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Razer's latest gaming keyboard and mouse are built for your lap
Remember the Turret, Razer's living room-friendly mouse and keyboard combo? After more than a year of waiting, it's finally ready for action. Plunk down $160 and you'll get a pair of wireless peripherals (they work on both Bluetooth and proprietary connections) that are designed to be used in your lap. The keyboard has a lapboard that provides a flat surface for its high-precision, 3,500DPI mouse. The setup is primarily intended for a PC hooked up to your TV, but it has dedicated Android keys in case you're using a Google-powered set-top box. There are plenty of other couch-oriented combos out there, but this may be your best pick if you're determined to play first-person shooters and anything else that's particularly involving.
A gaming mouse is a luxury I don't need, but I still want one
A while ago I assembled a list of eight gaming mice worth buying. They ran the gamut in terms of design, customization and, of course, price. Though all of these mice are still available and I'd gladly recommend any of them, quite a few contenders for the crown have made their debut since I published my roundup. For the past few months I've been using the Cougar M550 and the SteelSeries Rival 100 and, while both have a lot to offer hardcore gamers, a "filthy casual" like me also found plenty to like.
Scientists extend the lifespan of mice by up to 35 percent
Would you like to live 35 percent longer? Apparently the trick is removing worn-out "senescent' cells that have a degenerative affect on your body. "Cellular senescence is a biological mechanism that functions as an 'emergency brake' used by damaged cells to stop dividing," says Jan van Deursen, Ph.D., Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular biology at Mayo Clinic, and senior author of the paper. Scientists added a suicide gene to genetically modified mice, giving them a drug that targeted senescent cells. Treated rodents lived between 25 and 35 percent longer, and were also healthier: they were more active, and had better functioning hearts and kidneys compared to the control group.
The Rival 700 is a modular gaming mouse with an OLED screen
There are a lot of PC gaming peripherals out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to tell them apart. What makes one keyboard better than another? What's the real difference between two gaming mice? Well, SteelSeries has an answer to one of those questions: its latest computer mouse, the Rival 700, has something no other pointer on the market has: a built-in OLED screen.
ICYMI: Mousetrap for memory, balloon space launch and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-30194").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A virtual reality simulator putting mice through a pretend maze is analyzing memory formation that should benefit humans. A newish space launch company plans to inflate stadium-sized balloons for a gentle flight to the stratosphere, with actual flights scheduled for 2017. Meanwhile researchers built a tractor beam using high-amplitude sound waves to move small objects, which is just as cool as it sounds.
Inside Apple's Mac accessory testing lab
Design seems to be at the heart of every new Apple product. In the company's eyes, a new laptop or tablet shouldn't just perform well -- it has to look, feel and sound right too. But just how far does the company go to maintain this vision? Ridiculously far, it turns out. To coincide with the latest iMacs, Backchannel was given an exclusive look at the Input Design Lab where Apple tests new keyboard, trackpad and mouse prototypes. The methods used are numerous, extensive and eye-opening; in one, Apple attaches sensors to testers to measure muscle fatigue and memory, acoustics and accuracy. In another, robots type repeatedly on keys and move mice around to measure their general performance, endurance, and adaptability on different surfaces. Some of these tests can reportedly require up to five million key taps. It's rare for Apple to give this much insight into its R&D facilities, so hit up Backchannel's article for all of the photos and intriguing tidbits.
Virtual reality for mice teaches scientists about navigation
Virtual reality isn't just helping scientists understand and treat fellow humans -- it's helping them make sense of their four-legged friends, too. Researchers have built a virtual maze that convinces mice they're running through hallways when they're really running on a ball. The invention makes it possible to keep the rodent's head still and study how its brain works while it's navigating. That's important when you can usually collect only limited data while a critter is on the move. Unlike earlier prototypes, this doesn't require training the mice before they can give the experience a try.
