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Logitech Gives A Mouse A Laser
Kaveh writes "Looks like Logitech has introduced a successor to its popular MX line of cordless mice. In addition to a more ergonomic design, lithium ion battery, tilt wheel (read horizontal scrolling), and battery indicating LEDs, this mouse introduces laser technology. According to the Logitech this allows the MX1000 to be 20x more precise than optical mice, not to mention work on any surface, including a mirror! Check out the 3DGPU forums for pics and more info."
Coralised link.
opps
here's the clickable one
Mirror
Damn have to wait 2 minutes~
Just to be a dick, this isn't the first mouse that uses a laser. There were a few laser mice (pre "optical" mice) but they required a special pad so the advantages over a regular mouse were minimal (really just that you didn't have to clean them).
Lasers actually don't take all that much power- they're highly efficient. Then again, the LED which they're replacing doesn't usually take too much power either. My guess is that it's not a significant change.
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FUNNY!? /sorry, couldn't resist //watch this get modded informative
Etiquette is etiquette. He kills his mother but he can't wear grey trousers.
I am holding the box for the MX1000 in front of me right now and it begs to differ in fine print after an asterisk:
"The laser sensor will not work on surfaces that reflect, like mirrors or glass."
Lasers are absolutely not inherently more dangerous than any other form of light. The danger comes from the amplitude of light that enters your eye, which is a function of the power of the source, the distance, and the focusing. So assuming they focus the laser as diffusely as they focus the red light from current optical mice, it's no more dangerous.
From the forum post linked in the article:
"Already you might be surprised to know that this mouse has had no issues with any surface I have tried it on, including a mirror. It states that you shouldn't use it with reflective surfaces but I wanted to see what this thing could do."
The picture of the bottom of the mouse shows the laser label. "Class 1 laser device"
If memory serves me right, a class 1 LASER device has a totaly enclosed interlocked LASER system.
This means no external radiation of LASER light unless the device is opened and interlocks are defeated. It's the same rating CD drives have. The drive must be opened (cover removed) and tricked into operation without a CD in place to turn on the LASER and cause any exposure.
If it truly uses a LASER to track and is class 1, it must have another LED to sense the presence and movement of the target (table, pad, etc) before it will turn on the laser. Otherwise it would have a class 2 or 3b rating like a supermarket UPC scanner. They may have done this to save power when the mouse is not moving (low power LED when stationary or not on a surface) and to get the safer LASER class 1 rating.
I imagine it will only kick on the LASER when the low power light detects movement and kicks on the LASER for the resolution.
LASER is an acronym. I'm not shouting.
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Since the site is /.ed:
Picture One
Picture Two
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I currently own a MX1000, and I have tried it on a mirror, and my computer's monitor and neither of them work. I wonder if the mirror they used had a bunch of dust on it and it was tracking the dust, or what the deal is, but it doesn't work on mine.
If you give a mouse a cookie...
Lasers are absolutely not inherently more dangerous than any other form of light. The danger comes from the amplitude of light that enters your eye, which is a function of the power of the source, the distance, and the focusing. So assuming they focus the laser as diffusely as they focus the red light from current optical mice, it's no more dangerous.
1. In that case, why use a laser at all? Why not use an ultrabright red LED? To have any benefit in using a laser at all, they must be making use of interference effects, which means they need a coherent light source. Which meas that no, they won't diffusely focus the light at all.
2. The danger comes from the fact that laser light is planar, and because of this not only will your eye will attempt to focus it, and will open the pupil wider in response to it at the same time, for maximum retinal damage.
Coming soon - pyrogyra
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