subject: Will Magic Trackpads Turn Computer Mice Into Antiques? [print this page] Apple Computer systems has created an item they're calling a "Magic Trackpad" and business speculation is buzzing that Apple is hopeful of the Magic Trackpad ultimately replacing the standard mouse as the technique by which users move the cursor around the screen on their computer systems.
Numerous laptop computer systems, regardless of whether from Apple Computer systems or from manufacturers of Windows based machines, have had trackpads obtainable for many years. There have even been Windows machines that allowed an external trackpad to become attached to a desktop machine instead of a mouse. Users who advocate for the trackpad have discovered it simpler to utilize than the mouse and have discovered it leaves them far less susceptible to repetitive tension injuries.
Now, if Apple is hopeful of ultimately replacing the mouse with the Magic Trackpad, it's doubtful that the mouse will turn out to be an antique like an antique Persian rug. Unlike vintage rugs, a mouse based on old technologies will almost certainly not have much purpose going forward other than as a curiosity piece, or a museum piece somewhere like the Boston PC Museum.
In order for Apple to have invested in the development of the Magic Trackpad, they would have to become convinced there is really a marketplace for them. So they've almost certainly received thousands if not millions of phone calls over the many years requesting a trackpad kind of function for desktop machines. Individuals who had worried about utilizing the mouse simply because of repetitive tension or had just gotten tired of the mouse, almost certainly decided the trackpad was the technology that most fit their requirements, and asked Apple to develop one. Earlier Apple laptops had utilized trackballs and almost certainly some folks felt the trackball was nearly as unwieldy to utilize as the mouse but the trackpad enables the user to utilize one or two fingers from either hand.
Will the Magic Trackpad really be able to fully replace the mouse for all users? Most likely not, as there are many people these days who attach a mouse to a laptop with a trackpad simply because they are more comfortable utilizing the technological tool they very first learned. You will find people who will choose the trackball. But Apple obviously does see the marketplace since they have created the item. As numerous business analysts have noted, Steve Jobs has a fairly great track record on item development, even if there isn't a ready marketplace identified, and if Apple has received sufficient requests for trackpad technologies over than the many years, the marketplace has already been identified.
Will the mouse turn out to be an antique? Possibly, but almost certainly not as valuable as the antique Persian Rug.
