Logitech Unveils Smart Mouse

Rob writes "Computer business Review is reporting that Logitech International, one of the world's largest makers of mice and keyboards, has added to its already large range of peripherals with a new mouse that can receive and process wireless communications from a PC. The new fangled mouse is capable of two-way communication with the PC, it can inform users when their mouse battery is low, and notify them when they receive an email or instant message. Other features include laser tracking, 10 buttons, volume control and probably too many other things."

Comments

Why?

[still_sick]

Why in the world would a person want their MOUSE to notify them when they get an Email?

The monitor? OK.

Speakers? Sure.

Mouse!? Come on. What would it do? Jiggle slightly?

Re:Why?

[hool5400]

I had a Genius Netscroll POS that flashed the scroll wheel light when it got email. From memory it could play some shitty MIDI tune from an internal speaker too.

Anyway, it's hardly new.

Re:Why?

[arivanov]

Well, that is most idiotic use of the feature.

There may be some good uses for it though. Notifying the user that he must take an anti-RSI break springs to mind as one good use. Possibly a few others.

Re:Why?

[Chocolate Teapot]

What would it do? Jiggle slightly?

Yep, and when you get spammed it breaks your wrist.

Re:Why?

[m4dm4n]

Of course the slashdot article mentions all the stupid additions and leaves out: One function of the new mouse, however, is its ability to sense if there is wireless interference from other devices, an increasingly common problem with today's numerous wireless devices, and to change channels to establish the most secure connection.

Now thats a good addition, not sure if anyone else has done it before, but I've never seen it.

Re:Why?

[DrXym]

The answer is they don't. But if you're a mouse and keyboard maker, you'll cast desperately around for ways to make your product look useful and relevant.

Personally I'd be happy with a mouse and keyboard which did what they're meant to without screwing up my machine with a bunch of apps and dlls that destablize the whole OS by running the entire type, installing hooks and "sniffing" for various things.

Re:Why?

[DrXym]

Because it's not free. The consumer pays by having a less stable, slower system because the bloody mouse driver runs all the time and inveigles its way into various running applications using TCP/IP hooks, sniffers, screen scrapers etc.

If there were genuinely useful reason for this I could understand, but not for a flashing light gimmick when you get an IM.

Re:Why?

[CdBee]

I'm quite unhappy that new features are being added to the mouse interface - the way a mouse interacts with a GUI needs to be a simple, standardised, well documented system. Logitech are presumably adding a new driver, I hope it's stable and will fall back to a standard PS2 driver in the event of a fault.

Re:Why?

[weg]

I don't care, but if it has a dedicated CPU we should start porting Linux to it (or use it to run SETI@home) ;-)

Re:Why?

[fyonn]

A real vibrator is probably cheaper you know. But then, its the personal touches that counts...

surely a vibrator is all about personal touches...?

dave

Re:Why?

[masklinn]

You probably haven't seen a Logitech mouse in a while now have you?

The MX1000 already featured no less than 8 buttons plus a tilt wheel, did indeed require you to install drivers to tune said buttons, and does fall back to extended PS2 (makes use of default action on some buttons, like MS mouses) when drivers are not installed.

610 will be the same.

Re:Why?

[mikael]

I'm still waiting for the mouse that has a built in 1" color LCD display to tell me what mood the mouse is in.

Re:Why?

[Vo0k]

Well, I made a friend's laptop to make an awful screech of a rusty gate when the lid is being open, and closing the lid emits a corresponding loud, heavy slam.
All in software, mind you!

Re:Why?

[Thuktun]

I had a Genius Netscroll POS that flashed the scroll wheel light when it got email.

This is particularly pointless. Who looks at their mouse while using it?

Re:Why?

[Aeiri]

While 10 buttons may seem a bit too much for a 3buttons mouse user (just as 3 buttons looked horribly complicated to a Macintosh user until Apple released the Mighty Mouse *wink*) you get addicted to them really fast, i'd say that 5 buttons is a bare minimum for me nowadays (with 1 button mapped to double clic and 1 to "close application").

That's what the keyboard is for. There is no real reason to have your hand on your mouse for extra buttons when you can use your keyboard to type, run, navigate, manage windows, etc, with just a custom set of key commands. I rarely touch my mouse, and that's usually when just randomly browsing my live bookmarks in Firefox (mouse gestures to ease the navigation with the mouse).

