mice

It wasn't exactly Minority Report but Bill Gates' technology demonstration at the company's CEO Summit earlier Wednesday may be remembered years from now as a harbinger of the end for the keyboard and mouse era. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon enough. (Cue Winston Churchill here about how this is not the end, the beginning of the end, but perhaps, it's the end of the beginning.)

As Gates demoed a 4-foot-by-6-foot prototype called TouchWall, there was little resemblance to Tom Cruise's futuristic data juggling in that 2002 sci-fi performance as he moved 3D screens around … Read more

If you're still using a corded mouse, it's time to get with the 21st century. One-deal-a-day site Yugster has a Targus wireless rodent for just $6.95, plus five bucks for shipping. It's a refurb with a 90-day warranty.

This three-button optical scroll mouse relies on RF technology (meaning no line of sight required) to communicate with its USB dongle. When the rechargeable battery gets low, you simply connect the mouse to the dongle using the included cable. You can, of course, continue using it while it's charging. There's also a USB extension cable so … Read more

As I've written about previously, we're starting to move beyond the familiar keyboard  and mouse/touchpad, and two-handed game controller as ways of interacting with our computer systems. In the gaming world, the motion-sensing Nintendo Wii remote is the most obvious innovation. Elsewhere, multi-touch screens, either on the large scale (Microsoft Surface) or small scale (Apple iPhone) have been garnering a lot of attention.

Another interesting category is the six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) controller. These aren't particularly new but, until recently, they've been targeted primarily at 3D CAD professionals and have been priced in line with relatively … Read more

It might not be a Wiimote, but it's still got that whole "immersive" thing going on.

Linden Lab, publisher of virtual world Second Life, announced Thursday that its members can use some officially-sanctioned new toys to navigate the metaverse. Logitech's 3DConnexion line of 3D mice can now navigate through Second Life, as a result of Linden Lab's decision to make its code open-source last year.

Second Life members can now use 3DConnexion's SpaceNavigator ($59, or $99 for a premium edition), SpaceExplorer ($299), and SpacePilot ($399) mice to control their avatars, fly, and build objects … Read more

We put stuff into computers (and, for that matter, get stuff out) in pretty much the same way we have for a good couple of decades.

Of course, we still use keyboards of a fairly standard design as our primary mechanism to feed words into a computer and mice are well-ensconced as the navigational tool of choice. Over in the gaming world, it's the familiar two-handed game controller that predominates. In fact, I sense that one sees fewer joysticks, steering wheels, various oddball keyboards, and trackballs than one saw in the past. This probably reflects that "productivity" … Read more

Microsoft announced two new mice this morning which are to hit stores next month. We got a bit of hands-on testing this morning after Microsoft came through with a preview.

The Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 will cost $50 and comes with a USB 2.4GHz wireless transceiver that snaps into its bottom. Snap-in transceivers are more commonly associated with laptop mice, but Microsoft says it sees a significant number of laptop users who want a full-sized mouse.

… Read more

Microsoft is looking to make its Bluetooth notebook mouse more Mac friendly.

The emphasis in that sentence is on the word "looking."

The software maker hasn't made any software or hardware changes to the Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000. It has, however, created new retail packaging for the product, dubbing it Microsoft Notebook Mouse for Mac.

Gone is the red packaging and the "Certified for Windows Vista" logo. In its place is a Mac logo and white packaging. Of course, the same mouse is inside, meaning the Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 works perfectly well on a … Read more

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have found that suppressing a particular enzyme has reversed some symptoms of autism and mental retardation in mice.

An enzyme is a protein that triggers a chemical reaction, and this one, called p21-activated kinase (PAK), affects neural connections in the brain. Suppressing it can counteract the effects of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), the leading cause of retardation and a genetic autism, MIT said Sunday.

"Our study suggests that inhibiting a certain enzyme in the brain could be an effective therapy for countering the debilitating symptoms of FXS in children, and possibly in autistic kids … Read more

Some of us at Crave are depressingly old enough to remember when just about any product made with genuine leather was considered a luxury item. That was long before global trade opened the floodgates to leather goods at polyester prices. So there's really no reason that cowhide should be applied to desktop equipment, PETA notwithstanding.

Hong Kong-based Earth-Treck (not a typo), maker of everyone's favorite USB tape dispenser, is the latest to wrap a line of computer peripherals in leather with its matching mouse and USB hub, according to Akihabara News. The mouse looks familar to us, somewhat … Read more