mark@obi-wan.ACA.MCC.COM (Mark Scheevel) (03/13/90)
Sunday morning my wife and I were awakened by the sound of one of our cats playing with something in our bedroom; after yelling at her (the cat!) a few times, she gave up and left, and we went back to sleep. It wasn't until later when our daughter announced that "the computer won't work" that we discovered what the cat had actually been up to: the mouse cord was completely severed about 4" from the mouse! Last night I played neurosurgeon and soldered the seven little wires in the cable, which seemed to fix the problem. Unfortunately, when I tried to heat the heat-shrink tubing I was using to insulate the connections, the insulation on the wires melted before the tubing shrank, so now I'm back where I started! I have another technique that I will try tonight, but I am rapidly losing interest in the job. The local Apple dealer claims that it is not possible to replace only the cable, and a new Apple mouse from the dealer will cost ~$100. Does anyone have experience with alternative mice, such as the A+ mouse that MacConnection sells for ~$60? I'm pretty sure that we want to stick with a mouse rather than a trackball: my wife and daughter have both used a trackball before, and they prefer the mouse. Incidentally, the deceased mouse is an old-style, heavy one, which I prefer to the new, lighter ones. Are any of the alternative mice in this style? Thanks for any help. Email and I'll summarize for other unfortunates. --Mark Mark Scheevel MCC, Advanced Computer Technology scheevel@mcc.com -- Mark Scheevel MCC, Advanced Computer Technology scheevel@mcc.com
briand@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Brian D Diehm) (03/14/90)
>Does anyone have experience with alternative mice, such as the A+ >mouse that MacConnection sells for ~$60? A friend just got a cordless mouse: it uses an infrared link, just like a TV remote control. I was impressed with it, it worked very well. There is still a short cord from the Mac to the transceiver, but your cat can't chew the rest of the link! -- -Brian Diehm Tektronix, Inc. (503) 627-3437 briand@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM P.O. Box 500, M/S 39-383 Beaverton, OR 97077 (SDA - Standard Disclaimers Apply)
whit@milton.acs.washington.edu (John Whitmore) (03/14/90)
In article <669@obi-wan.ACA.MCC.COM> mark@obi-wan.ACA.MCC.COM (Mark Scheevel) writes: >Sunday morning my wife and I were awakened by the sound of one of our >cats playing with something in our bedroom; after yelling at her (the >cat!) a few times, she gave up and left, and we went back to sleep. >It wasn't until later when our daughter announced that "the computer >won't work" that we discovered what the cat had actually been up to: >the mouse cord was completely severed about 4" from the mouse! > And Apple won't replace the cord? Those turkeys! The mouse comes apart, and the cord unplugs, in a few seconds. But nooo, that would mean stocking another part in the warehouse, and we don't need to do that because we can always sell you a new mouse... Okay, try this: open up the mouse, and unplug the cable. Observe the strain relief that the cable goes through: it is a tight fit, but you may find you can pull the cable out of the strain relief. Then insert the free end of the other segment of the cord, and pull it through the strain relief. If this has all worked, you have a cord 6" shorter than the original, looking unblemished. Now put the original connector onto the cord (solder to the individual contacts; they can be pulled out of the connector, I think), and reassemble the mouse. If the lessened cord length bothers you, use a joystick extension cable (for the nine-pin mouse)-Radio Shack will have these. Last step: retrain your cat (or at least get it some less pricey toys). I am known for my brilliance, John Whitmore by those who do not know me well.
mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb) (03/14/90)
In article <2391@milton.acs.washington.edu> whit@milton.acs.washington.edu (John Whitmore) writes: [...] > Now put the original connector onto the cord (solder to >the individual contacts; they can be pulled out of the connector, I >think), and reassemble the mouse. I wasn't able to do this when I fixed my Plus's mouse. The little contacts are... well... little! What I did instead was to unsolder the plug from the mouse's PC board and solder the wires directly in its place. If you're not very dextrous with a soldering iron, you might do that instead. Also, don't you have to actually do some slicing and dicing on the strain relief to get it to come off? I certainly did. Perhaps womebody could post a coherent explanation of what to cut if anything? --Mike
minich@a.cs.okstate.edu (MINICH ROBERT JOHN) (03/14/90)
> Does anyone have experience with alternative mice, such as the A+ > mouse that MacConnection sells for ~$60? I'm pretty sure that we want > scheevel@mcc.com May I heartily recommend the A+ Mouse (don't remember manufacturer.) I have been using one on a Plus for over a year now, and although you have to use a special pad with it (which is no trouble for me), it is probably one of the best mice I've seen. The mouse is shaped more like the old Apple mice, but is lighter. The tracking is smooth and accurate. I've set my control so that the thi8ng is as sensitive as possible because the thing is accurate enough that you can still do fine (dot by dot) movements while a little flick of the wrist sends the pointer flying across the screen. I barely move my arm at all for 95% of the time. (I do have to type!) Another big plus is that it has not required cleaning the entire time I've had it. (Apple's mice always seem to gunk up their rollers. Maybe its the stuff that rubs of those mouse pads... :-) Anyways, it's cheaper than Apple (isn't everyone?) and it's a high quality product. I like it so much, I'm considering getting one for a new SE/30 (coming real soon now) except I'm already penniless. Oh well. Robert Minich minich@a.cs.okstate.edu Disclaimer: I disclaim this disclaimer. I didn't write it.
hammersslammers1@oxy.edu (David J. Harr) (03/15/90)
Has anyone ever gotten around to designing a three button mousefor the mac? The reason I ask is because I will soon be loading X11 onto my Mac II, and I understand that in lieu of having three buttons like the X11 expects, that you get to use the cursor keys instead. So, I would be interested in any info anyone has. advaTHANKSnce David
daw@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (David Wolverton) (03/17/90)
In article <669@obi-wan.ACA.MCC.COM>, mark@obi-wan.ACA.MCC.COM (Mark Scheevel) writes: > The local Apple dealer claims that it is not possible to replace only > the cable, That's right. > and a new Apple mouse from the dealer will cost ~$100. > Does anyone have experience with alternative mice, such as the A+ > mouse that MacConnection sells for ~$60? > Incidentally, the deceased mouse is an old-style, heavy one, which I > prefer to the new, lighter ones. I replaced my old, heavy mouse with the A+ mouse, and I won't switch back! Haven't tried any other mice (haven't felt the need). Dave Wolverton David.Wolverton@att.com
Steve.Bloom@f947.n107.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Steve Bloom) (03/19/90)
My cordless mouse works well, but it uses up batteries like crazy (1-2 weeks per set) and they usually seem to go dead about 4:30 in the morning and since you cannot use a Mac w/out a mouse, this can be a real pain. -- Steve Bloom via cmhGate - Net 226 fido<=>uucp gateway Col, OH UUCP: ...!osu-cis!n8emr!cmhgate!107!947!Steve.Bloom INET: Steve.Bloom@f947.n107.z1.FIDONET.ORG