Given Apple’s current character as one of the world’s most sought later and respected tech brands, it’s hard for numerous to believe the company has had further than a sprinkle of design difficulties. While some of these miscalculations were products simply too ahead of their time, there were some other objectively bad designs like the first- word Apple Pencil’s Lightning bowl that should n’t have gone past the original design phase – let alone transfigure into a prototype and end up in the triumphs of a consumer ( relatively literally, in this case).
Still, there’s a good chance you ’ll hear the term “ Hockey Elf, If you pick any arbitrary Apple fanboy from the late ’90s and ask them about the worst Apple product they ’ve used.” A lot. As it turns out, Apple’s appointment with inadequately designed pointing bias ( also called the mouse) started long before the days of the Magic Mouse and its ignominious bottom- facing charging harborage.
In fact, the Hockey Elf mouse — which first arrived on the scene in 1998 — regularly tops the list of the worst Apple products ever made. What really ailed the Hockey Elf mouse and why it’s the philanthropist of similar wrath, indeed from bones-hard Apple fanboys?
. The Hockey Elf mouse spectacularly failed to do the one thing it was designed for be an accurate pointing device. The shape of the product was unergonomic and infelicitous for comfortable use (via The Mac Observer). The round shape also meant people had a delicate time orientating the mouse rightly while using it.
Still, the Hockey Puck’s figure quality was generally allowed to be bad, If this was n’t enough. The overall agreement was that this product, in general, was a terrible mouse (via Gizmodo). It sounded to some consumers that Apple prioritized the mouse’s appearance over everything differently.
In hindsight, the mouse looked like a corresponding accessory to the iMac G3 — the original “ Bondi Blue” iMac from 1998. But also, as a pointing device, it had a lot further to do than just look the part. As anticipated, the mouse was condemned by pundits at the time, and people who bought the mouse decided to look for other compatible mice that could replace the Hockey Elf mouse.
Still, the Hockey Elf mouse did have a first to its credit. It was the first- ever Apple mouse to use the USB connectivity standard, which is commonplace moment.
Given the quantum of bad press it entered at the time, it was n’t surprising to see Apple gave up on the mouse during its coming product cycle in 2002 when it released the iMac G4 and the Apple Pro Mouse. The new pointing device, although not perfect, didn’t suffer from the same design risks as the Hockey Elf mouse and was generally well- entered.
Interestingly, the Hockey Elf wasn’t the last case of Apple intruding up a mouse design. Over a decade latterly, in 2015, Apple released its ignominious Magic Mouse 2, which, believe it or not, had a bottom- facing charging harborage. Utmost ultramodern Apple druggies will point to this product as one of Apple’s most inadequately designed ultramodern products. Old- timekeepers and heritage Apple fanboys will have a strong opinion on how the Magic Mouse couldn’t hold a candle to the Hockey Elf mouse, however, at least as far as bad design goes.