You have plenty of keys on the keyboard, and you can easily set them to fit like a glove specifically for you. As an idea, my keys (using Fluxbox's ~/.fluxbox/keys file) are set up as follows:

Left Hand
Alt+Tab: Guess...
Alt+Q: Close
Alt+W: Calculator
Alt+E: Terminal
Alt+R: Run Command (fbrun)
Alt+A: Show Desktop
Alt+S: Maximize Window
Alt+D: Shade Window
Alt+F: Toggle Decorations
Alt+Z: Fluxbox Menu
Alt+X: Minimize Window
Alt+C: Text Editor
Alt+V: KSysGuard

Right Hand
Alt+U: Desktop 1
Alt+I: Desktop 2
Alt+O: Desktop 3
Alt+P: Desktop 4
Alt+H: Previous Desktop
Alt+J: Previous Tab
Alt+K: Next Tab
Alt+L: Next Desktop
Alt+M: Send Current Window to Desktop 1
Alt+,: Send Current Window to Desktop 2
Alt+.: Send Current Window to Desktop 3
Alt+/: Send Current Window to Desktop 4

Done before at Princeton.

[Uukrul]

That was done before at Princeton.
And they needed one of this to trap some of the rodents that used its new superior skills to escape.

Re:Done before at Princeton.

[TheTerrorized]

I used one of those humane mouse traps once. Put it in a drawer with some peanut butter on the inside. Fast forward to about 3 weeks after we forgot about it, and there was a smell of rotting mouse in the kitchen. Safe to say, it didn't end up being very humane, starving to death and all.

10 buttons?

[threaded]

Is this a two handed mouse then?

Re:10 buttons?

[madaxe42]

Mice have paws, silly.

Re:10 buttons?

[imroy]

Gosh, it hasn't even been a month since the last Logitech Slash-vertisment. So I can quote my last rant about the buttons on newer Logitech mice:

---
I have an old Logitech M-BA47 from around 2000. It has a nice thumb button right where I rest my thumb (i.e low). When I first hooked it up, XFree86 mapped it as another middle button. I was happy with that so I never looked into changing it. It works great for me under Linux. Pasting text or opening links in new tabs is a matter of simply pressing with my thumb. And I never liked pressing down on the mouse wheel because it can turn unless you're careful about applying the pressure (or at least that's what I'm thinking about whenever I have to do it on other mice). Pressing the thumb button is so much easier.

Then earlier this year, my mum took pity on me still using a non-optical mouse and got me a Logitech MX500 mouse. Bleh. For a start, I had to hunt around a lot of web pages to figure out how to map the buttons the way I like. Then I realised the stupidity of having two (not one) thumb buttons, making them thin, and placing them up on the rim of the mouse. So now I not only had to move my thumb, I had to be careful to hit the right one, and I had to apply more pressure because they were much smaller. Think about it, the left and right mouse buttons are nice big pads you can rest your fingers on, so why make the other buttons so small and hard to hit?
---

Re:10 buttons?

[damg]

Think about it, the left and right mouse buttons are nice big pads you can rest your fingers on, so why make the other buttons so small and hard to hit?

Because you don't grip the mouse on the left and right mouse buttons? Personally, I hate mice with large buttons on the sides... I'm glad Logitech realized that there shouldn't be buttons where you are actually holding the mouse.

Two way communication?

[el_womble]

My Apple bluetooth mouse has been telling me my battery is low for years (I really should change it).

As for telling me when I get email... isn't that what the screen and sound cards are for? I don't own a PC, or run linux, but I'm guessing that these operating systems already have a system for telling you when you've got mail too.

10 buttons? Meh. I've got 113 keys right next to my mouse. I have two hands, so I find that I can press these buttons whilst I'm using the mouse.

Mostly pointless.

[MartinG]

From TFA:

"the ability to sense the power status of the PC"
"it can inform users when their mouse battery is low"
"the mouse can sense when the PC has gone into sleep mode or is shut down. The mouse powers down accordingly."
"ability to sense if there is wireless interference from other devices"

All of these features are workarounds for the fact that the mouse lacks a cable. What the hell is wrong with a good optical mouse with a cable?

Honestly, I can't understand ths obsession with wireless stuff. Of course wifi and bluetooth are convenient, but wireless keyboards and mice add nothing for most users. Most desktop users are better off with wired versions because lots of hassle goes away.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[imsabbel]

Wireless keyboards i agree...
But wireless mice arent pointless.
In fact that damn wire of my mx500 seems to get in the way of moving the mouse (because blocking somewhere, or slipped down on the side of the desk and pulling the mouse there, too).

Re:Mostly pointless.

