OpenOffice distances itself from OpenOfficeMouse, joins everyone else
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 9th 2009 6:48PM
posted Nov 9th 2009 6:48PM
Well, the OpenOfficeMouse rightly caused a bit of skepticism when it was officially announced earlier this week, and it turns out it is something non-involved after all -- just not the way you might think. Yes, the multi-buttoned mouse is still all too real (in prototype form, at least), and supposedly set for a release... sometime, but it seems that mouse's creator got a bit ahead of himself in slapping the OpenOffice name on it. As it happens, the mouse was apparently officially presented at the recent OOoConference in Italy to judge the reaction from the OpenOffice community, but the relationship ended there, and the mouse's creator was never given permission to market the mouse with the OpenOffice name (probably a wise move). Not one to be deterred, WarMouse now seems to simply be referring to the mouse as the OOMouse -- don't worry though, you can still call it "ugly."
Update: The OOMouse creators have contacted us to give their side of the story, claiming that they have emails granting permission to use OpenOffice.org's logo. In their words, "Due to the massive confusion about OpenOffice.org producing the mouse and the numerous questions about the mouse working with programs other than OpenOffice.org, we have mutually agreed with Sun to change the name of the mouse and cease using the OpenOffice.org logo."
Update: The OOMouse creators have contacted us to give their side of the story, claiming that they have emails granting permission to use OpenOffice.org's logo. In their words, "Due to the massive confusion about OpenOffice.org producing the mouse and the numerous questions about the mouse working with programs other than OpenOffice.org, we have mutually agreed with Sun to change the name of the mouse and cease using the OpenOffice.org logo."
Sixteen tiny, unlabeled buttons and a cheap-looking scroll wheel on a mouse that looks like something we'd consider ergonomic around 1990?
Count me in!
Reminds me more of the 1960s or 70s trying to be 90s, which does take a certain amount of talents....
it's still better than the magic mouse. enjoy using your WHOLE HAND to click.
using an apple mouse is like patting a dog.
it's sad that people still need mice at all. the only thing that really NEEDS a mouse is the web, and that's purely through flaw of design.
Forget "OOMouse", this should be called the "I'm Compensating For My Mac" Mouse.
Best gaming mouse evaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!
maybe you could use it with the best gaming device ever.
Just imagine, the small screen, the svelte factor, the lack of any joysticks or buttons and then this mouse grafted on the side for some fragging action. You could use your feet and toes to activate any accelerometer functions.
man that combo would dominate ; )
WoW mouse.
I am actually dying for a mouse like this. For audio production, you end up using your mouse alot-- i could see some serious improvements in workflow. Does anyone know any similar mice?
USB control interfaces are good, but once projects get very complex, they become useless.
"Now sir, please, right click on the file and..."
Deja vu??
Needs moar buttons
OOMouse stands for old unergonomic piece of 80s shit.
Can we say EwMouse?
That's great, but does it run Crysis?
Obviously it does. It's such a godly mouse!
Call me sick but I LIKE IT! :D
Seek help.
Hence leading the username: BigSofty (when it comes to crapgadgets)
You're sick.
perhaps you have just branched out from CPM and the whole idea of moving a little pointer round really gets you going?
I'm waiting for the center palm button. COME ON! Why give us 16 finger buttons without a palm push button... show apple your prowess!
bahhh not enough buttons, i need at least 10 more.
Too bad, I would've bought it if I really used Office that much.
Btw, the creator should change the design to a more ergonomic one that fits the palm, paint it black, and sell it to MMORPG lovers.
nah nah, you got it all backwards.
It was a gaming mouse, but the gamers puked at the visual so he painted it white and is now trying to sell it people writing letters and spreadsheets. Apparently market research showed they were less finicky about things like ergonomics, years of MSWord nightmare trained them to be submissive.
No reason for pulling long faces, just exchange the keys for Ctrl - Alt - Del and offer it to Microsoft.
I would never use that feature, I have Windows 7.
@MoeJoe
Have you ever used it or are you just being a douche?
I am typing this comment from a windows 7 HP mini 1000 and no ctrl alt deletes yet. I have been using it since day one.
No problems on the FW, 1008HA, Extensa 4630Z.
Windows 7 for 3 months now and I use Ctrl + Alt + Del all the time. However, thats so I can set the affinity of my more processor intensive tasks.
thatrotierkid:
I haven't used it since I discovered you could right click on the taskbar and open it.
