Magic Mouse Shoe
Wes Davis at The Verge wrote about accessories that attempt to make the Magic Mouse more ergonomic. I bought one of these on a whim back in November with the expectation it could address a few issues with Apple’s Magic Mouse:
- Increase the bulk of the mouse to help my hand rest more comfortably.
- Easier charging thanks to wireless charging.
Comfort
On the whole I would say these accessories do make Magic Mouse more comfortable when mousing around or when resting your hand while reading. You’ll need to remind yourself to let your hand relax more but all-around you do get a more “hand-friendly” object.
Scrolling is where things fall apart. It may shock you to learn that we scroll a lot when using computers. When using two-finger scrolling with Magic Mouse your fingers are pitched and need to move more than a standard scroll-wheel. The shoe doesn’t make this interaction less comfortable, but it does not improve it. Despite its derisive design, I’m not sure how Apple could have made two-finger scrolling more comfortable.
Wireless Charging
Adding wireless charging to Magic Mouse is nicer than spearing the turtle with a lightning cable. I could quickly attach the mouse to a MagSafe puck when getting up for lunch meaning the battery would always be topped up.
One downside is that is causes a tiny electrical hum when charging. It took me a while to notice it at first but then it was impossible to not notice (see also: the arrow in the FedEx logo).
Another quirk is that you can’t use Magic Mouse while it’s charging. The mouse shuts off w because it assumes it’s upside-down with a cable jutting out. I imagined using a Qi mouse pad for endless battery life but this is not possible.
The last kicker is that I switch between a work and personal MacBook daily which requires removing the boot and pairing directly by Lightning each time I switch computers. I’d guess most people don’t have this problem, but I thought I’d mention it.
Verdict
These boots helped me realized the Magic Mouse itself no longer for me. Between poor multi-device support and discomfort, I decided to dig out an old Logitech mouse which solves both problems: good ergonomics by default and automatically pairing (its USB-A dongle stays plugged into my Thunderbolt dock).
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