An intelligent pet
They looked like the famous agile rodent. The first computer “mice” featured a rather squarish design and connected to the computer via a cable. Through their product name alone they lent the computer an emotional aspect and at the same time offered the possibility to operate a computer more easily and more comfortably. In the 1980s, the Apple mouse ball marked the beginning of this new “species”, defining both the form and the working principle of computer mice to come. The Magic Mouse is the current incarnation of the Apple mouse and it offers users new experiences and entirely new “specifics” in terms of form and usability. Featuring a reduced appearance and a surface that is pleasing to the touch, its flat and only slightly curved design lends it the appearance of an elegant accessory more than a functional computer mouse. And yet it offers an entirely new approach to functionality as well as striking experiences of interaction. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless multi-touch surface that reacts to the touch of its user. The amazing novelty of this mouse is that the mouse itself is the button: a chip on the inside gives users the feeling that the mouse is alive. Users can click or double-click almost anywhere. With one finger on the Magic Mouse they can scroll in any direction and with two fingers they can browse websites or photo galleries. This mouse “recognises” at any time whether users scroll or swipe, and even recognises when users only rest their hand on it without doing anything – like an individual and also highly intelligent pet that one would carry anywhere one goes.