In XP too :/
my bad MoeJoe, meant to be @muol :D
Ctrl+Shift+Esc brings it up better.
btw I think you are actually looking for ALT + F4
So, I take it you don't log in to your machine? Ctrl-Alt-Del is essential to using your machine, unless you have it set to automatically log it in. In that case, I think I might come by and screw with your machine...
aardWolf: No, it isn't? You can set it up to show the...you know...login screen when you turn it on?
Not saying that isn't a useful feature, maybe the place you work at or bought your computer from set it up that way, but if you do a custom install it does not ask you to Ctrl Alt Del to login.
whoo hoo.. don't run the same story about the same boring mouse twice in 7 days or anything..
Well they ran a story telling about the mouse and now this one is about how the mouse and openoffice.org are not connected in any way. Quit complaining and go onto the next story next time they post something youre not interested in.
think of when you first saw "Sam the ugliest dog in the world"
You went back didn't you, yup I thought so. This is the same, something so bad that you just have to see it again!
make that 3 days..
God I LOVE this mouse. I'm sad that my current mouse (a Logitech MX1100) only has ten buttons. I've been pushing hard in my life for de-simplification, and this mouse would really be great.
No sarcasm. I really do love this mouse.
Now we just need a mouse with a screen and keyboard on it.
Wait, no, we don't :P
It's called a laptop.
Your laptop fits in your hand and moves the cursor when you slide it around your desk?
I sincerely doubt that :P
The closest thing I can think of is using something like an iPod touch with virtual keyboard linked to your computer via bluetooth and using the accelerometer for mouse movement.
But that's just silly.
Yup!
And I thought this thing was a bad joke.
I think you mean "oogly". That thing is oogly as fook.
OOOOoooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOooo
OK so Steve Jobs is anti two button mouse. I have to imagine he would up and die at the sight of this thing. It would be like a cross to vampires.
HISSSSSSS Stay back! It burns!!!
I'll call it "fugly" instead and call it a day.
Looks like it could almost double as a phone. I'd like to be the office ass-hole answering calls overly loud on his mouse.
"Can you hear me now? Yeah, you just made me jump to the bottom of this god awful spreadsheet"
"Sorry"
"Kill me"
Mr. Melanson's most recent article is inaccurate in a number of ways. We did, in fact, request and obtain explicit written permission to make use of the OpenOffice.org logo on the OpenOfficeMouse from the responsible individuals at OpenOffice.org. We did this long before presenting the mouse at OOoCon 2009. Mr. Melanson did not know this because he did not attempt to verify any information with us, but the inaccuracy of this article should have been obvious from the start because "OpenOffice" is not even an exclusive trademark of Sun or OpenOffice.org. The relevant mark is "OpenOffice.org".
We are pleased to continue to enjoy amicable relations with the OpenOffice.org Community and expect to put out a press release in cooperation with OpenOffice.org clarifying these and other related matters sometime this week.
your mouse still looks like shit tho
Ya, no matter what you call it, that mouse needs a serious redesign. I hope that's not a final prototype.
It may look like that to you, but to me it just looks like an industrial designer had one hell of a hard night the night before, and one hell of a short day that day. Seriously, I guarantee the IDer on this one just doesn't exist. Probably sent a brief to a no-name South Siberian mp3 player mfg, and said "I wanna mouse that has lots of buttons".
Who would buy this? not for looks but for pure concept? If you guys were to make anything like this it should be a keyboard, since 90% of the time I'm using office software thats where my hands are -_- poor idea, poor execution, be glad you're getting at least some publicity on Engadget.
It's very peculiar to make a mouse with all those buttons for a office programs set, which require you to have both hands on the keyboard to be productive.
At least razer when they did it called it a WoW mouse, although that is even less ergonomic from the looks of it when you can't hold it because the keys are in the way so this guy still has one up on them in that regard.
Looks like this prototype will go on the list of worst mouse ideas with the combimouse.
http://www.combimouse.com/
Steve Jobs would be ashamed.
Great. OpenOffice distanced themselves from an outdated and ugly Mouse concept.
Now if only they could distance themselves from that outdated and ugly UI.
Strange statement from someone who went through trouble to end up with that avatar of yours.
Sorry for getting personal, but come on
rip off!
The PowerMouse 100 by ProHance:
http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue113/p08_reviews6_BUILDING_A_BETTER_MOUSE.php
i want this hard for call of duty mw2 !! seems a bit interesting