

The Mouse Is Dead. I Just Killed It. Now Can We Move On? - swombat
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/27/the-mouse-is-dead/

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mooism2
The argument that mice are dead because they're a fifty year old technology is
bunk (how old are keyboards again?). But that doesn't mean mice will be
mainstream forever.

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Seth_Kriticos
The keyboard originated with the first typewriters, end of the 19th century
(100+ years). Nothing much changed with them, not even the layout.

And you are right, the mouse won't leave us any time soon. It's very
ergonomic. You can use it while your arm is mostly at rest (reinforced by the
table).

These kind of pads are nice for short time playing, but they are not useful
for actual work where you sit 8/5 in front of a screen.

But it will have it's niche market.

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ydant
The mouse is definitely dead. I killed it and replaced it with a thumb-track
ball ages ago. It's absurdly bulky, but it is almost always in my laptop bag.

The trackpads on the Mac laptops are indeed nice to use, but it's still nicer
to have a dedicated device for manipulating the mouse. And if I'm going to
carry around a dedicated device, I want something with tangible feedback.

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robotron
Siegler's earlier article was complete unprofessional flamebait and also
acting as if Apple is the first company to ever produce an input device that's
an alternative to the mouse. This article is just some lame attempt at
backtracking without going back on what he said. I'm done with Techcrunch.

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arnorhs
The arguments that college students all use their mouse's trackpad is not
because they prefer it over the mouse, but because they don't either have a
mouse (don't think of buying one) and/or they do not want to be bothered
taking it with them everywhere.

I'm sure there are students out there that prefer the trackpad, but everybody
I've ever met prefers using a mouse over a trackpad any day.

Maybe the reason for the trackpad not being more popular/comfortable as a
pointing device stems from the fact that the current trackpads out there are
not good enough and the apple trackpad might change all that, but as things
stand now, the trackpad is not replacing the mouse.

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ktsmith
When I was attending university there was the added issue of not having
anywhere to use the mouse in the first place. Sure I could maybe use it on top
of the laptop case itself but at that point it's so restrictive the track pad
is easier. Had there not been as many people as possible packed into a lecture
hall, or the classes built with tiny desktops designed for a notepad and pen
then it may not have been an issue but other than the newest buildings on
campus the facilities really didn't support a laptop/mouse combo.

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serichsen
I do not get why a keyboard is not needed. How do you write on an iPad?

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dflock
If you're only/mostly consuming media, you don't really need a keyboard. For
small amounts of typing, on screen keyboards will suffice.

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tomjen3
You can kill the mouse when your laptop comes with a built in trackpoint and
not a moment before.

Trackpads are third rate input devices at best, and should be faced out.

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Anon84
Apple's Trackpad, the ultimate Mouse trap?

