Riding the wave of new Apple products announced yesterday is a new gesture-based, multi-touch mouse.

The Magic Mouse continues Apple's war on buttons by removing all those pesky clickers. What's left is an aluminum base topped by a smooth white touch-sensitive polycarbonate panel.

Apple was criticized for the single button hamburger shaped mouse that shipped with the original iMac. Many Mac and PC users favor the greater control that a dual-button mouse with scroll wheel provides. In response, Apple released the Mighty Mouse in 2006 that incorporates four functional buttons and a trackball.

The new button-free Magic Mouse signals a return to minimalism while including all the functionality of multiple buttons. Gizmodo thinks it's a welcome change:

The Magic Mouse is undoubtedly the best mouse Apple's made in years. They've taken their knowledge in trackpad finger gestures and one-piece manufacturing and made this delicate, yet sturdy, bridge-shaped mouse.

The Magic Mouse will be included with new iMacs or can be purchased alone for $69. Currently the Magic Mouse is only compatible with Mac OS X, but broad support, including PCs, is likely to happen soon.

Last week owners of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader felt the painful effects of DRM (Digital Rights Management) when Amazon remotely removed copies of George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm from their libraries.

Amazon explained that the books had been mistakenly released and the e-book publisher did not own the rights to sell the either novel. However, the company's explanation and a refund did not appease readers who felt their personal copy of 1984 was remotely destroyed by Big Brother.

The Internet lit up with blogs and forum posts condemning Amazon's actions. InformationWeek claims Amazon can't keep its promises, and Slate likens the deletion to book-banning's digital future:

Amazon deleted books that were already available in print, but in our paperless future—when all books exist as files on servers—courts would have the power to make works vanish completely.

[Harvard law professor Jonathan Zittrain] writes: "Imagine a world in which all copies of once-censored books like Candide, The Call of the Wild, and Ulysses had been permanently destroyed at the time of the censoring and could not be studied or enjoyed after subsequent decision-makers lifted the ban."

Police routinely confiscate stolen property. But copyright infringement, similar to possessing improperly licensed books, was determined by the Supreme Court case of Dowling vs. United States not to constitute theft. Amazon's actions were an effort to please publishers who wanted the book pulled rather than a legal requirement.

Amazon has acknowledged that deleting the books from users' personal devices may have been a mistake. In an e-mail to the New York Times Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said, “We are changing our systems so that in the future we will not remove books from customers’ devices in these circumstances.”

Do you think Amazon's decision to remotely delete the books was justified to defend copyright, or should digital content hold the same protections as physical property? Will Amazon's promise to change its policy restore your confidence in the Kindle?

Update [July 24, 2009]

On Thursday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos posted this apology on a Kindle community public forum:

This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our "solution" to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we've received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.

With deep apology to our customers,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com

Have you owned every version of the iPhone? Can you rattle off specs for the Palm Pre and the Kindle?

Well, gadgetheads, this post is for you.

A number of new gadget-related Web sites are popping up. Here are some I find interesting. But I'm not the biggest gear junkie, so please let me know what I've missed. I'll check the comments and repost the best of the best.

GDGT: This new site, from the makers of Gizmodo and Engadget, takes a social approach to gadget reporting. It launched Wednesday, according to The New York Times, and lets users create profiles and share their thoughts on new computers, phones, etc. Seems like a good idea to me. The best techies are happy to share their expertise.

Hunch: The decision-making site from a Flickr founder is surprisingly good at helping users choose gadgets that will work for them. Perhaps not as up-to-date as the gadget blogs, but it beats them hands down in its simplicity. Users answer questions and Hunch's computers - and user input - spit out logical answers. Check out the computers/Internet and electronics sections. (Hunch just told me with 80 percent confidence that I need a new iPhone ... we'll see.)

These aren't necessarily new, but here are a few other gadgety sites worth your time:

BoingBoing: A slightly artsy and off-beat take on gadgetry

GeekSugar: Offers a light take on tech news and aims to appeal to women

ArsTechnica: This respected tech blog has a good gadget section that's readable (even if you don't speak PHP) but still techie

CNET's Crave: The trusted geeks of CNET post gadget updates here (full disclosure: CNET is a CNN.com partner site)

Wired's GadgetLab: From phones to bicycles, a fresh look at gadgets with a wide lens (Wired.com also is a CNN.com partner)

GadgetWise: The NYT's answer to Gizmodo and Engadget; good for general audiences

Consumer Reports: The Web's bread and butter for reviews has an electronics section