Targus Wireless Mouse (RF)
From TMUG - The Triangle Macintosh Users Group
Targus Wireless Mouse, for Mac
Physical design: The $50 Targus Wireless Mouse is a grey plastic uniform soap bar shape device comfortable for either left or right hand use. Power is provided by two AA batteries (included). It is about 80% of the size of a conventional full size mouse.
Controls include left and right "mouse button" switch function built into the surface of the device, an optical sensor for simulating the up/down scrolling function normally provided by a scroll wheel and also for providing input for left and right scrolling, and two programmable standard click switches on the left front side of the mouse body. On the bottom is an on/off switch and a latch which unlocks the top cover of the mouse. Underneath the cover is the battery compartment and a storage location in the cover for a tiny RF receiver which must be plugged into an available USB port when using the mouse with a computer.
Operation: Moving the Wireless Mouse produces accurate, precise cursor movement on the computer monitor screen via signals from the optical sensor on the bottom of the mouse across the proprietary wireless link from the mouse to the USB 2.4 GHz wireless receiver. Range is claimed to be 33 feet. Standard Macintosh "Keyboard & Mouse" system preferences control the basic mouse functions such as tracking speed and scrolling speed. Optional software can be loaded from the included CDROM to support the programmable functions of the 2 click switches on the side of the mouse.
In actual operation, the tracking speed range provided by the Mac system preferences matches well to the Wireless Mouse, but the scrolling speed does not. Even at the slowest scrolling speed setting, a page to be scrolled jumps up and down the screen at speed making fine control of scrolling movement quite difficult. Further, the need to raise your finger off the optical scroll sensor to reverse scroll direction is a further annoyance compared to a scroll wheel type mouse. A scroll wheel allows more natural feeling up/down page movement control without moving your finger from the wheel. Another anomaly of the scroll sensor is the need to move your finger exactly up and down -- if any sideways movement is registered, the page being scrolled will also move sideways at the same time if the page is larger than the size of the display window.
It is possible that the unique characteristics of the optical scroll sensor will become comfortable to the user over time, but they continue to frustrate this reviewer after a week of use of the Wireless Mouse. In addition, this reviewer found the low profile of the Wireless Mouse to be hard to grasp after time compared to other taller full size mice, such as those from Kensington and Microsoft, that I have owned.
Of note, the previously faultless cursor movement degraded considerably after installation of the Wireless Mouse switch control software such that moving the mouse did not correspond with cursor movement on the screen. On occasion, the cursor would just "vibrate" in a single screen location which required clicking the primary mouse button to free the cursor.
Installation and Software: Installation of the Wireless Mouse could not have been easier. I put my Macintosh to sleep, unplugged the USB receiver from my current wireless mouse, plugged in the new receiver, turned on the Wireless Mouse via the switch on the bottom and moved the mouse to wake up my computer -- bingo -- everything worked well enough to open the system preferences "Keyboard and Mouse" control software. The Targus Wireless Mouse control software for programming the 2 side click switches takes 884KB of disk storage and requires 10.4 or higher. The default software functions activated by the side buttons are Safari navigation page forward and page backward. Optional functions support:
- Run an Applescript
- Launch an application
- Perform user specified keystrokes
- Select one of a dozen or so predefined functions such as volume up or down for iTunes playback.
Conclusion:
Pros: Comfortable, ergonomic design ideal for smaller hands Basic mouse function is flawless before optional software is installed Two programmable buttons provide added flexibility Power switch saves battery life when not in use Hardware installation is a no-brainer as is software installation and removal
Cons: Scrolling function does not mate well with Mac software Awkward finger lift required to reverse scroll direction Horizontal and vertical scrolling can interact unexpectedly Switch programming software requires Tiger or Leopard After installation of the switch programming software, cursor control degrades considerably
Note: This review was performed on a 2 GHz dual processor G5 PowerMac with 3 GB memory running OSX 10.5.5.
