If your mouse isn’t working, you may have been trolled

There are times when having tech-savvy friends is a benefit. They can help you with computer problems, often answer your geek movie questions, and are up-to-date on the latest gaming news. They also have a stronger inherent ability to do the simplest things to troll you.

Here’s a perfect example. Symptoms:

Your mouse isn’t working
It’s plugged in
Your friends are on Reddit

If you meet these criteria, turn your “broken” mouse over and see what’s underneath.

A Premature Look at Microsoft’s Arc Touch

Awhile ago, I punched you in the eye with a tidbit on Microsoft’s mystery device. That device, as you’re probably aware, turned out to be the Arc Touch mouse, and it now seems that German retailer notebooksbilliger has jumped the gun on unveiling the product proper. Oh, it looks like they got hip. But that certainly won’t stop me from punching you in the eye all over again. Stick your ice packs in the freezer, guys.

A typical 2.4Ghz dongle hooks up what is, surprisingly, one of the sexiest-designed Microsoft peripherals to date. The Arc Touch is, of all things, bendable, flattening out for easy transportation – or, perhaps, for a presentation-style TV remote configuration? Looks like it’d be comfy either way. Tracking is handled by Microsoft’s Blue Track system, and that big grey bar is a touch pad, replacing the traditional scroll wheel for no reason other than that it can.

The device is slated to drop (in Europe at least) on October 13th, and will retail for €69.99 (90 dollars (bucks (bones (clams)))) – the same price as a Magic Mouse in Germany. Presumably, the Arc Touch will go head-to-head on this side of the pond, as well.

A toast to Microsoft, for developing a product aesthetic that doesn’t reek of a cubicle from the early 90s.

Ergonomics Is All About Petting and Squeezing, Anyway

You never see stress balls anymore. I wonder why that is? Surely the world hasn’t de-stressed enough that it need not balls. We’ve got, like, ducks covered in oil and, like… other stuff, too. We need balls. If not balls now, when?

‘Right the hell now’, says Italian designer Patrick Staudt. Or, I bet he would say that if we asked. Either way, Staudt has developed a mouse that is nothing if not ergonomic. Utilizing the delightful squish of the classic stress ball velcro’d to a base plate, Staudt has created a malleable mouse that conforms to your hand. The ‘PetPad’, as he terms it, clicks by tilting the entire device left or rightward. Kind of awkward, but it’s probably damn comfy.

I wonder how much better this mouse will make me at Team Fortress.

/sarcasm

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Mice

Earlier today, I posted a piece on a group of researchers who have discovered a major security flaw with any and all USB accessories. Suffice it to say this is a novel solution: why not remove an accessory from the equation?

Computer mice are old hat. They haven’t had a major design breakthrough in a long while. Besides moving to optical and sporting ever-finer resolutions, they’re pretty much done evolving. It could be argued that mice, therefore, have reached the pinnacle of their evolution – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But whatever, let’s throw our mice out anyway. But what will we use instead?

Nothing.

Enter Mouseless, a new interaction design concept by Pranav Mistry, Patti Maes, and Liyan Chang that does away with the computer mouse in favour of… the illusion of a computer mouse. How practical, guys. Seriously, though, it’s kind of a cool idea. Working in tandem, an IR laser and camera keep track of your hand’s movement and, presumably, where your fingers are breaking the laser field, creating a mouse experience without the mouse itself. Think Minority Report, only not as exciting.

Personally, I don’t think this would, or should, replace a trusty mouse any time soon, but it would be a pretty handy addition to a laptop, where the less you have to lug around, the better.

And now, for the cutest presentation video you’re going to see all day.

Mouse App for iPad: Because Multi-Touch is SO Yesterday

Anyone who’s familiar with my posts by now is probably aware I’m not a fan of the iPad. Now, let’s not get our lines crossed; Apple is The New Hotness – not to mention The Old Hotness – and Jobs is a wonderful man whom I’d gladly have a beer with. Hell, I’m even typing this post on a Mac Pro! I just haven’t really cared for the iPad up to now.

At any rate, this video was a welcome surprise this morning. Seems there’s an app for jailbroken iPads now tailor-made for people like me – that is, people who wonder why Apple’s flagship device is a giant iPhone, and not more like a netbook. Well, now it’s both! BTstack Mouse enables bluetooth mouse support for your iPad, bringing it one step closer to being the device you hoped it was going to be all along. Just make sure you have, like, a stack of books or something to prop the thing up.

Ballin’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wklrVOFMKA

[Redmond Pie, via 9to5Mac]

New Flat Mouse Is OM-azing

Meet the OM Mouse, a new mouse designed to relieve the strain produced by long term mouse use.

The trendy, futuristic looking accessory is the product of studies that show the strain on your hands comes from the fingertips, so the mouse was designed to force users to spread their hand while using it.

The mouse is wireless, of course, but it’s only major feature is it’s ergonomic advantage. For a long time I favoured the Microsoft standard mouse, so the Apple Magic Mouse I now use feels pretty flat. It’s got nothing on the Om mouse though.

Like many design showcases, this is more of a proof-of-concept than anything else. That said, there’s plenty of room for development in the data input accessory market.

Source: Yanko Design

The Toe Mouse: Browsing Porn Just Got Really, Really Convenient

Designer Liu Yi claims his Toe Mouse is to help those with upper limb disabilities enjoy an internet-rich existence, but I’ll be damned if I’m not the first person to have pondered a foot-controlled mouse’s many other applications for those who simply have, er… idle hands.

Oh, come on, you’re all thinking it. We’re all adults here. The internet is sometimes an interactive experience. Sometimes, you need your hands. The Toe Mouse is perfect for those times.

I speak, of course, of those times you have an absolutely insatiable urge to make a sandwich at your desk.

What’d you think I was talking about?

[Via Yanko]

MIT’s Glove Mouse Inspired By Minority Report

All of us tech geeks recall Minority Report, right? Well, for those of you who do, you’ll love what the geniuses over at MIT have come up with: it’s a pointing device. But this one is different, and, unlike a traditional mouse, this pointer is controlled by your hands.

MIT students Tony Hyun Kim and Nevada Sanchez decided to work on this project in 2009, and, impressively, they managed to acquire all the necessary parts for under $100.

Similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch, the gloves allow interactions like pinching, grabbing, zooming, and other familiar interactions you have with touchscreen devices. The Glove Mouse, however, takes away the touching and allows users to interact like was done in Minority Report.

Just last month they took it a step further and managed to make these gloves work wirelessly.

Now all they need are the fancy see-thru heads up displays, and they’ll have something truly unbelievable here.

[via PopSci]

/sarcasm

Things to do on TECHi

Tech Intelligence Whitepaper