The best wireless mouse
This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. We spent 100 hours researching nearly 200 mice, surveying more than 1,000 mouse users, testing 28 mice ourselves, and consulting with a panel of experts and laypeople to determine that the $35 Logitech Marathon M705 is the best wireless mouse for most people. Our panel of mouse users with varying hand sizes and mousing grips almost unanimously favored the size, shape, and glide of the Marathon over the competition, especially praising its button selection and placement.
Which mice are worth buying?
Plenty of folks make do with their laptop trackpads, but for many of us, there's still a place in our hearts (and on our desks) for a good ol' fashioned mouse. And, while gaming mice certainly offer lots of bells and whistles to make you a better player, what do you do when all you need is something to browse the web with? To answer that question, we've scoured reviews from a few trusted sources to find the best non-gaming mice out there. You might not be sniping soldiers from a rooftop with them, but they'll certainly make it easier to edit documents at work.
Apple is upgrading the Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard
To put it mildly, Apple's input device roster hasn't changed much in recent years. The Magic Mouse hasn't really been touched since 2009, and the Wireless Keyboard is even older than that. The Cupertino crew must be ready to shake things up, though: regulatory filings for both a Magic Mouse 2 and an updated Wireless Keyboard have shown up at the FCC. It's not certain how the external designs will change (there's no peek at the top of either model), but they're definitely going to get an internal upgrade. The peripherals are jumping from Bluetooth 2.0 to the more efficient Bluetooth 4.2 standard, and it looks like they may ditch AA batteries for built-in lithium-ion packs -- you might not have to swap batteries ever again. While there aren't any clues as to when Apple will deliver either the mouse or the keyboard, we won't be shocked if the two show up alongside new Macs sometime later this year.
Your mouse will soon work with your Xbox One
Beneath that shiny exterior, the Xbox One is, basically, a glorified gaming PC in a slightly smaller frame. As such, wouldn't it be great if you could play RTS games on the machine with your keyboard and mouse? The hardware can already support the former, and if Microsoft's Phil Spencer is to be believed, the latter is coming in the near future. The executive was asked on Twitter if it'd be possible to stream games from a Windows machine to the Xbox -- in the opposite direction to how the company has set up its game streaming system. In response, he said that it'd require keyboard and mouse support for it to work, crucially adding "those aren't far away."
Monkeys may be the first primates to get successful head transplants
Outside of horror and sci-fi flicks, head transplants aren't really viable. What attempts have been made so far usually kill the unfortunate test subjects within a day, and they can't really survive without life support. Researchers at China's Harbin Medical University think they can do better, however. In the wake of hundreds of mouse operations, the scientists are planning to conduct the first primate head transplants where the patient survives on its own for at least a while. The surgery will connect only a fraction of the spinal nerve fibers in the long-tailed macaque monkeys going under the knife, but it should be enough to maintain voluntary muscle movement and other crucial functions.
Watch Synaptics' touch-sensitive space bar in action
Earlier today, Synaptics announced its SmartBar technology that adds a touch input area -- enabled by a sub-0.2mm-thick PET film -- onto the space bar, which then lets you perform certain tasks without having to touch the mouse or trackpad. We went over to the company's show room at Computex to check this out, and we came away impressed. In the first demo, we looked at how you can quickly select text while typing by simply swiping to the left on the space bar. We were then shown how you can scroll with two fingers on the space bar: hold down one on the left and swipe with another on the right for vertical scrolling, and vice versa for horizontal scrolling. This will take some getting used to, obviously. You can also zoom in and out by swiping both fingers inwards or outwards -- a bit like pinch-to-zoom but on a space bar.
Razer's latest gaming mouse mat is a light-up wonderland
Think your mouse pad is a little lifeless? Razer thinks it can spruce things up. Its new Firefly gaming mat is ringed with customizable lighting that can glow and pulse in 16.8 million colors. It'll even sync with Razer's Chroma-badged peripherals, if you're bent on putting on a coordinated show. The Firefly will undoubtedly be one of the most expensive mouse pads you could buy when it ships in June for $60, but you could easily justify the expense if you already have a flashy PC case sitting under your desk.
