Ever since I got my MacBook Pro back in June, I’ve been on the hunt for a decent bluetooth mouse. I wanted something portable, small, and easy to use, without being a small fortune to purchase. Sure, wireless mice are neat too, but I always worry about losing that tiny dongle. Then there’s the Apple Magic Mouse, but I’ve covered my debacle with the Magic Mouse here before.
Through it all, I watched a buddy of mine use his Microsoft Notebook mouse, and resisted the urge to buy one. I had used small mice before, and they never really felt right in my hand. Then recently, he tells me about his shiny new Magic Mouse, so I ask him what he’s doing with his old one. “Nothing. You want it?” Now that’s an easy way to save $50.
Pairing it up with my MBP took no time at all, just a quick stop at System Preferences | Mouse, then to Set Up Bluetooth Mouse, then pushing the button on the bottom of the device. In no time flat I was surfing the web.
How do I like it? Well, it’s nice. As expected, my pinky and ring finger don’t fit on the mouse so they drag the desktop as I work. Turns out, that doesn’t bother me as much as I seemed to remember. This mouse also has a higher profile than most notebook mice, so even though it’s fairly bulky for carrying in a bag, it’ll still fit just fine and fit in the hand even better.
That said, the side buttons are the only real issue I have with it. It comes with one back button on the left, and the scroll wheel acts as a fourth button as well. Unfortunately, I can’t find a way to program them, so I can’t get them to work the way I want to. It’s not a huge issue, but every time I click to go back a window, I end up pulling up Expose instead. Hopefully there’s a workaround for it.
At $50, it’s not a bad deal, and at $41 on NewEgg, it’s even better. Of course, if you can get one for free like I did, take it. You won’t be disappointed.
Programming the microsoft mouse is easy – go to the microsoft web site and find the driver for it – Intellipoint – it gets installed as a preference on your Mac. With that you can customize the wheel and button, pointer speed, scrolling, etc.
great…thanks for the article…I’m not a fan of M$ but as the new Apple Expert at my Best Buy…I am always looking for different accessories to offer my clients because to each his own…and our profit margin on M$ accessories is better than that of the Magic Mouse…which everyone loves…sorry you don’t…lol
feel free to do more 3rd party Mac accessory articles so I can use them to build my Apple department into the amazing success I know it will be…since we are South Beach, Miami Beach, FL…thanks
Just to expand on my first comment regarding software for the mouse, go to
https://www.microsoft.com/hardware/download/download.aspx?category=MK
and walk through the menus to get the correct version for your mouse and operating system.