Its easy to use preference pane and quite reliable performance make it a solid choice. Conclusionįor users who simply want to extend their Magic Mouse's rather limited set of out-of-the-box features, MagicPrefs should be sufficient. In testing, BetterTouchTool unexpectedly altered the system's Expose and Spaces mouse key bindings, played poorly with the dock, temporarily locked up Finder and eventually required a system restart when nothing else would cease the unwanted behavior. Users can expect the application itself to crash occasionally, conflicts with other applications or system settings, and resultant irregular behavior. Hegenberg makes sure to include a "use at your own risk" warning clearly next to every version posted. Likewise, the list of actions is longer, giving users access to system functions like volume and screen brightness, and even includes a script to search Google for any currently selected text.Īll BetterTouchTool's features and flexibility come with a major caveat: This is currently alpha software. BetterTouchTool also adds a brand new gesture called "tip-tap," which is best understood by watching the video demonstration (Hegenberg also made video demonstrations of all the other gestures). The list of gestures currently supported is already larger than MagicPrefs', and includes support for modifier keys like command and function, allowing for even more permutations. (And yes, that's Batman with Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterston.) These extra options are useful, but some (like inverse scrolling) are currently bound to both the mouse and trackpad gestures, meaning if the user changes the setting for the mouse, it also changes for the trackpad.īetterTouchTool's list of actions is exhaustive. The biggest difference in features between the two utilities is BetterTouchTool's inclusion of multitouch trackpad gestures support. The utility is free, though not open source, but there has been some pressure from the user community to release the source code.īetterTouchTool provides all the functionality of MagicPrefs and then some. And the user community has been responsive, providing bug reports and other information in the comments thread for each version's posting. Since the end of December, Hegenberg has been on a role, updating alpha versions of the utility with new features and bug fixes at least once daily.
MAGIC MOUSE 2 UTILITIES CODE
BetterTouchToolĭeveloped by Andreas Hegenberg (and based in part on code from Will Henderson's multitouch trackpad utility, MultiClutch), BetterTouchTool was first released back in November, just a couple weeks after the Magic Mouse was available for sale. MagicPrefs is quite stable and reliable, and will likely be versatile and powerful enough for most users' needs. Pull-down lists for gesture actions include icons and keep more advanced features tucked away in a submenu at the bottom where they won't bother users who don't care about them. MagicPrefs eschews listing the many variables used to calculate gestures in favor of a single "touch sensitivity" control slider.
MAGIC MOUSE 2 UTILITIES MAC
The preference pane is attractive and easy to follow (two major Apple design philosophies Mac users will undoubtedly appreciate).
Also, while MagicPrefs' source code has not yet been released, Alexa writes on his site that he is a "believer in open source."
MAGIC MOUSE 2 UTILITIES SOFTWARE
MagicPrefsĭeveloped by software engineer Vlad Alexa, MagicPrefs is free and will remain so, according to Alexa's FAQ for the tool. BetterTouchTool, with its multitude of fine-tunable options, will appeal to more advanced users. MagicPrefs, with its polished and simple preference pane, will likely appeal to beginner and novice users. Both MagicPrefs and BetterTouchTool greatly expand the range of recognizable gestures, and each of them has its unique benefits.
Unfortunately, the only multitouch gestures Apple's software recognizes are two finger swipes left or right.
The multitouch shell of the Magic Mouse is as sensitive and responsive as the iPhone's screen it's capable of sensing five or more fingers (if you can fit them on the surface) and distinguishing between light and heavy touches. Here are our first impressions of two such free utilities: MagicPrefs and BetterTouchTool. It was only a matter of time before OS X software developers picked up the slack and released tools to expand on Apple's limited preferences. Apple released the multitouch capable Magic Mouse back in October, but as we wrote at the time, the software that ships with the mouse barely taps its hardware's potential.
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