image If there’s one brand where I have complete loyalty it’s Microsoft Mice. I can’t remember the last time I used a non-MS mouse for my home or work machines.

For my new MacBook I’d planned to pick up a member of the notebook Microsoft Mouse family similar to the Wireless Optical Mouse 4000 which I use for Media Center tasks from the couch.

Then I realized that Bluetooth MacBook = Bluetooth Mouse = No USB Dongles! 

Looking around I found the Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000. It’s basically the classic Microsoft Notebook mouse but using Bluetooth instead of IR. It’s a little more costly (though not as costly as losing the dongle for a traditional wireless mouse) but at least comes with a nice little soft case that will prevent it from scratching my MacBook while in a bag.

Using the mouse the only difference I’ve noticed is that it takes a little bit longer to be detected when first switched on, a result of the Bluetooth negotiation. The drivers have the same System Preferences panel that allow you to bind the button to different roles (hint – change ‘Zoom’ to ‘Forward’) and same sensitivity options.

All in all a very nice little mouse.