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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)."
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."
I find your lack of faith in the dark field disturbing.
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.
In case anyone cares, "dark field" refers to an imaging technique which uses a light beam to illuminate a surface, but positions the sensor such that specular reflections (i.e., direct reflections which occur when light strikes a fairly smooth surface) are not picked up by the sensor. Instead, scattered (diffuse) reflections are picked up by the sensor, which highlights bumps and nicks in the surface.
Compare this to "bright field" which refers to a technique where the specular reflection is received directly by the image sensor. The specular reflection is typically much brighter than any diffuse components which also happen to strike the sensor, so a simple threshold is able to filter out the diffuse components.
Both techniques are used in, e.g., inspection of objects for defects, such as integrated circuits and masks, PCB soldering, etc.
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.
It can also detect the spirochetes that cause syphillis, Treponema palladium.
Yes, but maybe you should just see the doctor instead of waiting for the mouse to come to market.
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?
Well, they do use two lasers. No, it doesn't REQUIRE two for technique of "dark microscopy" itself, and the article's description of their use doesn't make much sense at all... it's just to provide more than one angle to bounce off any imperfections.
Still, I don't see anything wrong with a mouse that tracks so well it will work on glass. It's not like it is designed for glass ONLY, it just means it will work even better on any surface you have. It's just the stupid blogs and reviews that have to go rub it on everry glass surface they can find - Logitech's marketing just says "Experience extreme accuracy and flawless tracking on virtually all surfaces."