Slashdot Mirror
New Logitech Dark Field Mice Operate On Glass
Slatterz writes "Logitech has introduced new mice that use two lasers rather than one to work on a variety of previously unusable surfaces. The first laser picks out imperfections in the surface of a tabletop while the second laser focuses on microscopic imperfections highlighted and uses those to direct the cursor. The technique, dubbed dark field microscopy, allows mice to be used on almost any surface, including glass (as long as it is more than 4mm thick)."
It can also detect the spirochetes that cause syphillis, Treponema palladium.
This tech sounds awesome in an evil way. Or evil in an awesome way, I guess.
This is pretty much the selling point for Microsoft's BlueTrack (video at Amazon) as well. Theirs appears to be based on a blue LED and some optics picking up / processing the scattering, rather than dual lasers, but since they're more or less aimed at the same problem and claim similar success, I'd be curious how they compare.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Didn't Logitech make a mouse that worked on "any surface" about five fucking years ago?
*puzzle*
Kid-proof tablet..
>The first laser picks out imperfections in the surface of a tabletop while the second laser focuses on microscopic imperfections highlighted and uses those to direct the cursor.
Anybody doing retail sales has surely encountered couples like this. I'll bet the second laser demands a discount for the imperfections that the first laser found.
Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Lasers...
per dolorem ad astra
So you're saying this mouse doesn't work on windows?
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Any time I have ever encountered anything resembling a glass table, it has always been a freaking slab of glass, not 4mm of it.
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
I'm so glad we figured this out.
It was unacceptable that we weren't able to use mice on glass.
My productivity will increase dramatically.
Use a trackball: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trackball
Specifically, I use this Logitech trackball: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logitech-trackball.jpg
After using that, using a mouse feels like my response time and accuracy is that of the old-style slow and stupid zombies.
The first laser picks out imperfections in the surface of a tabletop while the second laser...
Sound familiar? This sounds to me like it could be the start of a Gillette vs Schick style pissing contest, the absurd current state of which was foretold by The Onion.
Let me go on record as predicting Microsoft will bring out a 3-laser mouse within 12 months. With an ergonomic grip and lubricating strips on each end.
For all the things they've been able to get mice to track on, it still sucks to move a mouse on anything other than an engineered mousing surface. This new sensor may be a good feature for notebook mice that will be used on who-knows-what, but buying a premium gaming mouse for it's ability to track on crappy surfaces makes about as much sense as buying a Formula One car for its off-road handling.
And if anyone says "but it's better!": Today's well-made mice track fantastically well on a proper surface. They're already, for practical purposes, perfect. Yes, admittedly, there are people whose Logitech or Microsoft mice track poorly. But those people fall into two groups: (a) those who aren't using a pad at all, and (b) those who are using a horrible made-when-men-were-men-and-mice-had-balls pad they had lying around. Logitech and Microsoft would be better off just throwing in a proper mouse pad—and there are some excellent, relatively cheap cloth pads—than endlessly making slightly better sensors just so that people's cursors jump a bit less while they're scraping their mice back and forth on horrible surfaces.
(And if Microsoft and Logitech had half as much innovation in materials as they do in optics, their mice would move like air hockey pucks by now.)
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
First off I wouldn't give the Onion too much credit for "foretelling the blade count war", because, every teenager and pre-teen has been making 22 blade razor jokes probably since they first made twin blade razors. It's not a big deal
Secondly, five bladed razors are better. The five blade Gilette Fusion is a wonderful razor. Having to use an old twin blade compared to the fusion is just terrible. In fact, my wife routinely steals mine (and a fresh blade), in order to do her legs. Lady's twin blade razors in cute little pink and white packages do not work as well as a good old five blade ultra sharp kick butt razor.
Bottom line is, if Gillette's research arm comes up with diamond tipped blades, or some sort of a ten bladed razor, then they've got my interest. Paying extra for a razor may seem like a waste to some, but after twenty or thirty years of shaving with crappy razors, those few extra bucks are money well spent. A good razor is worth it, and honestly, I could see a good mouse being worth it too.
This is my sig.