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Microsoft Concocting Its Own Multitouch Mouse

Paul Lilly — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:08:01 -0500

Aside from adding more buttons and tweaking the ergonomics, there hasn't been a ton of innovation when it comes to the actual design of the computer mouse. That's part of what made Apple's announcement of its multitouch Magic Mouse so interesting, even if you couldn't see yourself using one. And judging by Microsoft's recent prototypes, multitouch rodents could become the next fad in PC peripherals.

"If the [traditional] mouse pointer is your virtual fingertip, we're giving you a virtual hand," says Dan Rosenfeld, a researcher with Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group in Redmond, WA.

Rosenfeld points out that multitouch surfaces exist for tabletops, computer monitors, and smartphones, but "there's really nothing addressing the kind of tasks that lots of people do all day long, sitting in front of a desk at a computer."

This is where Microsoft's prototypes come in. The funky designs look different than any computer mouse you've seen before, and that's the whole point - they are different. Microsoft's Articulated Mouse, for example, comes with finger rests for your thumb and index finger. Three optical sensors then track your movement in each of the two arms of the mouse and the main base.

But the question remains: Is there even a market for multitouch mice? Apple and Microsoft seem hellbent on finding out.

Image Credit: Microsoft

Would You Pay $1,200 for a Mouse?

Paul Lilly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:45:15 -0500

We're not sure how we would envision a $1,200 mouse, but we're pretty sure it wouldn't resemble the Titanium Mouse by Intelligent Design. Yet that's how much the Dutch outfit says their rodent is worth. So what do you get in exchange for all those ducats?

A handcrafted Bluetooth laser mouse, for starters. Intelligent Design says the body is finished in hand-formed grade 1 titanium and high-quality plastic (resin). The $1,200 rodent also integrates a 3-button neodymium scroll wheel, and how can you put a price on neodymium?

It's wireless and runs on two AAA batteries, and it boasts support for Windows XP, Vista, 7, and Mac OS X. But then again, if you have $1,200 to spare on an mouse, you could probably just hire someone to move your existing rodent for you, and fetch your lunch while you're at it.

Image Credit: thedesignblog.com

The Touch Enabled Interface You Thought You Knew May Soon Change

Bart Salisbury — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:23:43 -0500

It’s become obvious that computing potential is currently outpacing the ability to manipulate it. The roadblocks at present are the keyboard and mouse. The keyboard is an easy example, with it being adopted without modification from the typewriter, where the QWERTY version, at least, was designed to slow the typist down. The mouse presents another set of problems: it works mostly in two dimensional space, and offers only limited input--from one hand only.

The quest, then, is on to develop a snazzy human interface that works as effectively as the one that runs the USS Enterprise (D Class) on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Microsoft has been playing with the idea of a next generation mouse, which captures information from the whole hand rather than the odd finger or two. And, of course, there are the touch-screen efforts which populate a number of mobile devices, most prominently the iPhone/iPod Touch.

But are current touch screens the solution? R. Clayton Miller says there is a better way.

Miller has advanced a notion for revising our conceptualization of the touch screen with his 10/GUI project. He contends that the touch screen as used is too limiting to work effectively as a mainstream computing solution. He argues instead for a touch-screen input pad (sort of a super-sophisticated Wacom table) that pairs with a monitor, and makes use of input from all ten of your fingers. (No word on toes just yet.) Sort of a macro version of a Nintendo DS: input on the bottom screen and watch it play out on the top one.

Miller also argues that present windows-based paradigm for organizing information will also have to be replaced. He suggests instead something he calls “Con10uum.” Con10uum is a sequence of linear windows, each context sensitive, that offer a more systematic means of managing and interacting with on-screen information.

What’s the future hold? Perhaps a typewriter hardwired to a cathode-ray tube as seen in the movie Brazil. Or you could build your own, as MaximumPC’s Alex Castle did back in April. Still, it might be worth a moment of your time to check out Miller’s video presentation of his vision of the future of the human-computer interface.

Image Credit: R. Clayton Miller

Is GlideTV's "Couch Mouse" the Ultimate Remote?

Paul Lilly — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:30:23 -0500

Home entertainment company GlideTV on Tuesday announced a new device the company says combines the functionality of a keyboard, mouse, and AV remote all rolled into one.

The GlideTV Navigator, as it's being called, won the 2009 Best of Innovations Award at CES earlier this year. It includes a remote, charging station, USB wireless receiver, and works with Windows, Mac, Sony's PlayStation 3 console, and any set-top box that supports standard mouse and keyboard HID devices, the company said.

"Up to now, consumes who wanted to connect a computer to the TV to take advantage of digital content had to bring office equipment to their living room, making the experience bulky and cumbersome," said Chris Painter, President and founder. "With the Navigator, GlideTV brings simplicity to accessing internet-based entertainment and ushers in a new era for computing in the living room."

