Magic Mouse

My work computer is a MacBook Pro, Mac OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard). I've had it since approximately October 2007, and it takes major abuse: daily travel to-and-from the office; constant travel outside of the office; and the occasional trampling by a tiny terrier.

I mangled the W key months ago and woke up recently to find the L key on the floor - completely removed from the laptop (I blame the tiny terrier). The damaged keyboard became quite a hassle on telecommuting days and made me recall past keyboard woes, so I must add a tangential anecdote.

When I worked at Michigan State University, I inherited a desktop system from a previous employee. I immediately discovered that the Z key stuck - almost to the point of being completely non-functional. After a few inquiries I was told that an unfortunate lemonade incident was the culprit so I put in a request for a new keyboard. When the request was not handled promptly I went straight to the computer support guys and asked them what was up.

Computer support guys: "How important is the Z key anyway?"

Me: "My name is Tracey Glazener and my supervisor's name is Elizabeth Plagwitz. How important do you think the Z key is now?"

New keyboard immediately followed.

So, my current employer recently acquired a wireless keyboard and mouse for me to keep at home. The mouse is the new Mac Magic Mouse and I love it so far. The scrolling/swiping features are awesome and the mouse functions very well on make-shift surfaces (I no longer have a mousepad at home so I use either a spare piece of cardboard or chipboard).

I just brought both items home Friday, so battery life is still an unknown issue, but a co-worker of mine said the office also bought him a rechargeable battery set that works very well.

If you're a Mac-user (everyone should be), then I recommend trying this mouse out at your local Apple store. It is now included with every new iMac purchase or sold separately for $69.