mousing
Latest
How would you change Apple's Magic Trackpad?
Magical? Maybe. But there's no doubt that Apple's Magic Trackpad was a shot out of left field when it debuted earlier this summer. Offering loads of multitouch gestures to desktop users who are sick and tired of using the same 'ole mouse for the past score, the pad received little attention from Apple itself. Rather than launching the new hardware at a press event, the company simply slid it into its webstore, just hoping and praying that you'd put your optical bias aside for a moment and try it out. We've already given you our take, and now we're interested in hearing your own thoughts. Has the Magic Trackpad revolutionized the way you control your cursor? Caused more frustration than it's worth? Did you forget you even owned this thing? How would you tweak it if allowed into Cupertino's design labs? Tell all in comments below.
Conceptual Corky mouse gets charged through motion, doubles as a wine stopper
It's still in concept form at the moment, but America's own Adele Peters just might have a winner with Corky. This obviously cork-based mouse relies on "piezoelectric elements to generate energy every time you click or move it around on your desk," meaning that nary a battery would ever be used to power it. In case that's not sustainable enough for you, the whole thing is made from easily recyclable materials, so it shouldn't mar Ma Earth when it gets tossed at the end of its useful life. Too bad that design has been trumped forty times over by more ergonomic options, but hey, there's always v2.0.
MousEX Glider extends your mouse's utility
While there are a myriad devices -- such as the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit and Belkin n52te SpeedPad -- available to complement your mouse when gaming it up, MousEX extensions look to actually alter the way you handle your critter. The outfit is apparently looking to roll out a number of extensions, but the one currently available (dubbed the Glider; $29.95) enables users to attach their current mouse to a pad along with its programmable keyboard, where he / she can then move the cursor without actually curving their hand around the mouse itself. It also features a whole heap of buttons to store your favorite macros on, and in case it wasn't apparent, looks to assist the everyday user a bit more than the hardcore gamer. We know things such as this are better explained via imagery, so check out an informative (but slightly mundane) video after the jump.
Blast from the Past: Mousing Around
People didn't always know how to point and click. The ubiquity of today's mice, trackballs, touch-pads and other UI inputs clouds the memory of a time when Apple needed to train users to work with pointing devices. GUIdebook, the Graphical User Interface gallery, works to preserve and showcase historical GUIs. Today's Blast from the Past, "Mousing Around", is an introduction to mastering your 1984-vintage Macintosh mouse. It's part of a larger Guided Tour of Macintosh, with most of the instructions originating on a cassette tape (available for download as a Zipped 36MB MP3 file). It's very much a trip back to the time of HappyMacs. The screens, which include a connect-the-dots game, a piano emulator, a maze, and a magician seem especially childlike compared to the sleekness of today's OS X's interface with its distinct grown up sensibility.
Buffalo's Wiimote knockoff: the BOMU-W24A/BL spatial mouse
If Buffalo's disco mouse is just a tad too psychedelic for your tastes, and you've got a hankering for some Wiimote action just a few days early, the company's BOMU-W24A/BL "spatial mouse" should tide you over. Aside from sporting the usual assortment of mouse buttons and a scroll wheel, this critter boasts an internal gyro sensor that allows the cursor to move with the flick (or twist) of your wrist. In case all that twirling gets a bit tiresome, it also packs a standard optical sensor for "normal use," and offers six programmable buttons all around the enclosure. After a hard day's night of pointing it up, this wild child fits snuggly into the USB charging cradle, and can be picked up later this month for over half the price of a Wii itself, or ¥19,780 ($168).[Via Akihabara News]
Hela rolls out ergonomic Glider Mouse
While the FINGER, Fluffy Soap, LogiNoki, AquaPoint, and Head$h0t mice definitely border on the weirder side of input peripherals, at least Hela's Glider Mouse seeks to decrease the amount of worldwide carpal-tunnel complaints with its creation. Although it isn't the most flattering design, the ergonomic device attaches to the bottom of your keyboard and sports a central mousing surface, left / right wrist pads, and a sure-to-be-misplaced "glider" that bears a striking resemblance to an air hockey striker. Your cursor is controlled by maneuvering the glider around the center pad, and its forthright location deems it useable for righties and southpaws alike; moreover, the 12 integrated buttons are ideal for the plethora of WoW macros you probably rely on nightly. The Glider Mouse is available in both 15.7- and 18.9-inch flavors to function with just about any notebook or awkwardly-shaped keyboard, but the £149 ($288) and up pricetag will likely have you resorting to more wrist-damaging options anyway. [Via PopGadget]
