GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

Up until now, only Mac-users have been able to sacrifice their carpal-tunnels at the beautiful white-glass altar of RSI that is the multi-touch mouse. It has been possible to hack Apple’s Bootcamp drivers for Windows to get the Magic Mouse working, but now there is a “magic” alternative.

The Speedlink Cue is a wireless 1000dpi optical mouse with a multi-touch top and a tiny USB nano-receiver like the ones that ship with Logitech mice. Mouse clicks are registered by touching the top section where left and right buttons would normally live, and other gestures can be configured with the supplied software.

Given that the only magic thing about Apple’s Magic Mouse is how it can manage to suck so hard whilst it looks so darned good, it’s no surprise that the Cue fails to beat it on beauty: the mouse comes in white, red, black and silver flavors, all of which are horribly boxy and have a logo emblazoned across the bottom that makes them look cheap. Appropriate, I suppose, as compared to Apple’s awful offering, it is cheap, and will ship in November for 40 ($56, but sure to be less in the US).

Our advice? If you want multi-touch that will work on both Mac and PC, buy Wacom’s Bamboo Touch. Amazon will sell you the finger-tablet for just $36. Better, grab the version with the pen and kiss RSI goodbye forever.

Cue Wireless Multitouch Mouse [Speedlink via Oh Gizmo]

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Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Ergomotion’s new wrist-friendly mouse is little more than a symmetrical, two-button laser-mouse with a scroll wheel, but one single tweak to traditional mouse-design should make it a lot more comfortable to use. The mouse is in two parts, a top that looks just like any commodity mouse from the dime-store and a bottom part that sits on the table and contains the lasery bits. These two sections are joined at a central pivot, letting the top rotate, pitch and roll.

This, we are assured by inventor Dr. Jack Atzman, stops RSI and carpal-tunnel injuries because it doesn’t force your hand into a stiff, unnatural position. I have pretty much given up on mice in favor of touch-screens, trackpads and tablets, partially because of the discomfort they cause. I’m not going back anytime soon, but for those with stiff wrists and a rodent addiction this may be a solution.

Otherwise, nothing about this mouse will surprise you, not even the price. The Ergomotion mouse costs a reassuringly dull $50.

Ergomotion product page [Smartfish. thanks, Matt!]

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Most people I know who have an Apple Magic Mouse hate it. They hate the carpal-tunnel-inflaming multi-touch gestures, and they hate the stupid shape, which fits nobody’s hand. One thing they probably don’t hate, though, is the resilient glass surface on top.

Even the most cautious of Magic Mouse lovers would likely shy away from this $15 MouseGuard, essentially a screen-protector for something that sits on a desk all day. A screen-protector makes sense when that screen is swinging around your neck (camera) or sitting in your pocket with some carelessly forgotten keys (phone), but not when the worst that could befall the glass panel is being lightly scraped with an untrimmed fingernail.

It’s not even like you need to look through the screen. Seeing a scratch on the LED panel of your $800 camera is frustrating at best, but a mouse is something that is always covered by your hand when in use. In fact, the MouseGuard comes in two opaque flavors, white and gray.

What next? A case to protect your case? Even my friend Pedro, who buys cases for pretty much everything he owns and will likely be spending the next few weeks handling his new iPad with cotton gloves until he finds the perfect sleeve, would shy away from the MouseGuard. And when it comes to protecting gear from scratches, Pedro is an expert. You should listen to him.

MouseGuard [Moshi Mode via Oh Gizmo]

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Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews