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Cameron's House of Fun

Fatherhood, politics, education, random thoughts (heavy on the random thoughts) and stuff (always stuff).

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Oh Apple..

While I'm not a fan boy by any extent*, I love Apple products. I've never bought any other kind of computer, I prefer to work on them, I currently have six (in various states of repair) around our house. I like how the OS works, I like the hardware, I like the industrial design (hmm. MB I am a fan boy).

All of this to say that I have used tons of Macs, both personally and professionally. I've owned at least 15, I've worked with and done simple upgrades on just about every Mac since the LCII. So it is with this experience that I say this: The mighty mouse's track ball? It sucks.

Oh, when it works it's amazing. It's wonderful. The side to side and diagonal tracking? Cool beyond all measure. The up and down? Crisp.

It's just that it is flaky as all get out.

Look, I don't wash my hands before I use my computer. I've been known to snack at my desk. This is probably bad. It breaks rules of computing. But if this were a jailable offense, we'd have to build really, really big jails.

The mechanism is located under the ball. It's enclosed. There is no way at it. So food particles, body grease, cat hair, whatever gets in there. It gets between the ball and the mechanism. The ball stops working. Or it skids. Or it goes up by not down. Or down but not up.

Apple's solution. Hold the mouse upside down and rub it back and forth vigorously.

What. The. Hell?

This is one time that hte design failed.





*Jobs is about as god like as any other CEO of a major company, the constant sniping at the corporate uses of the PC, while amusing, are probably off putting, plus IT'S A COMPANY PEOPLE.

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