[Jesus IS the Devil]

Wireless mouse is useful. It's useful because that annoying cord doesn't bother you or restrict your movement. So often the cord will interfere with movement and sometimes even tug at the mouse. It's annoying as hell.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[CleverNickedName]

I think this is what you're looking for.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[Spy Hunter]

True, but wireless mice are heavier because of the battery. I really prefer a light mouse with a soft wire, carefully suspended somehow so it doesn't restrict movement. It can be tricky to get right, but I prefer it to shoving a battery around all the time. Though there are occasions where being able to use your wireless mouse from across the room is handy. Heck, just use both, wired mice are dirt cheap anyway and having two mice connected simultaneously isn't a problem.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[ceeam]

Hmm, not so if you learn to leave a proper loop (of cord) in front of your mouse. Yes, it is a habit about as hard to learn as lifting and moving your mouse when you run out of desk surface.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[hritcu]

You forgot to tell us about the accidents that may happen when using a regular (non-wireless) mouse. For example the cord might get around your neck and choke you to death. Really!

Re:Mostly pointless.

[TeXMaster]

If your problem is the cord interfering with your movements, use a trackball.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[mrjb]

Which is why I always tape the mouse cord to the table at some distance from the mouse. Keeps it from tangling up the cable, prevents the cable from being pulled back behind the table (solving the tugging) and generally solves the irritation problem.

Re:Mostly pointless.

[aaronl]

The only reason that I've ever had a wireless mouse on my desktop was when I bought a new workstation at work.

The keyboard that came with it was a Dell special "lets move all the keys around because we hate all humans" type keyboard. I couldn't use it; kept screwing up when trying to hit page up, or home, or an arrow key. I went to a few stores, and the *ONLY* keyboard that wasn't completely garbage was a damned Logitech (eww) wireless keyboard/mouse kit. The keyboard is OK, the mouse is OK. Neither are great, but they work usually. I think the range must be about three feet, unless some paper is in the way, and then it's one foot.

I would love to not have to worry about batteries in my input devices. That's why I don't have wireless stuff for my machine at home. I do have a Gyration wireless kit for my TV, but I use that from 20 feet away. I also replace the batteries in the keyboard once a year. The mouse has to be recharged every few days though, which pisses me off.

I also never have a problem with the cords on my stuff getting tangled. I pull enough cord through my desk, and then position the monitor slightly over it. No more problem.

Bloat...

[Anonymous Coward]

These 'features' look like plain ol' bloat to me.
When was the last time you changed the volume of your pc? And when you did, did you think 'I wish I was able to control the volume directly from my mouse'?
Why do you want your mouse to tell you that you have new e-mail or an instant message when you see a mail icon in your system tray or your MSN conversation window flashes like crazy?
The only interesting feature you will get is that it will tell you the battery is low very often :)

Re:Bloat...

[zakezuke]

When was the last time you changed the volume of your pc?

5min ago

And when you did, did you think 'I wish I was able to control the volume directly from my mouse'?

The first time I used Winamp... scroll wheel controls volume and 3rd button scroll jumps forward/back. I imagine I could use my keyboard, but that's a tad bulky to carry around.

While I agree this looks like a bloat mouse, I must confess that I would likely buy a "multi-media" mouse/trackball that offers extra buttons such as play, stop, pause forward reverse. It would be annoying for an every day mouse but great couch mouse.

The only interesting feature you will get is that it will tell you the battery is low very often :)

That already exists with the mx-800 and likely the mx-1000. Charging station is the most handy feature considering how much those optical mice suck up the juice. But no two way communication was needed... just a happy little blinking light if the battery is low.

Looks like feature bloat to me

[Silver Sloth]

What do you do when your product already does everything a sensible user wants to do?

If you're M$ you release a new version incompatible with old versions to force the upgrade

If you're Logitech you just keep on adding features. I can't see any reason to upgrade here.

Re:Looks like feature bloat to me

[jellomizer]

One feature I would like and I think I heard about it on slashdot long ago but I am to lazy now to find it but the mouse gave resistance when you move over hot spots or moved over windows. This would be very useful today especially now that most OS's use or are starting to use 3d interface to draw their widgets so when you move on the z access you get a little resistance which lets you know where you are and get a better feeling of the interface.

Low energy mouse.

[iLEZ]

What we need now is energy-saving tech in mice. It feels like i am changing batteries constantly in my Logitech MediaPlay. Does anyone else feel the same?

Re:Low energy mouse.

