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Wireless and pointless.

Apparently it's finally been confirmed that Apple is going to be releasing a Bluetooth wireless mouse + keyboard combo. This has been rumored for a long time now, and it fits completely in line with Apple's design flair, so it's not much of a surprise. But I still don't see the apeal of a wireless mouse and/or keyboard.

Don't get me wrong, I don't love all the cables coming out of my computer, but with their ADC connection Apple's already reduced the power, USB and DVI connections for their LCD down to one, and there's a single USB cable running from my monitor to my keyboard and another from my mouse to my keyboard. That's hardly a mess.

By my best guess, I'd say the average amount of space between a monitor or CPU and keyboard is a foot, maybe two or three. How lazy do you have to be when that becomes too cumbersome for you? Here at work, there's literally mere inches between my keyboard and CPU (it's an LCD iMac, so my large Microsoft keyboard starts underneath the raised monitor).

And then there's the problem of batteries. Batteries! In something as simple as a mouse or keyboard! I'd hate to be in a situation where I can't get any work done because the batteries on my mouse have died. Logitech found a satisfactory solution to this problem by adding a cradle and rechargeable battery, but then that means you have to have a wire going from the computer to the cradle (or the wall to the cradle). I imagine Apple's planning something similar, since I can't see them releasing anything that requires AA batteries.

Hopefully this new cordless mouse will at least contain more than one button. Wireless mice and keyboards are significantly more expensive than their wired counterparts, and Bluetooth ones even more so. And if someone's going to have to shell out $100 or more for a keyboard and mouse, one would hope it offers a bit more than a single button. Actually, I'd love to find out if they're going to use this wacky wheel patent they filed for some time ago.

Update: According to Think Secret, these new devices will run on AA batteries. The mouse will require two, while the keyboard needs a whopping four.

Posted by jason at August 21, 2003 01:28 PM | TrackBack | Read more: Apple , Geek Culture