In the fall I had purchased a Kensington "Mouse In A Box" for my daughter's new iBook, and briefly enjoyed it before she whisked it off to college. I had to have one. Before I could use an optical mouse however, I would need a USB slot for this old box. Off I went, visiting numerous web sites in search of USB cards for my trusty beige monster.
Everywhere I went there were conflicting reports. I asked around the group, and my brother pointed me to Sonnet's Tango card (at right, or click for a closer look). He had just finished installing one in another member's machine, and his report was all thumbs up.
If you've read any of my Mug columns over the past dozen years, you'll know I can talk a good thread, but when it comes time to actually stick my hands into the machine, I'm a bit squeamish. The guy at Sonnet said "it's a piece of cake, Fred, my kids can do it."
At this point I was feeling quite proud of myself until I realized I had no USB devices to test the card with. The sweet thing about the Sonnet Tango card is it also has two FireWire ports in addition to its two USB ports. I had gotten all dressed up, but had no party to go to.
A quick call to MacWarehouse had a Kensington "Mouse In The Box" at my doorstep the next morning. I plugged it in, and voila, nothing. I unplugged it, then plugged it in again, and presto -- nothing.
I picked up the phone and called Kensington. Once I got over the shock of hearing a live human's voice at Kensington, the young lady gave me the exact link into the Version Tracker web site where I downloaded the latest Apple USB Card Support drivers. Within moments of unstuffing the utilities, and installing them -- voila -- the red light came on, and the optical mouse worked like a champ.
I knew immediately it would be a great day for this old (ahem, NEW) mouse!
NOTE: If you'd like to pursue this, be sure to see the "Installing Tango" edition of This Old Mouse.
