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"BlueTrack" Mouse More Advanced Than Laser, Optical
ThinSkin writes "Just when you thought laser and optical mice were enjoying their reign on mousepads worldwide, Microsoft has to come along and introduces their 'BlueTrack Technology,' a mouse tracking system that aims to work on virtually any terrain short of mirrored and reflective surfaces. ExtremeTech reviews the Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse, both of which are powered by Microsoft's newest sensor, to see just how well this technology works. Testing on granite, carpet, marble, and other surfaces, the reviewers were impressed with the responsiveness of BlueTrack, but they also noted that laser mice were competitive on these surfaces as well. Even though the mice didn't get a recommendation from the reviewers (price being a major concern), they did admit that this BlueTrack is the best tracking system available today. MaximumPC has some pictures and a brief technical interview."
Because we all use carpet padded desktops.
...and be done with it.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
I expected at least a Seinfeld quote somewhere.
I'll stick with my MX Revolution. I've yet to find a mouse with the same number of buttons arranged in an equally usable manner. And yes, I DO use all of them.
From the article:
The Explorer Mouse uses a proprietary, Microsoft-designed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip with advanced algorithms and pixel architecture for more precise tracking.
Get it through your heads, fellows: Proprietary is not an advantage. Patented is not an advantage. Don't go crowing about it! Proprietary is what brought us Windows. Are we supposed to be impressed and go "ooh, more of that"?
From the article:
We got some hands-on time with this handsome wireless mouse and were impressed by its tracking accuracy, stylish design, and mesmerizing blue glow.
Yeah, because we haven't got enough glowing gadgets. I'm not sure who considers "mesmerizing" as a positive aspect of consumer electronics. End the madness, people! Or are you too hypnotized by blue LEDs to move?
... and then they built the supercollider.
I was very convinced that optical sensors was LESS picky than laser ones. Everyone I know have had issues with laser ones (ok, I may not have heard any complaints on the Logitech G5 but..)
Haven't read the article though, just woke up. (My mouse is an optical Razer DeathAdder and works good as long as there are no huge contrasts on the material or on my white melamine (?) desk or white paper. Brown table, piece of unbleached paper box, pants, all good.)
The linked review is one of those pages there the article uses at most 15% of the space but still had to be split amount 6 pages or so.
This is just another optical type of mouse. What we really need is an ACTUAL mouse that has been genetically modified with a USB cable for a tail that can transmit the information issued to its brain by the aggregate information provided by its belly hair as you push it across any surface. More advanced versions will do the same using mental telepathy to another mouse head that was severed and merged with a USB dongle.
Testing on granite, carpet, marble, and other surfaces, the reviewers were impressed with the responsiveness of BlueTrack, but they also noted that laser mice were competitive on these surfaces as well. Even though the mice didn't get a recommendation from the reviewers (price being a major concern), they did admit that this BlueTrack is the best tracking system available today.
I wonder if they realize that this is flat out saying "yeah its nice tech, but no one really noticed much of a difference and isnt worth the price". Slashvertisements are getting a little weird these days.
Ice Cream has no bones.
No, we all pretty much agree that Microsoft makes some decent hardware. If they'd stick to what they're good at then we'd all be happy with them. It's just when they try to get into markets where they have no competence, such as software, that people don't like them.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Pass.
Uhm...
So you want to spend $120 a year on crap vs. $100 for something good?
Now that makes a whole lot of sense..
you'd rather spend $120/yr than $100/yr and get a lower quality product? And people wonder why the economy is in trouble.
I love my sig.
I use a trackball, it works well on any surface at all - sand, carpet, wood, jello, etc.
appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars
I use my trackball (Logitech TrackMan Wheel) almost exclusively for everything except playing FPS games.
It just fricking rocks. After fiddling around with sensitivity and getting used to in (one or two days) it's the best mouse I ever had.
Never again will I run out of space or need to lift my hand and reposition the mouse.
Of course people who use mice to draw stuff will be somewhat crippled by it, as I have a little more difficulty when using it in order to doodle something quick in paint, but what self-respecting artist uses a mouse as their main drawing interface?
I'm still waiting for the first GSM triangulation mouse, which will eventually be succeeded by the first GPS mouse.
Full Tilt
Oh I don't know. I haven't needed a nightlight since I got into consumer electronics.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
I can also say that I've always enjoyed Microsoft's mice, especially their Intellimouse Explorer, and will probably continue to do so.
And this sounds like a nice step forward. But $100? I could get a secondary monitor for that price. Or enough ram to max out my 32-bit system. Or a new hard drive so I can raid my system. The list goes on. Also, I'd prefer to be rid of my mouse at this point. Unfortunately, hitting those slashdot preview/submit buttons is a pain in the ass without a mouse.
the article suggests that the BlueTrack mouse only has around 800 dpi resolution/sensitivity. but considering that most laser mice have 2000-3200 dpi, BlueTrack doesn't seem more advanced than lasers. the only advantage i can see is that it works on more surfaces than laser mice can. but so do conventional optical mice, which can already go up to 1600 dpi.
the Explorer Mouse is not very impressive or groundbreaking. i'd rather get a hi-res laser or optical mouse by Logitech at a lower price.
the only advantage i can see is that it works on more surfaces than laser mice can. but so do conventional optical mice, which can already go up to 1600 dpi.
Actually TFA says that optical was worse than laser on the tricky surfaces:
A very high-end Razer Boomslang CE optical mouse had trouble maintaining a smooth cursor. An Ideazon Reaper Edge laser mouse faired pretty well, but not perfectly. This just goes to show that laser mice and the Explorer are able to handle difficult surfaces more cleanly than optical mice.
This continual failure of mouse makers to address mousing on mirrors annoys me. Hey, mouse makers, here's how you can address this.
Originally, your mice were based on a rolling ball. The mouse felt the ball rolling, and figured out the movement. In human sense terms, your mice were based on touch.
The current mice are based on sight. They look at the surface under the mouse and see the relative movement.
The sense you should be looking at is smell.
In the center of the bottom of the mouse, there should be an emitter that leaves a chemical trail on the mousing surface. The rest of the bottom of the mouse should be covered with odor sensors that can sense when they are near the chemical. By laying a pattern of odors, and sensing them as they move under the mouse's "noses", the mouse can determine position.
Think ants and the chemical trails they leave to find their way around.
Not only would this address the mirror problem, you could also use this technology to address a serious workplace health issue. You could make it so the tracking chemical has antibacterial properties. This would help keep shared computers sanitary during cold season, reducing sick days and boosting overall productivity.
Buy a better mouse. The two alkaline AAs in this LX8 have lasted a couple of months of heavy use so far and, if Logitech are to be believed, can go for as long as 8 months. I've not turned it or the computer it's attached to off in that time. When the alkalines die they'll be replaced by low-self-discharge NiMH batteries (eg. Sanyo Eneloop) and I expect to go months between charging them.
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Pinnacle!? You aint seen nothing yet. They have the next 5 years of releases planned, starting with a UV-LED mouse.
In 2011 we will see the "Ultra-Trak Quattro" - five ultraviolet lasers, three gyroscopes, a GPS, and a spring-loaded lubricating strip.
and it opens up your favorite porn web site.
We are one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. Back to you with the weather, Bob!