Wireless Mouse - Use With Powerbook Directly Instead Of Mouse's USB Adapter

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Wireless Mouse - Use With Powerbook Directly Instead Of Mouse's USB Adapter

I just purchased a new Microsoft Notebook Laser Mouse 6000, and I like it very much, however, I am not able to figure a way to use it without the USB piece that it came with. Can anyone help me? Is there a way to do this (the mouse isn't bluetooth). Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

(I was able to find, in Help, a section on RF, but I dont think thats what I was looking for, and even if it were, I wasn't able to do what Help said could be done).

PowerBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Mar 11, 2006 8:48 PM

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Answer 1

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Mar 12, 2006 4:28 AM in response to kstat

Hi, kstat. This is an easy one.

Is there a way to do this?

No, you must use the hardware that came with the mouse. Your Powerbook's built-in wireless capabilities (Airport and, if your model has them, IRDa and Bluetooth) are designed for other purposes and use different frequencies. There is no workaround.

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Answer 2

kstat Author

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Mar 22, 2006 6:20 PM in response to eww

Thanks for your help (I'd say your name here if I knew it!)

Thats just what I was hoping to get; an answer that acknowledged my computers wireless capabilities and still explained that the mouse wouldn't work without the included USB attatchment.

Why do you think there aren't more bluetooth mice (or accessories in general)? I asked the kid at the BestBuy where I got the mouse if there were any other bluetooth mice or if they were getting more soon that he knew about and why there were so few. He answered that, "yeah, bluetooth was very popular very quickly, but soon after that, no one wanted bluetooth stuff any more." This doesn't make sence to me. I loved my Apple blluetooth mouse before I broke it, and, if it werent almost $70, or if it had greater capabilities for that $70 I would absolutely have purchased another one. I mean, why would somone chose to have an extra piece in order for a wireless device to work? I don't get it - is the RF technology that this Microsoft uses more sensative than bluetooth? Longer battery life? What?

Anyhow, I digress. I'm definately keeping the mouse. Its the Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000, for Notebooks (its smaller than the full size version). Its the only Microsoft product, other than Office, that I will allow in my house. Because it really is extremely smooth, both scrolling with the wheel (which is four way, by the way) and moving it around the mouse-pad, and because I really, really like the zoom button on the side of the mouse, with which you can zoom into any part of the screen by holding that button and scrolling the wheel to the magnification you desire. It really is extremely nice, too nice to give up even though I do have to plug that obnoxious USB thing in, as though my PowerBook wasn't bluetooth et cetera. I also programmed the scroll wheel to open links in new tabs when used to click. Its a very capable little mouse.

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Answer 3

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Mar 23, 2006 3:46 AM in response to kstat

Hi, kstat. Not that you really want to hear this now, but there are a variety of Bluetooth mice to choose from, including at least one made by Microsoft, a real beauty from Logitech, and others: just Google "Bluetooth mouse" and you'll find a bunch. Of course if you have a Titanium Powerbook, it has no built-in Bluetooth, and using any Bluetooth device would require you to have a Bluetooth dongle (such as D-Link's tiny DBT-120, which is recommended by Apple; I have one but seldom use it, and only with my cell phone) in one of the Powerbook's USB ports. If your Powerbook is actually Aluminum rather than Titanium, it has Bluetooth built in, and no dongle is required to use any BT device with it. But I wouldn't expect a semiliterate teenage know-it-all at Best Buy to have any real idea of what's available elsewhere in the marketplace or whether (or why) it's selling; I'd do my own online research and leave the kid to misinform someone else.

As for other BT accessories and peripherals, newer cell phones and PDAs seem to be the most important BT device categories. Many printer manufacturers are opting to offer plug-in BT adapters for their USB and parallel printers rather than add the cost of built-in BT to every new printer. (It seems to be a significant cost: Logitech's and Microsoft's BT mice cost substantially more than similar wireless-but-not-BT models, and that's probably why the others are still offered.) Multifunction copy/print/fax/scan machines are mostly not supported by the printer adapters, and that forces many people to continue using cabled printer connections who might otherwise prefer the convenience of BT.

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Answer 4

Apr 30, 2006 2:01 AM in response to kstat

I just purchaced a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 desktop version for my eMac and it works great with the installed driver Intellipoint 5.4 and the Smart Receiver.

I want to purchase the Notebook version of this mouse for my Bluetooth iBook. I currently use both Apple wireless keyboard and mouse. Will using both the Apple Keyboard w/Bluetooth and the Laser Mouse 6000 w/its own receiver instead of the Apple Mouse interfere with one another?

Thanks Alan

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Answer 5

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Apr 30, 2006 4:56 AM in response to Alan Ogata

HI, Alan. I don't know the answer, but it sure wouldn't surprise me if using two BT adapters together caused trouble. I would try each adapter separately before trying both together. It may be that the two adapters are functionally identical, and either one will support both devices.

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Answer 6

Apr 30, 2006 8:29 PM in response to eww

Sorry eww, let me clarify. The Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 6000 is not a bluetooth mouse. I think it runs on another frequency but not certain. So I don't think either receiver would support the other. Just wondering if there is anyone out there running a Bluetooth Apple Keyboard with this Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 6000 and USB receiver or any other mouse using a separate USB receiver.

Thanks Alan

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