Tag: trackball

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PowerBook 180c (1993)

The Macintosh PowerBook 180c included a 33 MHz 68030 processor, 4 MB of RAM, either an 80 MB or 160 MB hard drive, and an internal 1.44 MB floppy drive. The “c” in the name indicated that it had an 8.4-inch color active-matrix display capable of displaying 256 colors at 640×480 resolution. This was the first color PowerBook to display a full 640×480 display (previous models displayed 640×400). Due to the upgraded color, the case lid was redesigned (from the PowerBook 180) to accommodate the thicker display.

Aside from the display difference, the PowerBook 180c is nearly identical to the PowerBook 180. The 180c used a trackball and had two rotating feet in the back corners to elevate the keyboard to an angle.

An Apple Developer Note document indicates that the PowerBook 180c and 165c are closely related: “Because the Macintosh PowerBook 180c is identical in most respects to the PowerBook 165c computer, most hardware and software designed for that model will operate without modification on the PowerBook 180c.”

Due to its processing performance and because the PowerBook 180c (and 180) had an external color video port with similar specifications to desktop Macintosh models of the time (e.g., LC III+), it could be connected to an external monitor and replace a desktop computer.

Source: EveryMac, Wikipedia

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Wireless Mighty Mouse (A1197, 2006)

The Wireless Mighty Mouse was a Bluetooth version of the (corded) Mighty Mouse that was released a year before it. The original Wireless Mighty Mouse used the same opaque white coloration as the corded Mighty Mouse.

The Mighty Mouse was the first Apple mouse to have multiple buttons. The buttons consisted of two touch-sensitive areas on the top of the mouse and two “squeeze areas” on the sides of the mouse. Because it had no physical buttons, the entire body of the mouse could be clicked. The top of the mouse also had a mini free-spinning track ball that allowed scrolling in any direction.

The Wireless Mighty Mouse makes a sound when the scroll ball is rolled that is produced by a tiny internal speaker in the mouse. The sound cannot be disabled by settings.

Source: Wikipedia.com

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Mighty Mouse (A1152, 2005)

The Mighty Mouse was the first Apple mouse to have multiple buttons. The buttons consisted of two touch-sensitive areas on the top of the mouse and two “squeeze areas” on the sides of the mouse. Because it had no physical buttons, the entire body of the mouse could be clicked. The top of the mouse also had a mini free-spinning track ball that allowed scrolling in any direction.

The Mighty Mouse was opaque white with light gray touch-sensitive squeeze areas. The mini trackball on top was also light gray.

Mighty Mouse makes a sound when the scroll ball is rolled that is produced by a tiny internal speaker in the mouse. The sound cannot be disabled by settings.

In October 2009, Apple renamed the Mighty Mouse the “Apple Mouse” due to legal issues regarding the name. Although Apple had licensed the Mighty Mouse name from CBS (a cartoon character originating in 1942), another company had been selling a “mighty mouse” product before Apple. This is an example of Apple’s sometimes-confusing naming practices. in this case, Apple returned to using the name of a previous product (from 2003) that had a different design and different features.

Source: Wikipedia.com, arstechnica.com 

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PowerBook 140 (1991)

The PowerBook 140 was released along with the PowerBook 100, 140, and 170—three new Macintosh laptop models that were mobile in addition to being portable. The lineup replaced the Macintosh Portable, a very bulky device that weighed in at 16 pounds and was 4 inches thick.

The PowerBook 140 featured a 16 MHz 68030 processor, 2 MB or 4 MB of RAM, a 20 MB or a 40 MB hard drive, and an internal 1.44 MB floppy drive. The screen measured 9.8 inches in a monochrome passive-matrix display.

Unlike Macintosh computers at the time that were controlled by a mouse, the built-in input device on the PowerBook 100-family laptops was a trackball with an upper and lower button. Each button had the same function and two were provided for the benefit of ergonomics for the user to select which to use. 

The introductory price for this laptop was $3,199.

Source: EveryMac.com