[markass530]

Was same with my old logitech nmouse, well I was charging it constantly, if you are replacing batteries in your mouse, your fucking up bigtime. My microsoft desktop elite though still amazes me with how efficent it is, this is probably due to the fact that it's 1.5 volts (only needs 1 battery to actually work, 2 just extend the life) as opposed to the 3 volt logitech).

Re:Low energy mouse.

[FidelCatsro]

I would love an off switch on my logitech mouse . if it isn't in the charger it seems to continuasly drain the battery ; whether it is in use or not . Some more advanced power saving features would also be lovely .

Also even though it can go a few more hours when its on the red , The bloody flashing LED is so distracting that i have to put it on the charger .They have well designed mice , I really have no idea how such a glaring irritation slipped through.

Re:Low energy mouse.

[guardian-ct]

One thing I noticed about my wireless mouse, if you use it on a dark surface (such as a black mouse pad), it uses much more battery power than if you use it on something lighter in color.

It probably has to do with having to keep the LED inside on high more often, or maybe more difficult for the CPU inside to determine where it's been moved.

So, try a blue or white colored mouse pad. I went from something like 2 days of use per set of batteries, to around 2 weeks (I think).

In further news...

[femto]

Logitech announces their "PC mouse", complete with monitor and networking. For an extra $9.95 it comes with the optional PC mouse mouse.

Noooo...

[artakka]

I hope it does not have a speaker in it that announces "You've got mail".

Does anyone remember when...

[D-Cypell]

Anyone remember when each of your peripherals had a clearly defined function?

Now my mouse can check my email, my printer can send a fax, my monitor can produce sound, my cell-phone can access the web and my keyring can store half a gig of data.

Squeak! You've got ads!

[ettlz]

The new fangled mouse is capable of two-way communication with the PC, it can inform users when their mouse battery is low, and notify them when they receive an email or instant message.

...and when their Logitech-delivered adware has just popped a message onto their screen. Why oh why do people go out and build up the crapware business by buying these bloated, pointless ubermice whose features they never use anyway? I mean, how many people use the fancy "multimedia" keys on a keyboard?

It actually helps a lot...

[r2tincan]

As of right now I use a Trillian plugin to notify my when I have a new instant message by flashing the three LED's on my keyboard.

This is useful to me because I usually have IM sound off (I have a lot going at once and it gets annoying as hell) and when I'm passing by my computer at home I can take a quick peek at my keyboard to see if I have any messages rather than go to the computer, turn on the monitor, unlock windows, and check my message windows.

Also when running full screen games or applications, a secondary visual indicator comes in handy.

Re:It actually helps a lot...

[Vo0k]

WEll, I HAve thiS WInAmP PLUgin thaT BLInkS KEyBoARD leds WITh thE MUsic!

Logitech Press Release

[rpfuller]

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/news/GB/EN,conte ntid=10961,crid=34

Featuring this gem:
"This changes the very concept of a computer mouse, because it is no longer simply an input device"

Re:Ten buttons...

[Hammer]

Nope a 104 key mouse w. a submouse. Ohh, wait...

Next Big Thing (tm)

[headkase]

Some posters seem to think that 10 buttons are too much for a mouse but I think I'd like it if my next mouse had twice as many buttons on it. A hand held input device (a.k.a. mouse) is leaps and bounds ahead of any keyboard out there ergonomically. What I would like to see are functions such as task switching (alt-tab), ok, cancel, minimize, maximize, and like basic functions used while interacting with the operating system. Having them convieniently and literally at your finger tips would allow the more efficient and transparent manipulation of the command functions of the operating system.
The Windows Icon Mouse Pointer system would have to have some of it's qualifying actions loosened, for example, having ok and cancel mouse buttons active when the pointer is within the dialog box instead of requiring that it needed to be above the actual button graphic. This leads to a more generalized notion that the operating system could be manipulated in a context orientated manner. Like today's Wizards on megasteroids. As you went from screen-to-screen within the context of a wizard paradigm have the buttons on the mouse change functions depending on the screen or context you were currently at. It would have to follow some logical system to be useful otherwise you'd probably be constantly looking at your "mouse" to see what was written on the button display at the moment. If it was ever to take hold maybe our children will take a mouse interface course much as we take touch typing courses today.

Logitech? Blingtech more like it ..

[McCarrum]

Meh, is it as funky as their Remote Control? Just got one of these babies, and it is, and I quote my mother, the rocksaw (hehe, she tries, she tries).

Chicken, meet Egg

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn it, Logitech rolls out its smarter mouse before I complete my improved mousetrap? How is an inventor supposed to compete?

