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Microsoft Unveils A Designer Mouse
jeckil writes "Today Microsoft unveiled the new Starck mouse; a new shiny mouse designed to take the 'cool' from other mice such as Logitech or Apple. Microsoft is calling it the 'first museum-quality mouse.' Looks shiny enough to be on a museum display along with other succesful Microsoft products."
im not trying to be all "anti-microsoft" when i say this but that is a really unattractive mouse! im not a fan of apple so much but damn they have a way of making some damn good looking stuff! how much money would it take to get some attractive pc peripherals!
Who knew Microsoft would turn into Apple?
Actually their hardware division makes products that are as good as their software division's products are bad, and it isn't new.
The Microsoft "natural feel" keyboard (or whatever its name is) is well build and many people I know swear by it. It's unusable to me, but I recognize a good product there. Same for the optical mouse: if memory serves right, Microsoft was the first to introduce that technology, pretty much to go around Logitech's patent on roller-less trackball and mouse balls.
So, hating Microsoft's software is a healthy attitude, hating their hardware product isn't.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
This mouse is beautiful, and it actually matches the theme of my most recent system.
BUT -- I won't buy it for one reason. It has a cord.
I'm using the Logitech MX700 Optical Cordless mouse with charging station and I absolutely love it.
I thought I would hate this mouse at first because it's not designed for either right or left hand use but since I normally only use my mouse with my right hand anyway I figured I'd overlook that fact.
While Microsoft's new object is designed for either hand, I just can't go back to a cord. I've gone cordless, I've gone optical, and I've gone rechargable. The only thing that can convince me to replace this mouse is one that has all those features as well as being usable with either the right or left hand.
Maybe Microsoft will release a cordless and recharagable version? Until then it's just a pretty mouse on a cord.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
As much as we all love to hate Microsoft, I have to admit, they do make a good mouse.
i have a tablet pc. how long do i have to wait before there is a "sleek, sophisticated, museum quality" stylus for my clicking pleasure? when are people going to catch on that the mouse is a dieing breed.
viva la voice and touch!
As much as we all love to hate Microsoft, I have to admit, they do make a good mouse
Hmmphh! I bought one of their plain vanilla mice a couple years ago. The piece of shit broke within 2 months -- as in the arrow jumping across the screen and otherwise not correctly responding. I bought a Logitech optical and have been happy ever since.
Yeah, I have one of the wireless intellimeeses and it looks great. I picked up one of the limited edition ultraglossy white ones they were selling towards the Mac market. I wanted to pick up a second one for my PC, but unfortunately, by the time I found the same edition again, it was the Mouse / Keyboard combo.
But it is actually as beautiful as anything Apple has put out. Understated and not pretentious at all. Simple looks, limited styling -- then again, thats probably what makes it great.
Then again, I also have a few products by Starke (or as he puts it here s + arke). Some are fucking elegant...the Juicy Salif is a perfect compliment to the kitchen (it is a war of the world looking juicer -- like a piece of modern art that is also functional). This shit of a rodent looks like it was slapped together as a prototype designed for comments to be redesigned later, with the M$ twits saying We'll Take 20 Thousand Please. I've done it myself -- designed something shitty because I wanted to have the client guide the process as opposed to putting all my work into something that was going to be scrapped...only to love the piece of shit, even over my protests.
I can only hope that is what happened here...
We've had that Stark mouse here in Denmark for well over a month. My girlfriend bougth one because it looks nice, but shes says it works like sh** com pared to her Logitech Mouseman Traveler mouse.
What kind of dog barks "BOFH! BOFH!"? A rootweiler of course...
Why would you imagine that longhorn would be artistic and pretty?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Took a while to get used to it, but the little pointer button on the IBM and Fujitsu notebook/laptops is extremely easy to use, with either hand. Plus, it takes no extra space like the touchpad or trackball.
If the stark thing makes it to a art museum, the IBM should be in a tech museum. I'll never go back to my splintery Stickel mouse.
I am one of those who swear by the original Microsoft Natural Keyboard (it killed my budding carpal tunnel, on the recommendation of a specialist!) and I agree, Microsoft should be a hardware company... their hardware is great, rugged, and appreciated, and doesn't overreach in terms of thought and market control, unlike their software...
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
These mice are great. If you don't need an optical mouse, I see them on eBay for a couple of dollars each. The Scrollpoint is a much better idea than a scrolling wheel. You don't have to keep moving your finger when you want to scroll a long ways. The only downside is that the scrollpoint does not act as a button. Some people are used to pressing on the wheel as the third button, but with these mice, you have to reach up just beyond the pointer stick to a real button.
I have used Scrollpoint mice as my main pointer devices for a year or so, and they are the best mice I have ever used.
Offtopic, Overrated, Redundant, whatever.. Museum mouse? Give me a break.
Actually SUN had optical mice since the early 80's, in fact SUN's mice was nothing but a repackaged Mouse Systems part. Most workstation vendors sold these mice, and it was also available for PC's... I tink I may still have one somewhere. Optical mice are nothing new at all, the main difference is that those mice needed the special reflective mouse pad.
Unfortunately people who find it to be a superior device like you do (o like I do for that matter) are in a very small minority. All the people I ever mention it to absolutely hate the thing.
:(
It always seemed to me that it made much more sense to push the mouse cursor (virtually speaking) in the direction you want it to go than to rub your finger on a little plastic square that may or may not register the move depending on the current POM... but apparently that's just me
On the plus side it at least enabled Sony to make the neat PictureBook line of laptops that wouldn't have been possible with crappy touch pads.
I'm really considering getting a Powerbook as my next luggable machine, but the fact that it has a touchpad is the single thing holding me back...
