mouse

A mouse to keep us clean and secure

One of our (many) pet peeves here at Crave is the penchant among some companies to develop products of dubious value, especially when it comes to variations on the mouse. But Iogear has bucked the trend with two useful features in one device even beyond its primary use.

The "Personal Security Mouse," as we reported earlier this year, is equipped to read fingerprints to prevent unauthorized mousage. What we just learned in a press release announcing its shipment, however, is that it another feature that every germaphobe can appreciate: "The surface," it says, "is covered … Read more

Finding fashion amid the printer paper

Given that fashion is clearly the dominant theme of the day so far, we think it should be applied to some computer stuff before it's too late. But the last place we thought to look would be Office Max.

Still, to its credit, the retailer is planning a line of snazzy peripherals that will undoubtedly stand out amid the sea of printer paper and blank DVDs. The "G-Cube" collection will spice up boring old mice, keyboards and the like this fall in themes with such names as "Enchanted" and "Lux Leopard," according to … Read more

Lusting after Razer's green titanium mouse

We have gushed over Razer's gaming equipment before, having been particularly fond of its mouse designs. (Who could resist a name like "DeathAdder," after all?)

So we were more than a little pleased to see that it's resurrecting what Electronista calls one of its best-known models. The "Boomslang Collector's Edition 2007" updates its original design with a titanium finish and a distinctive green glow "that adds an eerie effect and also helps locate the mouse in a darkened room during a game session." No price has been disclosed yet for the … Read more

Wireless mouse never needs batteries

What if someone claimed to have invented a wireless mouse that never needed batteries or a recharger? Yeah, we'd say they were nuts too. But Gizoo is offering one that does just that and even makes the claim in its name: the Battery-Free Wireless Mouse.

How? It draws its energy from the electricity in a companion pad that, unlike the mouse itself, does need a power cord that connects to the computer's USB port, according to Coolest-Gadgets. It may not sound all that useful at first--after all, you're still tethered by the pad's cord--but we've … Read more

Leather mouse gnaws into market

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

This mouse reads your eyeballs

It seems logical to bestow the computer mouse with security features, as it's already a natural gatekeeper standing perennially at the ready like a loyal sentry guarding the palace. There have been a number of models on the market, for example, that authenticate fingerprints. But an iris reader?

Maybe it's just us, but we're not in the habit of peering into the mouse--or anything else on our desktop--closely enough for our eyeballs to be identified. That's what would apparently be required to get past this picky peripheral from Qritek Japan, which Plastic Bamboo says has a … Read more

Poor taste, doubled

What's worse than a garish, tasteless mouse covered in fake diamonds? A garish, tasteless mouse that's accompanied by matching accessories.

As if this pink and white crystal-encrusted optical mouse weren't bad enough, it's offered with a calculator in the same ill-advised motif. Uber-Review suggests this ensemble as a possible gift for Mother's Day. We'd agree only if you had a miserable childhood.

Of mice and megabytes

The BBC on Friday ran a piece about a team from IBM and the University of Nevada that has created a model simulation of half a mouse brain on a BlueGene L supercomputer. Well actually, it simulates only a portion of half a mouse brain's cortical cells. And actually, it simulates only a portion of their functionality. And it was able to run at only one-tenth the processing speed of the real thing.

It was still a major accomplishment, though, since they were able to overcome problems surrounding the "tremendous constraints on computation, communication and memory capacity of … Read more

Anorexic mouse needs to cut the cord

If this keeps up, we might accidentally shuffle a mouse with the cards at the next poker game.

KJ Global is the latest company to manufacture the desktop staple in anorexic form, with a model that's only 5 millimeters thick to fit into a PC card slot. The "Slim G4" isn't the only mouse that can do that--another one even doubles as a remote and laser pointer--but it does have some other interesting characteristics, such as a flat "touch wheel" for scrolling.

The mouse also has an amazingly compact way to store the … Read more

Philips makes a mouse with OCD

Our hypochondriatic society has given rise to all manner of bacteria-resistant computer equipment and even gadgets that claim to have germ-eliminating lights so you can lay waste to evil kooties wherever you go. But some of us aren't quite at that level of obsessive-compulsiveness (yet) and just like to keep our workspaces tidy.

Philips understands that and is putting its clean genes to work on the most used and abused item on the desktop: the lowly mouse. The company is offering a new line of "dirt-free mice" that have a "wipe-clean, high-gloss casing to prevent dirt … Read more