BOFH Mouse

[monstermonster]

When they build the BOFH mouse with built-in Luser Tazer, that's when I'll buy one of em.

Otherwise, I mean, Christ... I can barely juggle three buttons as it is!

Logitech Product Page -- auto power off rules.

[morzel]

Logitech Product Page.

One thing that I like is the auto-power off stuff. I have a wireless laptop mouse from Logitech, and the power switch on it is probably the best feature on it; batteries seem to last forever when compared with a regular wireless mouse.
I hope the auto-poweroff stuff is just as good -- then I don't have to remind everyone to turn my mouse off if they stop my pc.

Re:Why? unless its Porn Spam

[capiendo]

What would it do? Jiggle slightly?

Yep, and when you get spammed it breaks your wrist.

unless it's porn spam. then it just humps your hand. or licks you.

Star Trek IV revisited

[hanshotfirst]

Scotty: Computer...

Tech: You have to use the mouse, sir.

Scotty: (into mouse) Computer...

Mouse: (in Computer-voice) Hold on, my battery is low.

Scotty: (Changes batteries) Here, these are dilithium crystal cells.

Mouse: Thank you, I feel much better now. Where would you like to go today?

Scotty: Well, I'd like to get back to the future with a whale and save earth, but...

Mouse: (Interrupting) Hold on, You've got mail. Would you like to buy any v1a6ra?

Scotty: Maybe later, what I really need is some transparent aluminum?

Mouse: Whoah - don't know what that is. Hold down Button 7,scroll wheel down and left-click, and I'll launch a Google search for you.

Scotty: Umm, okay? (Clicks 3 or 4 random buttons).

Computer: (Clippy appears and performs a roundhouse-flying-punch-and-beam-of-death secret maneuver, impaling the Search Puppy)

Tech: Maybe you should try the keyboard...

Scotty: Keyboard?... How quaint.

Re:Ten buttons...

[ThinkingInBinary]

It's been done on the Logitech V500 Cordless Notebook Mouse. Instead of a scroll wheel, it has a small touch pad.

But I agree, 3-5 buttons is plenty; beyond that you run out of fingers and forget what the buttons do.

Some more stats

[Vo0k]

Logitech Smart Mouse:
Features:
10-key keyboard in QWERTY layout
Stereo audio
LCD color VGA display
8 signal LEDs
WiFi
Intel Pentium Centrino(tm) 2.5GHZ CPU
512MB RAM
Weight: 3.1kg (not including batteries)
Dimensions: 30x15x5cm
Power usage: 40 Watt
Battery: 2 Li-ion batteries of 40Ah each
Battery life in sleep mode: 32h
Battery life when mouse used: 4h
DeLuxe model includes power steering allowing for almost frictionless and momentum-less movement.

what if *IT* is the interference?

[Baumann]

The dang thing runs on 2.4Ghz - I got rid of my 2.4Ghz wireless phones because they didn't play nice with my 802.11g network. "excuse me, I can't find a clear channel, would you mid turning off that useless interferring radio thing? Thanks...."

Bluetooth is a standard wireless protocol - they could have acheived everything they wanted, *WITHOUT* creating interference.

We'll just not discuss the bloatware aspects....

Ten buttons

[HermanAB]

Welcome to our new 20 fingered overlords... I guess the next mouse model will have 101 buttons and will plug into the keyboard connector.

</i>

[WillerZ]

no text.

Next years version

[glsunder]

Next years version will vibrate when you get an IM. Perfect for those special chat sessions.

Not quite all the bells and whistles

[futurekill]

This mouse seems to have almost all the bells and whistles except for a rechargeable battery. That would the the first thing I would look for in mouse such as this one. Also, why go through the trouble of developing a proprietary wireless system when bluetooth is out there and becoming more and more ubiquitous.

Cool, but when...

[jazman]

...do we get the three button optical mice that are like the PilotMouse(iirc) but with optical innards instead of a ball? I'm bored with cleaning my balls. I personally have an instant market for seven of these mice.

Force feedback

[fm6]

Yeah, force-feedback was all the rage a while back, with mice, joysticks, etc. I was interested for the same reasons you were, but they were marketed mostly as a gaming toy. I think their main drawback was that they were very complicated mechnically. Which translates to much higher cost per unit, and much lower reliability. Mice get a lot of wear, so expensive and breaks easily translates to no customers. Indeed, the trend is in the opposite direction: last time I bought a mouse, every one in the store had optical movement sensors instead of a ball or other mechanical sensor. Which was fine with me -- I wouldn't have bought one if it had been available.