WoW on the Mac Safe From Windows
by Mike D'Anna 
Apr 12th 2006 at 9:00AM
For all you Mac-based WoW players out there who
have feared that the release of Apple's new Boot Camp software (allowing Mac users to run both Win XP & OS-X) might
singal the end of native gaming development for the Mac, Blizzard has announced that the Mac version of WoW will indeed
continue to recieve native support, so anyone worried about having to eventually switch to a Boot-Camped Windows
version can rest easy.Apple claims the Windows version of WoW should be playable with Boot Camp, but as the Boot Camp software is still in beta, they will not offer support for running in this environment. A story in today's Macworld has more on the issue.
I still wanna know: how the heck do you play on a Mac without a second mouse button?
Filed under: Odds and ends, Blizzard, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Deek Apr 12th 2006 9:06AM
If you playing on a Mac then you can Control + Click to simulate a right click. or you just plug in a two button mouse and then the "issue" is null and void. People always seem to be afraid of the one button thing even though two button mice have been supported for a while now.
Rich Beischer Apr 12th 2006 9:09AM
The Control Button, also WASD....
I personally keep a wireless five button mouse soley to play WoW, being able to walk using two mouse buttons is like heaven.
Tomazed Apr 12th 2006 9:13AM
Deek, Thank you for all this precious information... this always makes me wonder about the lone-button-mice issue, and you just put an end to it.. thank you...
maybe I can buy a mac now :D
Jonathan Apr 12th 2006 9:26AM
I played WoW on a Powerbook with just a single button trackpad for the first four months. Now I play with an Apple Mighty mouse with *no* buttons ;-)
Easy
(Well alright, it's got 5 or 6, can't remember, and the trackball goes 360 degrees instead of just up or down.
mathew Apr 12th 2006 9:55AM
you know... i play WoW on a PC and don't think i've ever even tried to click on the right mouse button - what does it do in-game?
Kang Apr 12th 2006 9:58AM
Walk using two buttons? Hell, on Windows, if your mouse has a "back" button, you can just click that to autorun...
Brad Apr 12th 2006 10:09AM
The single button mouse issue is _almost_ dead. Apple sells a two button mouse which also ships standard with their desktop computers, and once their laptops come with a second button, it definitely _will_ be dead.
Shadow9600 Apr 12th 2006 10:10AM
Yeah I have no problem playing with my 4 button+scroll wheel MS Trackball Explorer. Multi-button support has been built into OS X from day one and most mouse makers provide drivers for their mice...just like they do for windows GASP! ;)
Also I'd imagine Boot Camp has a very limited audience, it only works with the newest Intel based macs and not everyone that has one will load it and even fewer of them will run WoW. So yeah no worries about it here.
As far as running with the mouse buttons I find the WASD keys to be MUCH better (thanks to many hours of FPS games).
BTW, little known mac keyboard tidbit, on Windows you can use Num Lock to have your toon run forward automatically, on Mac keyboards use the Clear key for the same effect.
robert Apr 12th 2006 11:06AM
I WoW on a 2GHz Macbook Pro connected to an Apple bluetooth keyboard, Logitech MX-510 mouse, and a Dell 2005FPW widescreen 20" monitor. Works great. :) I've tried playing on the laptop alone, with no mouse. It takes some getting used to, but it's doable.
Chris Apr 12th 2006 11:33AM
I've rarely used the single-button mouse that ships (or used to) with most macs. Now they ship the mighty-mouse, which is a two button mouse that looks like a one button. Personally I like the Logitech track ball--makes those run-spin-deathcoil-spin-run things in WSG much easier.
RighteousDork Apr 12th 2006 11:54AM
That makes me feel better about Macs. The issue with 1 button has bugged me for a long time. I love my Logitech MX518 and can't imagine WoW without it. I can adjust sensitivity on the fly if need be and have buttons for AutoRun and Jump.
Windshadow Apr 12th 2006 11:55AM
What would tip me over into getting an IntelDesktop Mac (not the intel iMac I hear even the 20" with 256 video ram still is not strong enoufg for Oblivion) and then using boot camp is if Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion (a great way to fill in the time when the WoW servers are down or too crowded) will play as well as or better than my XBox360... then I would be able to play the PC version and have access to the Mod World that will give this game very long legs... so it it will all be down to how powerful the Intel Mac replacment for the Quad G5 is... any one taking bets?
Tyler Love Apr 12th 2006 12:50PM
Gosh it drives me nuts when people comment on the "single mouse button". First for any well designed Mac app that follows standards, a second button isn't neccessary. CTRL+Click however usually does what you think a right click would do.
All that said, I use a Mighty Mouse...I was going to wait for a wireless version to come out but I'm glad I didn't considering it's been probably close to a year.
veronica Apr 12th 2006 1:48PM
mighty mouse, baby.
Shawn McEntyre Apr 12th 2006 2:01PM
I have a 15" PowerBook that I've been playing on "Mouse-less" since august. I do have a mighty mouse but tend to leave it in my office for the truely portable feel of the laptop. It is a little difficult to play with with a single click, but only when diving and sometimes PvP-ing. Its actually a little harder for me to play with the mouse now that I'm used to playing without it.
Josh Apr 12th 2006 5:00PM
Macs have always supported 2-button mice, and I've been using 2-button mice with my Mac for years now. The newest Mac come with a 2-button & scroll wheel mouse (technically 4-button) called the Mighty Mouse. I, myself prefer Microsoft's mice, It's the ONE thing they do right.
arshad omari Apr 12th 2006 6:25PM
I have an intel iMac and must report that WOW runs a full 10fps FASTER under XP with all settings at max. Bootcamp is fantastic for games, HalfLife2 performance is phenomenal, again all settings on and 40-50FPS consistently.
Other than for games, OSX is far superior.
Runciter Apr 12th 2006 7:14PM
13, what happens when you need to CTRL-Leftclick? Is there a Mac equivalent? I use it a lot in FF and it opens a new tab with the clicked link. I'm an anti-one-button person myself. I have an iBook and hate the single button... I still end up clicking the right side of the single gigundo button.
James MacAulay Apr 13th 2006 1:30PM
Runciter: The mac equivalent of ctrl-leftclick on a PC would be command-click. Just like the equivalent of just about any ctrl-combination on the PC would be command-whatever on the mac (but yes, there are notable exceptions of course).
In Firefox (and Camino, and Safari) on the mac, opening a new tab for a link is indeed command-click by default. Likewise, making a new empty tab is command-T (and copy is command-C, paste is command-V, etc, etc).
kcgb Apr 23rd 2006 6:02PM
to arshad
the reason you're getting 10 fps faster when running windows is because osx underclocks the cpu for some heat and noise issues. There is a way to bipass this and once you do both should run at the same speed.