KeyMouse: A new take on the traditional keyboard and mouse
Since 1984, not a lot has changed in terms of the two things that we use to converse with our desktop and laptop computers - keyboards and mice/trackpads. That's why when fellow TUAW editor Dave Caolo pointed me towards a fascinating Kickstarter project named KeyMouse, I thought I'd better pass along the news to TUAW readers. KeyMouse is a Bluetooth keyboard with a big difference; it splits the traditional QWERTY keyboard into two halves, one for each hand. Your hand sits comfortable atop a central "bulge" that keeps your fingers in the proper position for ergonomic typing, and the entire KeyMouse moves as an optical mouse. There are a ton of buttons that you can customize to your needs, whether you're a gamer or using the keyboard and mouse combo for design work. The prototypes were shown at CES 2015 in early January, and the team is now about 41 percent funded with 11 days to go in the campaign. Anyone who's looking for a much more comfortable and natural way to type and mouse around the screen might want to back the project for US$249 or more.
The 'mouse' and its many mutations
Since its inception in the mid-'60s, the "mouse," as it came to be known, has morphed and mutated into a diverse assortment of styles to accommodate efficiency, ergonomics and portability. In this week's Rewind we surf through the history of the device from its humble beginnings to its current futuristic incarnations.
Samsung reveals new eye-tracking mouse for the disabled
Samsung has just unveiled the EyeCan+, a next-gen version of its eye-tracking mouse. Positioned below a monitor, it helps people with disabilities write and edit documents or surf the web using eye movement and blinking. Created as a a labor of love by Samsung engineers on their own time, the new version has major improvements over the original 2012 model, largely thanks to quadriplegic grad student Hyung-Jin Shin. Through 17 months of extensive use, he helped the team refine the UI to make it as easy to use as possible. Though it won't take the EyeCan+ to market, Samsung will build a limited number for charity organizations. As before, it will also create open-source documents for the design and software, letting any individual or company commercialize it.
This pocket-sized gesture controller aims to replace your mouse
If a new Indiegogo project has its way, you could soon be waving goodbye to that old, beloved mouse of yours. Meet Flow, a small gadget that pairs with your desktop or laptop and can be programmed with shortcuts to your most frequently used actions. At launch, Flow is said to offer support for more than 30 applications, including popular ones like Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, Premiere, SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube. With Spotify, for example, you could set up Flow to skip tracks by simply making a swipe gesture over the device, among other things. Right now, most of Flow's information points to the peripheral being used with desktops or laptops, but the company does note that there could be support for mobile applications in the future. The Flow Indiegogo page appears to be doing really well thus far, so be sure to check out the crowdfunding page if you want to see this get made.
Which gaming mice are worth buying?
The peripherals you play with can be just as important to your gaming success as actual skill. A suboptimal keyboard or sluggish mouse can open the door to defeat, which is why it's a good idea to pick up equipment specifically made for the job. But like a lot of specialized tools, gaming mice don't come cheap, and you wouldn't want to spend a pretty penny on one only to find it lacking in speed or features. We don't review mice very often here at Engadget, so we've consulted the opinions of trusted critics to find some recent options that can help pave a path to victory.
Scientists grow whole organs inside animals for the first time
Researchers have had success growing organs in controlled lab environments, but repeating that feat inside a complex, messy animal body? That's more than a little tricky. However, researchers at the University of Edinburgh have managed that daunting feat for the first time. They've grown thymus glands inside lab mice by "reprogramming" the genes in tissue-regenerating cells and partnering those with support cells. The team didn't have to use scaffolds or other "cheats" to trigger the growth; it just injected the cells and waited. There weren't even any obvious limitations. The organs were full size (unlike the baby-like results from some experiments), and they were just as efficient at producing virus-fighting T-cells as the real deal.
