The best Magic Mouse software

If you've got yourself a spanking new Magic Mouse for your Mac, you may be more than just a little bit disappointed with some of its functionality.Fortunately, a mini-cottage industry of Magic Mouse software is already developing to fill the gap left by Apple. There still isn't much out there at the moment but here are a few essential software downloads to get the best out of your Magic Mouse. Note that all of these work for Trackpads too:

BetterTouchTool

This is completely free to use and amazingly simple. BetterTouchTool is the work of a single German developer who has produced an easy way to customize Mighty Mouse actions. These include the all important pinch in/out (zoom), single finger taps and even three finger swipes. Note that it only works with Snow Leopard.

MouseWizard

A more polished Mighty Mouse enhancer software which adds three extra buttons, namely, 'pinch', 'bloat', and 'tap to click' gestures and allows you to customize almost every aspect of your Mighty Mouse. You can even put your Magic Mouse to sleep using it. The main interface is very easy to use, allowing you to configure which type of clicks do what such as configuring a middle-click for Exposé or a fourth click to open Spotlight etc. If you get stuck, a handy wizard takes you through the configuration process by telling you where to place your hands on the Magic Mouse. The disadvantage is that it's not free (although only costs a modest $2.50).

MouseZoom

If it's just the speed of your Magic Mouse cursor that is annoying you, MouseZoom is a simple solution that speeds it up even if your Mac OS X native mouse speed slider is set at maximum. Simply use the slider to set the speed you want. Although this isn't designed specifically for the Magic Mouse, it does work with it.

These are the main tools that should cover most of your Mighty Mouse needs. However, if you haven't updated it, you should download Wireless Mouse Software Update from Apple which allows you to use all of the Multi-Touch features in your Magic Mouse. The download also features lots of useful tutorial videos to help you get started.

MagicPrefs

MagicPrefs is a toolbar application which significantly improves the functionality and configuration options of Magic Mouse. These include such things as the MagicMenu which gives you a holistic display of your Magic Mouse features plus the the ability to configure the middle click, hold down both mouse buttons plus access Spaces, Expose and the Dashboard. You can even control the taps using MagicPrefs' Tap Sensitivity feature which allows you to use a slider to determine how hard you want to tap the Magic Mouse. One other very welcome feature for Magic Mouse users is MagicPrefs' ability to change Tracking Speed which the developer's claim adds an extra 25% to the speed of your mouse cursor.