We know it's wicked old news by now, but we've actually got a timely reason for mentioning the Mighty Mouse today: namely, we're using one right now. See, we trucked on down to the Apple Store Northshore last night in hopes that a Mac Genius or two might be able to cure an ailing iPod (yes, everything around here is sick; thanks for pointing that out), which has a flaky hold switch and occasionally forgets it has a Click Wheel. Since this behavior showed up entirely out of the blue starting last week, we suspect that the trouble is psychosomatic and the iPod is just bummed out over this whole "Apple was too slow on the draw and missed patenting the iPod user interface" brouhaha which surfaced over at AppleInsider last Tuesday. We know it sounds wacky, but the iPod seemed to be recovering from the news-- until The Independent reported (as pointed out by faithful viewer Greg Hill) that Microsoft beat Apple to the patent, and some people are speculating that Apple "may be forced to pay royalties to Microsoft for every iPod it sells."

Blammo. Instant relapse, bye-bye hold switch.

So like we said, we took the patient down to the Apple Store Northshore for a look-see, a mechanical adjustment, a session of vigorous psychoanalysis, whatever... only to find that the Genius Bar was closed for the weekend, as it had been converted into a second check-out counter to handle the overflow of rabid sales traffic during this state's no-sales-tax weekend. Denied medical attention for the sake of wanton orgiastic spending? That's as American as apple pie, so how could we possibly complain? And so, just so we didn't waste the trip, we fulfilled our economy-stimulating consumerist obligations and bought some in-ear headphones, a three-pack of silicone iPod sleeves, and Apple's latest input device inexplicably named after the Man of Steel legend adapted for rodents.

Wouldja believe we didn't even bother trying one at the store? We just picked up the box and carried to the register; indeed, the first time we laid eyes on one of these doohickeys up close and personal was when we took ours out of its box. But since we've never really been fans of multiple-button mice or scroll wheels before, we were eager to see whether Apple had done it so right it could change our minds. After all, Apple designers did manage to get us to become card-carrying members of the "You'll Take My Scrolling Trackpad When You Pry It From My Cold, Dead PowerBook" Society, right?

Long story short(er), so far we're giving it just about as many thumbs up as we have thumbs. It feels just like the Pro Mouse it replaces, so we've got no complaints about how it handles. The magic touch-sensitive left-click/right-click thing takes a little adjusting; you have sort of have to click while lifting your index finger to make the right-click work, but it's surprisingly easy to get used to. The teensy scroll ball, meanwhile, is a freakin' work of utter genius, and almost as natural-feeling as the two-finger scrolling featured on Apple's latest portables-- better, in a way, because it resists slightly and "clicks" while rolling to provide some satisfying tactile feedback. Click while touching it, and bingo: Mouse Button 3. Squeeze the sides of the mouse, and that's Mouse Button 4. Map one to Exposé and the other to Dashboard and suddenly you'll feel like you have more hands than usual.

The best thing is that the additional features do a pretty good job of staying out of the way when you don't need them; you can use the Mighty Mouse as a plain ol' Clark Kent Pro Mouse without noticing much of a difference. No, it's not as programmable as other third-party multiple-button mice, nor does it have as many buttons, but its physical design and use mostly retains the simplicity of the classic one-button Mac paradigm, so you probably won't find yourself tripping over your fingers all the time. So if you're a multiple-mouse-button junkie from way back when, the Mighty Mouse is probably not for you-- but if you're mostly a single-button kinda guy or gal, this sucker'll give you extra functionality when you need it without requiring you to manipulate your mouse hand like a concert pianist every time you want to empty the Trash. If you have the chance, take one for a test drive. It's not for everyone, but by golly, it sure is for us.

Meanwhile, we're taking the sick iPod back tonight, so keep those fingers crossed.