Apple Mouse - Strange Question

[TheDevil'sCompass]

Ok, this is a strange question and I think the answer is no. With Apple II mice being fairly expensive, has anyone tried using a breakout board and gender changer for an old IBM serial mouse to see if it would work? I looked through my spare parts and don't have any serial mice or a db9 breakout board, otherwise I'd try it myself. I have major doubts that it would work but figured it's worth a couple of minutes to try if someone has one laying around. Assuming it doesn't work and not cost prohibited, is there anyway of modifying the mouse to work?

 

[+H454]

No, the apple II mice are weird.

That why people made stuff like this:

https://maceffects.com/products/maceffects-bitmouse-serial-mouse-card-for-the-apple-ii

Also, not really a lot going on with the apple ii mouse. That Might be one of the reasons why apple ii mice weren't popular until the IIgs.

The iigs had a visual OS.

Aside from a couple OEM software titles, not much used the mouse.

A couple of games and I think some print shop titles(or some some kind of printing app) had the option to use a mouse.

[TheDevil'sCompass]

I figured it would have been done already if it was that easy. Thanks for the info!

[MrMaddog]

Didn't the Apple Ii mouse emulate the analog joystick on the Apple II or was it a unique thing?

 

I remember playing some Apple II games on a IIgs and using a mouse to move the character around in place of a joystick.  Was also the first time I used a mouse so the librarian made me run through a tutorial, with the fly swatting game, so I wouldn't keep lifting the mouse up and down to move it past the mousepad.

 

[KG7PFS]

17 hours ago, H454 said:

Also, not really a lot going on with the apple ii mouse. That Might be one of the reasons why apple ii mice weren't popular until the IIgs.

At least two desktops, three or more word processors, two spreadsheets, two or three databases, three graphics editors, a desktop publisher, communications, two Pascals and a basic.

 

And that's just what I know of.

 

No, not a lot going on with the Apple II mouse.

[ColecoGamer]

Graphics Magician uses the mouse too. ? 

[+H454]

3 hours ago, KG7PFS said:

At least two desktops, three or more word processors, two spreadsheets, two or three databases, three graphics editors, a desktop publisher, communications, two Pascals and a basic.

 

And that's just what I know of.

 

No, not a lot going on with the Apple II mouse.

So, you know of 15-20 pieces of software that the mouse used, on just the IIe / IIc. Most of which was productivity software. Out of 500 to 1,000 different titles?

MS-DOS has better mouse support.

90% of the apple II users would be much better off putting that $75-$150 on literately anything else.

I'll scream it from the roof tops.

"Don't buy the apple IIe mouse!"

"Spend the money on a good joy stick and the BOOTI card!!!"

"Buying a mouse for the apple IIe is last thing you should ever buy for it!"

[Iamgroot]

The mouse on any platform is really only used to select and launch files in a GUI.  When using major applications like MS Word or Excel, I only use the mouse if there are no keyboard shortcuts for a command.  And even viewing PDF files or navigating text, RTF or Doc files, way easier and simpler to use the Page-Up/Page-down keys.  Mice, for the most part seem to be too sensitive for most applications.

 

I wrote a mouse control and button support program for the Apple II so it could be easily used with any Applesoft and/or binary program.  But the truth is that the mouse is just too clunky to be used on the text screen.  The mouse gets a bit better functionality when used on the graphics screen.