Apple's 7 most stubborn decisions

Apple's legendary strong will has led to some puzzling product designs and choices -- some of which ultimately became trends, and others that decidedly didn't.

Right-click
Right-click

Apple's obsession with a one-button mouse dates all the way back to the 1983 release of the Lisa, the company's first PC to ship with a mouse.

According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder insisted on a one-button mouse for simplicity's sake. The three-button mouse Apple saw Xerox demonstrate was too busy and confusing, Jobs argued.

Jobs was so insistent that people use the mouse, that he designed the Macintosh without arrow keys. But as with the arrow keys, Apple eventually relented on right clicking.

With the proliferation of Microsoft Windows, which embraced the right click, Apple eventually enabled users to CTRL-click to simulate a right click. It then began to support right-click mice with Mac OS 8, which debuted in 1997. And with the 2005 introduction of the "Mighty Mouse," Apple finally made a mouse with a programmable button that could be used for right clicking.

Still, Apple hasn't fully embraced the right-click. Its new "magic mouse" is capable of right clicking, though users have to program the mouse to do so. The company even jokes that that the feature is available "if you're coming from a right-click world."


By David Goldman @CNNMoneyTech - Last updated January 27 2012: 7:21 AM ET
Join the Conversation
Find Your Next Car

Get the latest car news:

Most Popular
 
 
 
 
 

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.