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Mice Designed by Famous Anime Artists
Roland writes "Japan Gadgets reports that eminent Japanese animators Masamune Shiro (Ghost in the Shell) and Hajime Katoki (Gundam) have decided to apply their creative design skills to a new line of limited edition optical mice. Due to be released in Japan in late November, each of the two mouse designs will be available in black, silver, and white and come with a special printed insert of an interview with the respective designer." Definitely thinking outside the box... not sure about the ergonomics, but points for aesthetic ;)
Have a look here(not /.ed yet!)
This is the only link on google with some details half way down the page on what looks like this is about. Search for "mouse"
The mice (not /.ed but in Japanese) are very nice, but Y7500 that's circa 40 GBP or $60 US which is a bit steep even for a designer mouse, no?
Shirow's primarily a comics artist, not an animator. As far as I can tell, Black Magic M-66 is the only anime in which his involvement went much beyond allowing one of his manga to be adapted or providing character or concept designs. (See also this biography.) (Ghost in the Shell is Oshii Mamoru's adaptation of (part of) Shirow's manga of the same name.)
Well, rule #1 is don't scare the little bugger.
Rule #2 is if they DO bite you, is to NOT fling it across the room. Its a little bite, and it hurts just as bad as getting some blood drawn at the doctors.
And a tetanus shot? Are their teeth made of rusty-iron or something?
Last I heard, you needed a RABIES shot after an animal bite. But if the mouse had rabies, it would be freaking out--and why'd you ever pick up a mouse who's banging itself against the glass and generally acting absolutely nuts is beyond me.
Photos of him aren't *that* rare - I bought one of his intron depot books as a grey import and aside from being one of the coolest collection of anime sketches and notes I've *ever* seen... ...I seem to remember it did include a photo of him either at the start or at the end. If I had the book to hand (its at home, im not) I'd tell you for sure.
- Tony
** I don't understand how optical mice could be insufficient for high-end graphics work...?**
neither do i.. and have never heard this before either.. the ball mice use optical sensors too, it's not like that they were more precise(usually, unless were talking about some weird neverheard of high end products), quite the opposite.
the way i'd understand is that some old gfx guru just said something about it while half sleeping.. or just didn't like the feeling of not having a ball going against the surface.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Umm, buy a digitizing tablet. They'll set you back about $80.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Actually, I have recently attended a presentation on the subject, and carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the tunnel that your nerves in your hand go thru gets pinched. You get it from bending your wrist back for long periods. Lowering your mousing surface to a more suitable height will prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. It has nothing to do with the shape of the mouse or how heavy it is. Another thing to avoid is the 'death grip' on the mouse. That can cause cramping in your thumb.
Masamune is the name of a legendary Japanese Samurai sword maker. He crafted swords that were as beautiful as they were deadly, each sword having nearly a million folded layers, and being more than razor sharp. The legend holds it, that if one placed a Masamune sword in a river, leaves floating down the river would divert around it, whereas a similar sword by another maker would simply cut the leaves. There is more detail on everything2.com on this subject.
Masamune pops up in many modern stories, mainly because the translators put it there. IIRC, Masamune was not the name of the sword in the Japanese version of ChronoTrigger, and the magical spirits in the sword were certianly not named "Masa" and "Mune".
So then we should also stick with the original definitions of NERD and GEEK then right and come up with other words for most of the people who visit slashdot or enjoy manga.
How about you just go to France and help them to enforce a perfectly pure and correct language?
Otaku literally translates as "house" and has come to mean (in Japan) someone who has no ability to care for themselves (slovenly, lazy) through their own neglect due to obsessive behavior. America being a blended culture and incorporating other cultures into it took this word to describe people obsessed over manga. So while it bears no resemblance to "house" it does stay at least somewhat in line with the Japanese use describing someone who is obsessed. Unlike the japanese use Americans do not often equate negative feelings with Otaku.
I would love to definitively argue with you on the Shiro/Shirow issue, unfortunately unless you are him (I am not) then what resource do we use for making the determination. I own multiple books and a couple of videos and all of them list Shirow. IMDB as well as other resources do as well. Only a small minority of sites I've seen refer to him as Shiro. So unless you can give a resource that is absolute in it's correctness don't be an ass about it.
"Do not be swept up in the momentum of mediocrity." - anon
Also, haveing a really kewl mouse ain't going to make much of a difference if you haven't got really cool keyboard + LCD Screen + case mod to go with it, in fact it will make those things look worse,
Maybe they should make a limited edition pc.