You don't have to flip this Magic Mouse hack over to charge

Yet again a clever proof of concept. He’s basically created a “magic shoe” for the Magic Mouse that allows the mouse to be used while charging. It works. But it’s pretty obvious from the implementation why Apple never chose to go down this path. It’s design and aesthetics are okay from a mouse-in-a-shoe perspective, but Apple (at least with Jony Ive at the helm of the design team) would never have allowed this to be labeled as an Apple product. It’s too large, bulky, and reminiscent of mouse designs you can get from many other vendors for $29.99.

Whether you liked Jony’s approach or not, he always stuck to his guns and saw that his vision for a product met his design and aesthetic goals. Anything that deviated too far from what he envisioned was seen as a failure. One can argue that what comes across as a single-minded and arguably narrow focus on the primary functionality, like using the device and how it feels in the hand, led to functional compromises when it came to ancillary functionality, like charging the device. The Magic Mouse is imo pleasant and efficient to use, but yeah, there is no getting over the clunky recharging scenario. The rationale must have been something like “you obviously only recharge the device while you’re not using it.” This makes perfect sense only until it doesn’t.

It only takes a few minutes to get 8-9 hours of charge using the port on the bottom. The complaints about the location were always inane. 

So much effort and expense just to avoid turning it over and plugging it in while you get a cup of tea. 

foregoneconclusion said:

It only takes a few minutes to get 8-9 hours of charge using the port on the bottom. The complaints about the location were always inane. 

100%. It’s never been an issue for me. The BENEFIT of the charging port being in the bottom is nothing ever gets stuck in there. If it was on the back or front you wild over time get dirt, skin and lint stuck in the port. 

dewme said:

Yet again a clever proof of concept. He’s basically created a “magic shoe” for the Magic Mouse that allows the mouse to be used while charging. It works. But it’s pretty obvious from the implementation why Apple never chose to go down this path. It’s design and aesthetics are okay from a mouse-in-a-shoe perspective, but Apple (at least with Jony Ive at the helm of the design team) would never have allowed this to be labeled as an Apple product. It’s too large, bulky, and reminiscent of mouse designs you can get from many other vendors for $29.99.

Whether you liked Jony’s approach or not, he always stuck to his guns and saw that his vision for a product met his design and aesthetic goals. Anything that deviated too far from what he envisioned was seen as a failure. One can argue that what comes across as a single-minded and arguably narrow focus on the primary functionality, like using the device and how it feels in the hand, led to functional compromises when it came to ancillary functionality, like charging the device. The Magic Mouse is imo pleasant and efficient to use, but yeah, there is no getting over the clunky recharging scenario. The rationale must have been something like “you obviously only recharge the device while you’re not using it.” This makes perfect sense only until it doesn’t.

Not a mouse in a shoe.  Rather than being inserted into something (like a foot into a shoe), the mouse is pretty clearly separated in half with a center section added, which also encompasses the lower half.

His design philosophy of form over function is the reason I don't care for his designs in general.  He was a good (not great) product designer when kept reined in, but a disaster when let loose.