May contain traces of nut.
Made from the freshest electrons.
Bah. Cordless mice are too laggy and they don't have good sample rates. Not like a standard USB mouse.
Sure, it's fine for office stuff but that's all. A person that does graphic work or a person that plays games don't use wireless mice.
- It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
I'm using one of the Mouse Systems reflective mouse pads right now. Of course, not with the original optical mouse. We sold them back in 1985 if I recollect right. I found a stack in storage awhile back. Makes a pretty good mouse pad for a standard optical mouse.
To keep this relevant to Microsoft's new mouse, I shall observe that Microsoft definitely didn't make the first optical ones. We've been selling technology for the last 3 decades. Their first couple of generations of serial mice were very reliable and lasted well. We had trouble with the next wave, and we stopped carrying Microsoft Mice then. Recent (last 4 years) opticals have been pretty good. Personally, I can't find a use for the extra buttons and scrolling features. Some customers like them.
Based on the appearance of this new mouse, it does resemble the Apple ones. Personally, I don't like them. I prefer a distinct button I click, not depressing the mouse itself. That's personal taste.
I don't see any reason for hoopla over a mouse though. This does seem mainly a shill's free ad.
-- Dan Jenkins, Rastech Inc.
Creative's mouse looks about the same and comes with a red AND blue LED w00t!
Mine cost me $9.95.
I know bashing MS is required on Slashdot, but whatever you think of their software and/or business practices, their hardware has always been great.
Personally their keyboards and mice are some of the best being made. Logitech isn't bad, but I haven't liked their last couple generations of mice and their keyboards have always been sub-par.
In terms of innovation, MS released its first mouse in 1983, one year before the Mac was launched. Though I don't know if they invented the mouse wheel and optical mice, but they were the first major manufacturer to promote the technology. And though I personally don't like the "natural" keyboards, I know a lot of people that swear by them.
And even though I love Apple's industrial design, their mice are utterly useless. I use an MS mouse with my Mac.
That said, the Starck mouse looks more like an executive desk decoration than a useful mouse. =)
Bah. Cordless mice are too laggy and they don't have good sample rates. Not like a standard USB mouse.
:)
A year ago I would have agreed with you.
Then I bought my Logitech MX700. It actually responds better than my previous optical corded mouse. It is, for me, the best mouse I've ever owned, and it is dead on balls (no pun intended
It also looks sleek while looking functional. Why would anyone want a "museum piece" for a mouse anyway ?
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Eye of beholder and all that, but really! That mouse isn't even symmetric! Ick!
iMac hockey pucks suck. Somebody should have gotten fired for that idea.
Microsoft does endorse some pretty good hardware. Their speakers that came out in 98 are still some of the best digital speakers around. Better than the Cambridge Soundworks of the day. They still are my favorite pair of speakers.
I just recently added Mac to my forte of PC experience and I find that the 1 button mouse doesn't bother me where it did when I heavily used Windows/Linux.
I've always been faster at Windows using the keyboard and rarely use the mouse for quick tasks. I drive some fellow admins nuts because I really don't bother with 'missing mouse' error messages.
START > Run > eventvwr is alot faster than mouse navigating.
When I switched to Linux, I felt no UI loss of a learning curve. I like how customizable Linux is with no loss of performance. Try Virtual Desktops on XP and watch your performance drain.
I just went Mac (1 reason is that a 6 hour battery life just rocks) and I feel that their UI is more intuitive. Using the keyboard with a single click mouse is faster than the 2/3 button mouse in a Windows environment.
After watching some graphic designers fly on the single button mouse with key commands, I had to get just as proficient to see how they can do it. After a couple of weeks, I feel crippled on Windows and Linux. Expose' rocks.
if you steal from one source, that is plagiarism, if you steal from many, well, that's just research.
You can replace the batteries with longer-life ones.
That being said, I've had the (dis)pleasure of using an MX700, and frankly, these things are massively overblown. It's convinced me that cordless mice suck -- the weight and battery life are a pain in the ass. Heck, Logitech even makes a wireless *trackball*. What are they thinking?
May we never see th
I switched to trackballs long ago.
OTOH, there would be one thing that would tempt me to try a mouse again... some time ago--pushing ten years, now--there was a designer mouse that I actually bought. Thd designer was Italian, and the mouse was shaped rather like a bar of Dove soap, with a beautifully contoured shape that the muscles that let your thumb oppose your finger could gently nestle in, and that supported the hand perfectly. (It was, therefore, not ambidextrous; there were right-handed and left-handed versions.)
It was long enough ago that the mouse was mechanical, darn it. If there were an optical version of it, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
USB mice only sample at 125hz. If you want real precision you go PS/2 and run at 200hz.
A lot of people who are even aware of mouse sampling rates seem to think that higher is better. What's the point if the refresh is higher than the monitor's refresh? (Which is even more negligible on LCD screens where anything above 30-40Hz is not visible) What I'd really like to see is mouse cursors achieve VSync with the monitor (which has been done on Macs since the beginning). For now, I use only PS/2 mice because I can adjust the refresh to 80 Hz because it's the closest I can get it to 75 Hz, and thus, the smoothest mouse movements result from it.
Of course, all this refresh business goes out the door for me because I just got an Intellimouse Explorer 4.0a, and to even get the scroll wheel to work right, you have to load the Intellipoint Drivers, which are only availible for 2000/XP. Once the drivers are loaded, the mouse movement gets all jittery, as if it were running at 200 Hz, whether you are running the mouse at 80 Hz or not. Even with that installed, the tilt wheel doesn't even work unless you have the point32.exe process running at all times.
It would be cool if it didn't suck.