Some of the Navigator's features include backlit AV buttons, dedicated Esc, Enter, Back, and Function keys, an on-screen keyboard (Windows only), and rechargeable battery. GlideTV says its remote will work with all the media apps you're used to using, including Windows Media Center, iTunes, Boxee, SageTV, Firefox, and more.

The Navigator is available now for $150.

Image Credit: GlideTV

Microsoft Research Demos Five Next-Gen Input Prototypes

Paul Lilly — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:40:04 -0500

Microsoft's Applied Sciences Group plans to present a paper on five different touch-sensitive mice prototypes during this week's User Interface Software and Technology Conferences in British Columbia, Canada.

With Windows 7 touting mutlitouch capabilities, this could be Microsoft's way appealing to the majority of users who don't own a touchscreen display. But don't expect to see all five designs come to fruition - it's much more likely that the five prototypes would end up being whittled down to one or two products.

FTIR (Frustrated Total Internal Reflection) Mouse

This prototype uses the principle of frustrated total internal reflection and has a built-in-camera to sense user's touches on top of an arc-shaped piece of acrylic.

Orb Mouse

Utilizes a hemispherical surface with an IR-sensitive camera for multitouch capabilities. Microsoft says the design allows for an easy to grip form-factor that remains comfortable, particularly for the fingers.

Cap (Capacitive) Mouse

Tracks the position of multiple fingers on its surface though the use of a flexible matrix of capacitive-sensing electrodes under the top of the surface. This is the most compact prototype of the five listed. It's also low on power consumption.

Side Mouse

Designed to rest under the user's palm and allow the fingers to touch the table surface in front of the device. The mouse then senses the proximity of the user's fingers as they touch the table instead of the mouse. Has the potential for two-handed input.

Arty (Articulated) Mouse

Probably the most other-worldly design of the bunch, the Arty Mouse builds on the Side Mouse design with a base for the palm of the hand to rest and two arms that can be freely and independently moved on the table by the thumb and index finger. Microsoft says this allows for a high-resolution optical mouse sensor to be placed under two of the user's fingers for high sensitivity computing.

Image Credits: Microsoft

Murphy's Law: Freeware Fight! Synergy vs. Input Director

David Murphy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:30:00 -0500

A KVM switch sounds like it has the potential to be a complicated piece of hardware. It's not. Without this most charitable of devices, you wouldn't be able to make use of more than one computer with a single keyboard and mouse. Your desk would be cluttered with input devices of all shapes and sizes, your ambitions of multi-boxing your own 40-man World of Warcraft raid would be dashed, and you wouldn't be able to slack off at your place of business nearly as discretely. After all, the entire point of a KVM switch is that it requires some kind of physical response--like whacking a button on the device--to switch a set of input devices between different desktops connected to the switch.

Why does this matter? Well, I don't have a KVM switch, but I do use a piece of software that's just as good: Synergy. This little open-source app has been my virtual KVM switch of choice for awhile now, but its time is just as quickly fading into the limelight. A new sheriff is in town, and he goes by the name of Input Director. Both programs allow you to control multiple, independent desktops (or laptops) using a single keyboard and mouse sans any "switching over" whatsoever--it's as if you just have a giant, spanned desktop across your systems.

Since Synergy has been at the top of everyone's must-have lists for some time (including Will's!), I thought it might be prudent to walk through the additional benefits and heartwarming fixes that Input Director brings to the party. Throw up the dukes!

Round One: Supported Operating Systems

Winner: Synergy

Admittedly, the antiquated Synergy pulls off a victory in the operating systems department. Both Input Director and Synergy work with versions of Windows as far back as Windows 2000. The latter, however, supports Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME--but that's not exactly why it gets the head-nod in this department, given the very, very few of you likely running any operating system that old. Synergy also functions in Apple's OSX 10.2 or higher... provided you can stomach your sacrilege at the thought of using this non-Windows OS (just reaching out to the site commenters on that one).

Round Two: Ease of use

Winner: Tie

This category is a little tough to work with, as both programs are pretty simple to use. You can set each to autorun once Windows loads up, and each will attempt to make a connection (or establish hosting) for whatever client/server or slave/master setup you've previously configured. It's as easy as that. Once the program verifies that a connection has been made, illustrated by the changed icon in your taskbar, then you'll be able to zip and zoom your mouse across as many screens as you want. Ta-da.

Round Three: Configuration/Features

Winner: Input Director (by a mile)

Synergy

This category's a biggie. Synergy's options are only configurable via the first screen that loads when you launch the program. After you've elected to connect to a server PC or set up your system as the client, that's it--like a racehorse, Synergy is off and running, and you have to quit and reload the program just to configure the options once again.

As for what you can configure, there's the paltry list of connection options like "Screen Name" and "port" -- nothing fancy there. As a host, you use a confusing series of text-based comparisons to establish how the screens of your systems are set up: "0 to 100% of Computer A goes to 0 to 100% of Computer B," for example. You can synchronize screen savers across the connected PCs and set a certain time interval (in milliseconds) of how long the system should wait with your mouse at the edge before switching over to the other screen. You can also assign hotkeys for functions like quick screen-switching and cursor-locking.

