Mighty Mouse doesn’t save the day + diagram of my budget KVM solution

I love my 7+ year old Microsoft Intellimouse 3.0. The problem is that it’s wired, an inconvenience since it’s plugged in behind my desk. As a sort of low budget KVM solution I have everything plugged into a USB hub. The USB hub’s “to computer” cable end sits on my desk and is usually plugged into my MacBookPro. From my older Ubuntu/WinXP PC on the floor a USB extender cable snakes up on to my desk. My monitor has two “ins”, DVI to the laptop and analog VGA to the PC. When I want to run out to a code jam and bring my mouse it’s annoying to have to get under the desk and yank the mouse of the hub. I wanted to go wireless, and since I my laptop has Bluetooth built in, it made sense to look for a Bluetooth mouse. I was kind of shocked that there aren’t more BT mice available. The most recent Microsoft BT mouse has an ambidexterous shape (not ergonomic enough, plus no thumb back/forward buttons). I really hate the new scroll wheels with side to side action because the click down action is so damn stiff. Easy wheel clicking is essential for me. I use it to close browser tabs or open links in tabs. Finally, the Microsoft BT mice don’t have off switches which means when you travel with them and they get jostled they come out of sleep mode and run out of juice. The Logitech BT mouse offerings weren’t any more compelling than Microsoft’s. In slight desperation, I went to Fry’s and bought the BT Mighty Mouse from Apple. I really wanted to like this mouse, but it has some pretty severe flaws.

The good:

I really like the ball/nipple scroll thingy. The up/down/left/right action was smooth, quick, and didn’t tire my finger at all. The middle click action was decent too. It runs on either one or two standard AA batteries. With two batteries the mouse felt too heavy, with one battery it was perfect. There is a nice off switch that covers the laser lens under the mouse. The Bluetooth pairing and software were perfect.

The bad:

The shape is not ergonomic. I tired quickly using this mouse. My elbow is still a little out of sorts from using it for just two days. There are no back or forward buttons. Instead there are two panels on the sides of the mouse that you have to squeeze VERY hard to activate Expose. I thought I was squeezing it wrong because it was so uncomfortably difficult. The squeeze is programmable to functions besides Expose, but so what when you’ve pulled a muscle just to activate the click? Right clicking sucks. You have to pull your left finger up to right click reliably. Tiring. The worst thing is the pointer tracking. I’m guessing that Bluetooth can’t support the sample rate I need for precise mousing. This is a common complaint from gamers regarding wireless mice. The BT Mighty Mouse just had really jumpy, inaccurate tracking. I tried it on different surfaces and nothing alleviated the problem. Once again Apple has proved to be the best computer designer in the world that can’t produce a good mouse. I ended up buying an extra Intellimouse 3.0 to keep in my laptop bag.