Slashdot Mirror
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 ;)
Despite looking "hi-tech" (since when did that become a noteworthy style?) these things look like they'll be hell on your hands/wrists/arms. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a very real problem, but unfortunately many people are under the false impression that it is caused by keyboards and not by mice. I'll stick with my old mouse and not leave my health up to the whim of fashion, thank you very much.
But why only the optical version? Optics in mice has yet to develop enough to become sufficient for higher end graphics work (hell, even Logitech is still making "old-fashioned" roller ball mice). Accuracy is important- why are mouse manufacturers neglecting pay attention to such a significant number of potential customers?
Have you been stalked by Seth today?
Oh well. I'll bookmark it and come back in a few days. When is Slashdot going to get a clue and develop an automatic cache of pages it links to before posting the story? That way we could actually see the sites, instead of having to grub around for ad-hoc mirror sites.
OK why is this being modded as redundant when its the first post to give a link thats not /.ed?!?!?
and wow.. those are some butt ugly mice!
WTF, they actually expect us to USE something like that!? *Sigh* I'd take a standard gateway mouse over that. That'd be hell on the wrists for long term use, and bad grip for gaming.
All in all, useless except for tradeshows and to make your computer look uber-|33t when you're NOT USING IT.
Are you kidding me? Talk about sell-out.
A simple rule: if it says collectible or limited edition on it, it's guaranteed to be overpriced, and usually crap. ("collector's edition McDonald's Scooby Doo Frosted Mugs"). Have you ever seen a "limited edition" item on HSN that you could turn around and sell for a penny more to anybody who is not an even bigger fool?
Those who pay for slashdot premium should demand their money back on the basis that this was, very clearly, an advertisement.
So artists don't need to LEARN to use their tools...?
Agreed. They're ugly and don't look very useful.
As for gaming, I don't even use a mouse.
Once you go trackman you'll never go back man!
If your desk is like mine, you don't even have space for a mousepad (CDs, jewelcases, computer parts, etc all get in the way..). I've found I can play much quicker using the trackball than a normal mouse.
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
Most of you aren't raving Manga fans. It said in the slashdot article that an interview with each of these two author's comes with the mouse. If it's DVD or has any type of pictures, it's worth the money to Manga fans. Shirow Masamune is the most reclusive "comics" artist in Japan. There is one known photo of him as "Shirow" and it was published something like ten years ago and is impossible to find. This guy is a hero to the "Otaku", Japanese kids with an obsession for printed manga and anime. "Shirow Masamune" is a pseudonym so getting anything like a live interview would be priceless to them (hell, me).
And here you guys are complaining about ergonomics.
[-)
What would Richard Feynman do, if he were here right now? He'd do some math and he'd follow through!
Then let /. point to the google cached version instead of the original one, scripting that should not be too hard.
That should reduce the /. effect by at least the amount of click-jerk reaction !
[Pruneau
I don't know about that. The first has no sense of symmetry at all. It looks like it was designed after some of those anime starships with all the projecting rods and growths out the front. And the second is all boxy and strange looking.
:)
And the price is just.. nasty. I could see someone who is into these two artists getting them for collectors items, but for normal usage? Aesthetics aside the odd shapes would be a killer on the hand.
I'd wager those two should stick with Anime, cause they're much better at that.
Kalen D'arrie
A simple rule: if it says collectible or limited edition
on it, it's guaranteed to be overpriced, and usually crap... IN AMERICA
You overlook that other countries do not need to abuse those terms
like we do in the US. Much of the time (in the Japanese Anime
merchandise market) buyers are used to a character or product brand
being used all over the place. The "Scooby-Doo" mugs would not be
considered collectible, precisely because nobody would conceive of
not having mugs, pens, posterboards, lunchboxes, T-shirts, etc...
without the characters plastered all over the place as standard promotion.
In that environment, an extra effort is often made for higher quality
or some form of intrinsic value to be added to a "limited edition" product
to insure that it is set apart from the standard deluge of promotional
items. This becomes even more applicable in an area where the promotion
is taken outside the normal area of expertise of the company, character, or
creator.