The rumor on Apple's new line of iMac turns out to be half-true, half-false. Truth is that there will be an upgrade to the iMac. False is that it will be coming out next week. That's because the upgrades have already been revealed. Yep, the sweet changes have been confirmed and you may all check it out at the full article.

There's an old engineers' saying that goes "If it ain't broke...it doesn't have enough upgrades." And if we're reading this news  right, Apple's got the same idea. We've heard that they've been granted another patent for a "hybrid low power computer mouse," which looks like an upgrade to their wireless Mighty Mouse.

According to the patent (publication number 7,154,477) granted to Apple by the US Patent & Trademark Office, this new mouse design is slated to fix one recurring problem - short battery life. In an effort to stretch the Mighty Mouse's two-month battery change intervals, and to forego making a rechargeable system, Apple's new mouse patent called for a two-part tracking system. The ever-present optical tracking system, and a new low-consumption tracking system running on an accelerometer - the same device that runs a Wiimote.

The design's under development by Steve Hotelling, Joshua Strickon, Brian Huppi and Christoph Krah, and we're not too sure how these two tracking systems will interact to make for a low-consumption device. But for now, we invite you to read up on the full details on the patent, available on the read link.

Chad Ohman posted something pretty useful for those Apple fans who want to get the most our of their tech. In this case, it's a quick guide to opening up and cleaning your Mighty Mouse.

Doing so is rather inexpensive, compared to buying a new fifty-buck mouse for your Mac. All you'll need are some cotton buds, some rubbing alcohol, a ball-point pen, a thin knife, a Phillips screwdriver and some super glue. Total cost: mostly free, if your family's the sort that owns a lot of common household items.

While cleaning Apple's special mouse does seem a bit more difficult than your standard ball-scrolling low-tech mouse, the commenters have said that it makes it almost brand new. You'll have to remember that doing so will void your warranty, but if you're cleaning it anyway, it's probably a last-ditch effort to make it usable again, right? So just head over to Ohman's blog for some step by step instructions. Happy tinkering.

At $69, Apple's Bluetooth Mighty Mouse is not exactly the cheapest electronic rodent on the block. But if you're willing to open it up to make it more battery-efficient, this reduced power hack may be for you.

Ram, the mouse hacker, was playing with his Mighty Mouse when he noticed its LED came on and off on the bottom of the mouse. When the mouse was not in sync with a Mac, this LED would blink. Once sync'ed, the LED would go out if the mouse is in use. When the mouse is stationary, the LED would go on an stay on. He measured the power usage of the mouse and was proven right: The mouse seems to use less power when in use and the LED is off than when it's resting and the LED is on. Thinking like a hacker, RAM proceeded to devise a way to double battery life "depending on your mouse usage behavior."

He dismantled his Mighty Mouse to remove the pesky power-draining LED. "In the end the hack still saves some power but no where as near as what I was expecting," he says. It's your mouse (make sure it's yours) and if you want to wreck it turn it into an energy miser, well, consider this your warning. Proceed at your own risk! Click here for the how-to.

Remember the Apple Mighty Mouse? If you don't, I'll refresh your memory. The Apple Mighty Mouse is what Mac boffins would like to call the next generation of  the Apple one-click mouse. The brand spanking new Mighty Mouse which we reported on yesterday features wireless Bluetooth connectivity up to 30 feet and laser tracking 20 times better than other laser tracking devices - slicker than your average optical mouse!

It also has a scroll ball with 360 degree turning capability - almost turning your mouse into a mini trackerball when in use. You may have noticed I said one-button mouse earlier. Well, the new Apple Might Mouse is a one-button mouse...with two press-able button functions. Touch-sensitive technology under the shell detects which part of the mouse you're clicking, so you can both left-click and right-click whilst not loosing the classic Mac one-click. If you prefer the one-click option, just change your preferences in your Mac OSX system preference pane!

The price? $69 with free shipping direct from the Mac store. Some people may think this is too expensive, but for what you get it sounds like a good deal to me! Can I get one for my Windows PC?

Via: [Apple Store - New Mighty Mouse]

A new Mighty Mouse (the single-button right clickable mouse) is on the way, if a FCC filing by Apple is any indication to go by. It will feature a very similar look to the current Mighty Mouse, but minus the wire!

Pictures shown here are from the FCC filing by Apple, and it is reported that this new incarnation of the Mighty Mouse will use two standard AA batteries and will be compatible with Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) and later. If you are still using Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2) indications are that, like the current Mighty Mouse, it will be operational with reduced functionality. A couple of questions remain about the new mouse, namely the price (expected to fall around the US$70 mark), battery life (it's powered by AA batteries), and the side-squeeze buttons (which have had a lukewarm reception).

No date has been announced by Apple for the release (codenamed 'M6'), but it is expected to be announced during the WWDC 2006 Conference spanning August 7 - 11.

If you're feeling nostalgic for the "good 'old days" of your youth misspend in front of a Mac Plus or Mac II running System 6, why not start by giving new life to your first mouse?

The old rectangular ADB mouse (frequently available at thrift and second-hand stores, these days) are easily modified to work like Apple's latest, the Mighty Mouse. In fact, its as simple as doing a complete transplant of the latter's inner workings to the former.

Best of all, you'll have a very cool-looking mouse with 'vintage' style and cutting-edge functionality...rather like a putting a fuel injected  V-6 into your '32 Chevy Rumble seat Roadster...

Check out the full article for more details!