It sounds like a lot, but these options make up what one could consider a "lite to standard" package for an application of this type.

Input Director

For starters, Input Director can be reconfigured on-the-fly: You don't have to break your link between PCs to adjust a setting, nor do you have to then reconnect all your systems to see if it works. Synergy has the annoying habit of sometimes giving up, in that quitting and reloading the server PC's application doesn't always mean that the client PCs will reconnect sans error. Input Director goes through momentary losses in connectivity and reconnections flawlessly.

Input Director users can switch a PC between a preconfigured "Master" and "Slave" setup on-the-fly as well. When you're running your system as a Master configuration, adding new computers to your giant, spanned desktop is as easy as typing in their hostname and port and dragging an icon representing the PC to the left or right of an icon of your Master system. That's it. There are no crazy numbers or screen percentages to configure--this simple solution eliminates confusion when setting up your systems.

Not only does Input Director support connected systems' multi-monitor setups, but you can also connect PCs under a 128-bit, 192-bit, or 256-bit AES encryption protocol. As a further measure of security, Slave systems can further specify allowed masters by IP subnet or hostname. A fun option in the settings window will match up the LEDs on your keyboard (Number Lock, Scroll Lock, etc.) to the status of the buttons on the Slave device. You can also set up hotkeys that will block switching over to a new screen--useful if you're working right to the edge of your Master system.

Finally, there's the clipboard. Clipboard sharing is, in theory, enabled in Synergy. You're supposed to be able to copy and paste text from one computer to another, but in practice, I frequently found that this was a one-way path. Text would copy from a server to a client PC without error, but could never quite make it the other way around. In contrast, Input Director's clipboard-sharing feature works near-flawlessly. You still can't do more advanced treatments like copy screenshots from one PC to the other (if only), but I'm rarely lacking the ability to copy a piece of code or funny URL from different linked PCs.

Round Four: Oops

Winner: Input Director

I've been switching between Synergy and Input Director on and off in an effort to determine which one is a more stable choice of applications for screen- and input device-sharing. Synergy works pretty well, but there have definitely been times when either the host or slave device has simply stopped responding. Synergy will try to reconnect, but the resulting link doesn't always work flawlessly.

Input lag is Synergy's dreaded nemesis. Little is more frustrating than having your mouse cursor pause for seconds at a time when you switch between screens, and it happens frequently enough to affect Synergy's overall performance. The only way to restore access when this happens is to wait out the time or, for the impatient, mash ctrl+alt+delete and click cancel. Input Director has yet to lose signal out of the blue or suffer from lag in any fashion when hopping between connected PCs. For that, it takes this round.

Final Score: Input Director (3) Synergy (2)

But, really, for its stability and easy-to-use configurations, the score is more like Input Director (3,000), Synergy (2). Make the switch today. Download Input Director here!

David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!

Razer Revamps DeathAdder with 3.5G Infrared Laser

Paul Lilly — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:20:20 -0500

We were already impressed with Razer's DeathAdder gaming mouse when we reviewed it awhile back, which earned a 9 verdict and Kick Ass! award, so what does Razer do for a follow-up? Tweak it, of course!

The revamped DeathAdder now sports a "state-of-the-art" 3.5G 3500dpi infrared sensor, compared to the original's 3G 1800dpi optical sensor. Not a bad upgrade for super-sensitive gamers who might be able to notice the difference. And for those that can't, the redesigned DeathAdder also boasts a tangle-free braided cable.

"The DeathAdder is undoubtedly one of Razer's best selling gaming mice," says Robert Krakoff, President of Razer. "To date, the Razer DeathAdder has served the gaming community for a good 3 years and with all the advances in sensor technology, we put our sensor scientists and engineers to task to imbue it with the most precise infrared sensor in the world -- but at the same time maintain the specialty designed form factor that gamers have come to know and love."

The second-gen DeathAdder is available now direct from Razer for $60.

Image Credit: Razer

Logitech’s New “Darkfield” Tech Lets Mice Track on Glass

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:01:42 -0500

With the announcement of the brand new Performance Mouse MX and Anywhere Mouse MX, Logitech has released their brand new Darkfield Laser Tracking, which will allow their mice to track on glass (or any other surface).

The new mice, which will work with the new USB Unifying receiver, will come in two sizes – the smaller Anywhere Mouse MX which will be aimed at laptop users and the Performance Mouse MX, which will be meant for the desktop consumer. The Performance Mouse MX will also come with force-sensitive side-to-side scrolling (with the assistance of some software), while the Anywhere Mouse MX will have dedicated forward and back buttons.

They’ll both be released later in the month for $99.99 (Performance Mouse MX) and $79.99 (Anywhere Mouse MX).

Image Credit: Logitech