this package does so at speeds of up to 54x. Not bad, eh? But please, don’t use it. Kanye needs our money if he’s going to keep scarfing up all those awesome gadgets.
Today, Apple issued both SMC and Firmware updates for their entire line of unibody 
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