Or you could say it enables you to keep your fundament firmly planted for, oh, ever. Yes friends, LapWorks' Gamers Desk essentially eliminates the need to get up and move over to the family PC where a mouse / keyboard combo can guide you to victory in yet another deathmatch. This lapboard (no, not that Lapboard) keeps a keyboard and mouse within reach of couch-based gamers, enabling them to fire up WoW on their HTPC and still maintain the edge afforded to them by using the aforementioned KB / critter tandem. The unit itself measures 11-inches wide by 26.75-inches across, is made from ABS plastic and includes non-skid rubber pads on the underside to keep it from slipping around in that pile of Doritos. It's available now in gun-metal gray for $39.95, but a few more hues should be ready to roll later this year for those patient enough to wait around.

Sure, you can already mouse around on your Linux-booting or web-browsing PS3 system to your heart's content, but Epic wanted to level the FPS playing field just a bit, and is bringing keyboard and mouse support to its PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3. Epic VP Mark Rein was concerned that having multiple control methods would give some players an unfair advantage, but apparently those problems have been worked out. In addition to bringing a potential end to those endless mouse vs. dual stick debates (unlikely), this also might mean we'll be seeing some PC-to-PS3 compatibility for online play, for the ultimate test of fanboy forum smack.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

We've seen cameras with megapixel numbers that defy logic, and while Vision Research's latest camera doesn't quite do one million frames-per-second, it holds its own in the fast-snappin' game. The first member of the Phantom lineup, dubbed the Miro 3, is a lightweight, rugged device "targeted at industrial applications ranging from biometric research to automotive crash testing." Essentially, this little bundle of joy is meant to be strapped into daredevil-type situations in order to grab as many photos as possible within a split second, as it can programmed to snap 2,200 frames-per-second at 512 x 512 resolution, or up to 95,000 fps if you only need 32 x 32 images. It touts shutter speeds as low as two-microseconds, an ISO rating of up to 4,800 in monochrome, selectable 8-, 10- or 12-bit pixel depths, and a "number of external control signals allowing for external triggering, camera synchronization, and time-stamping." The Miro 3 looks to be available right now, but unless you need to capture stills of your next stunt, we wouldn't bother inquiring about the (presumably lofty) price.

[Via Wired]

Late last month, an 18-year-old man went on a shooting spree at his former junior high school in western Germany, killing himself and injuring 11 others. According to reports on the German news site Tagesschau, the man spent a fair bit of time playing "Counter-Strike," which some say may have led to his inspiration to conduct the killing. As a result of this tragedy, two state governments in Bavaria and Lower Saxony have drafted legislation which, according to the Financial Times, would "subject developers, distributors and players of video games whose goal is to inflict 'cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters' to a fine and a maximum of one year in jail." If the measures pass, German gamers, amateur and pro alike, will have to lay off the FPS games for quite a long while and stick to more traditional non-violent games, like, you know, "Pac-Man."

[Via Slashdot]

A few juicy hints were dropped by Microsoft's Robert Walker on Monday in regards to a special FPS controller in the works for the Xbox 360. His comments were made at Gamefest in Seattle, and he was quick to clarify that Microsoft has no concrete plans for the device, but that it's more of a long term exploration. Sadly, it's no replacement for the tried-and-true keyboard/mouse combination: Microsoft is merely working on a new right analog stick that would be better with the precise movements required for FPS and game types. The controller wouldn't replace the current, well-praised offering, but would merely be an option for enthusiasts and competitive types. Microsoft is also dropping more hints about some sort of motion sensing technology implementation in a future 360 controller, stating that their experiments with joysticks weren't well promoted to developers, but playing it safe by dissing the sensitivity of the tech for FPS and racing use. The main question seems to be: will it rumble?

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

If you're looking to give your fingers a break but don't want to replace your regular keyboard with one of Ideazon's fairly large and generally graphics-laden Zboards, you might be interested in adding their compact new Zfang to your repertoire. Extremetech's review is generally positive, complimenting its ergonomic design and extensive customizability, citing only minor negatives like plastic construction and the $35 price tag. Other features, like buttons on each side to accommodate lefties, multimedia controls, and 11 weapon-specific keys, make the Zfang seem like just the thing to help us in our transition from FPS-player to real-life killing machines.

Serious gamers are always looking for an edge, so any product that promises to transfer to a mouse the movement commands that were formerly restricted to the keyboard is bound to draw some interest. Sandio Technology is showing off one such mouse, the Game O', at E3 this year, calling it "the first and the only six degrees-of-freedom 3D mouse in the IT industry."  From what we can tell, the 2000 dpi laser mouse seems to allow players to move in around in 3D space by translating mouse motions into 3D in-game movement, as opposed to just aiming a weapon's crosshair's, when the button above the scroll wheel is depressed. Sandio will be releasing the Game O' "soon," for the not-unreasonable price of $80.

Update: Although all the details are still unclear, Ars Technica got a brief hands-on with the Game O', and states that 3D movement is actually accomplished by a joypad on the left side of the mouse that's controlled with your thumb (they say that the top button, or perhaps second joypad, didn't even work in the demo). Oh, and AT doesn't seem all that thrilled with the whole concept, either.

[Via MobileWhack, picture courtesy of 4Gamer]