[Macworld]

Post your comments for Scrolling tricks for the Mighty Mouse?s scroll ball here

[jhorton]

I've found scroll ball/wheels and trackpad scrolling to be particularly useful when in the coverflow mode of iTunes or Finder.

[fds]

Scrolling with my Mighty Mouse in any place would certainly be unexpected since that damned scroll ball stops working all the time. It's a losing battle trying to clean it and making it work once more, for a couple days at most.

[DisabledTrucker]

I find using it with EyeTV is a life save too...

[chabig]

This works with command-tab too.

[macnuke]

Nice tips but....
Until the MM has an optical ball, it will gum up and either go intermittent or not work at all regardless of the care you give it and how clean your hands are.
mine are all used till they die the first time. i don't bother cleaning them anymore. I find it to be more time efficient to just replace them with a good 3rd party mouse.
good idea... it just lacks better engineering.

you can do this Apple.. really you can.

[PeterG]

Hi M,

I had a problem with MM. Contacted Apple and they sent me another one.
Since,
I don't know how many times I've cleaned this damn thing (soft damp cloth) because it still doesn't work properly.

If I ever get out of my room, I'll go and do what Macnuke said, "replace them with a good 3rd party mouse".

cheers :)

[macnuke]

Hey Peter

I found the "going to apple for replacement" to be more trouble than it was worth as well.

ya.. you can constantly get them replaced cause i haven't been able to get a full warranty timeframe of usage out of it.

but you still need one spare to use while the MM is out.

go figure.


Cheers mate.

M

[griffman]

My main MM roller ball sticks only occasionally -- about once every couple months. For those occasions, I just roll a toothbrush over the ball a few times, then it's fine again for a couple more months.

I agree the design is prone to failure, though. If I could find a Bluetooth mouse that felt as good in my hands and didn't need low-level drivers, I'd probably replace it. Haven't been real motivated to look, though.

-rob.

[macnuke]

Rob

I have used every trick in the book including a compete disassembly of the MM, cleaning and reassembling.
right down to the little tiny wheels that collect all the grahdoo.

moving parts that little were never meant to be used with peoples grubs, no matter how clean they thing they are coming into contact with. Maintaining friction while not collecting every spec of grime along with natural oils and perspiration is almost impossible.
i still say it should be optical driven.


M

[belisle]

When selecting spaces and windows using the scroll ball, a ball-click selects the highlighted item, saving a trip to the return key on the keyboard.

I have the ball-click set as "Button 3", but I'll leave it up to someone else to test if this is required.

[compulsiveguile]

Is your mouse still under warranty? I had the same problem (cleaned it multiple times a week sometimes), and I took it in to the Apple store to have the Geniuses take a look at it. I got the mouse replaced, and I haven't had a problem since (granted I practice better hand hygiene in order to avoid the problem reoccurring).

[apta_MW]

Looks like the discussion drifted to the tiny ball's habit of getting dirty. I too have been to the Apple Store with my not so Mighty mouse after it loses the ability to scroll up. Scrolling works for all the other directions but periodically can't scroll up.

After two visits to the store I asked the fellow, who had taken the mouse to clean in some back room, what he did to get it working again. He used one of those screen cleaner paper towelettes to clean the ball while he pressed firmly on the back of the mouse to keep it in the "click" position. Sure enough the next time the scroll ball acted up I fixed it with a towelette I had picked up at a restaurant. I now make sure I have totally clean fingers when I use the mouse.

My MM came with the last G5 iMac model. I noticed that the MM that come with Intel iMacs have a different feel when I move the ball. It feels as if there are a series of tiny gears turning whereas the G5 MM feels smooth when I scroll. I'd be curious to know if all those who have experienced trouble with MM's ball are using the G5 MM or a newer one.

Getting back to the original discussion on other uses of the scroll ball, I navigate Application Switcher (cmd-tab) by moving the ball to select the desired application. It's handy when there are many apps open.

[herbiecott]

I use a Macally scroll ball mouse, and have never had trouble with it not working. I even come in from the garden to use the computer, often without washing up first, if I'm in a hurry to look something up.