The Magic Mouse

Today marked the last day of "class" for COM 435 and my day to present my poster board which explained a new or emerging technology. My topic was the newly released Apple Magic Mouse, which comes with the new iMac or is available to purchase for $69 on its own. In the beginning of my research studies, I had chosen a different topic to present. Looking back, I am very glad that I changed my topic to the Magic Mouse. It was apparent in my presentation that I was much more knowledgable and passionate about the topic that I switched to.

At first, I was a little bit nervous about presenting my poster, because even though I had done extensive amounts of research for the project, I was afraid that I would not be able to answer questions from other students about the technology. Once I began speaking about the positive and negative implications, software requirements, etc., my nervousness disappeared and I became very excited to be explaining a new technology to my professor, TA and classmates. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to interact with as many students as I would have liked to. The handful of my classmates that I did get to interact with seemed to think that the Magic Mouse was really cool. Even though this new technology has been on the market since October of 2009, I was still able to share information with others who were unaware of some of the requirements and features of the product.

Everything in my presentation went according to plan. The questions that many students asked were the same questions that I initially had when researching the Apple Magic Mouse. I had left out my computer equipped with headphones and a video which further explained various features of the mouse. However, not one person stopped by to check out the video. It may have been due to the awkward positioning of the chair it sat on or the fact that there was just too much going on in the presentation room. Overall, I was very impressed with my classmates' presentations on both days. They did a great job relating the information that was learned throughout the semester to their projects. Some students even brought in tangible examples of their new technologies. I had the same idea to bring in a magic mouse, however the closest Apple Store was too far away from my house in West Lafayette and the local Best Buy happened to be sold out. I was also proud of myself for creating and giving a good presentation.

From this project, I learned more about the value that our society places on the idea of 'touch'. From cell phones to ipods, and now to computer mice, many people in my generation appreciate the fact that other information is at our fingertips. Apple understands my generation's desire for things to be simple, easy, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing, hence the production of the Magic Mouse.