What is the best surface to use the Magic Mouse on?

Question

I got the Magic Mouse along with my MacBook, tried using it for awhile, but I got disenchanted with it quickly. Instead of having sliding pads, it has two hard plastic bars, which make it unpleasant to use on most surfaces. I`ve tried it on my wooden table (little bit of dirt scratched it up), paper (too much friction), cloth-covered mousepad (has some issue with correctly tracking), even on the surface of my MacBook (awkward), but none of them seem to be working too good. What surface was the Magic Mouse designed to work on, and which surfaces are really good for using it?

Answer 1

Basically you need a gaming surface, some of them was made specially for use with Apple mouses:

Cupertino Mouse Pad — $15

They say it's made by company located at Cupertino, California. Also it works (as a surface).

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MacPadd — $25

It's basically just a piece of finished aluminum and I guess it will feel the same as a top surface MacBook. Tom'sHardware says that something's weird with their delivery, but maybe it's b.s. It's also reviewed on Youtube.

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Just Mobile AluPad — $45

They clim it's made exclusively for Apple products and there are a couple of positive reviews on Youtube for this one here and there. They say that the surface is pleasant on touch.

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a Better Table

Consider finding a better table than one that you use now. Just grab your MacBook and mouse and go furniture shop that you like and find a table which fits you the best. You will get biggest possible working surface and as a bonus you can improve ergonomics of your workplace. And of course keep your table clean (I know it's hard. I have a cat:).

Answer 2

I use a cloth covered mousepad with a printed pattern. Seems to work just fine. Also seems to work on a very clean (non-sticky) non-wood office desk surface.

Rubbing just a bit of skin oil from your fingers onto the plastic bars on the bottom of the mouse may or may not help your feel for the sliding.

Answer 3

cloth-covered mousepad (has some issue with correctly tracking)

You'll need a mousepad with a printed pattern on it, or a very coarse thread count. The Magic Mouse was designed foremost with low power consumption in mind, and not for twitch gaming. It sometimes can't see the individual threads on some cloth mousepads well enough to track. A busy printed pattern will be better than a large two color company logo.

You can buy almost any of the printed mousepads at the Apple store and get good results.

If the feel was ok, and tracking was the only issue, I suggest simply swapping the mousepad out for one with a printed pattern.

You can also test this out without buying a new one by wrapping your old mousepad in some old clothing or tshirt of yours and testing it. If that fixes the problem, get a new mousepad, or glue a square of shirt material to the top of your existing mousepad.

Answer 4

I had the same problem with a cloth mousemat, but found the cover of a glossy magazine to work really well. It glides nicely with no scratching sounds, and it tracks perfectly. So now, for aesthetic reasons, I used a blank sheet of glossy laser printer paper. Presumably you could print something to have a custom design or colour, but I have not tried that myself.

Answer 5

I use a neat little product called Fliders. They are tiny pads that attach to the bottom of your mouse and actually replace a mousepad. They are made from a soft material that reduces the noise and makes moving the mouse smoother on the desk.

Answer 6

I find that a laminated piece of paper works quite well for me as a Magic Mouse surface.

Answer 7

The perfect surface is simly a sheet of printer white paper laid on top of your regular mouse pad 1/8" thick rubber pad . FAST and ZERO effort ! fred