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EvoMouse Turns Your Digits Digital
cylonlover writes "With the plethora of mouse alternatives available or in development you'd be forgiven for thinking the humble computer mouse was some kind of torturous device inflicted upon computer users. But despite a multitude of challengers, the mouse has maintained its dominance while remaining largely unchanged since its unveiling in 1968. Now there's another alternative cursor relocation device set to hit the market called the evoMouse that turns just about any flat surface into a virtual trackpad with your finger as the pointer."
I'd be happy if Microsoft re-released the Trackball Explorer. It's never been bested as far as trackballs go.
using a logitech trackball right now, works on every surface, needs extremely little space, I don't need to push a mouse, and it looks nice and not like something out of a japanese manga for pre-schooler ... so ... what's the point of the evomouse again?
"DRM is like the Ford Pinto: it's a smooth ride, right up the point at which it explodes and ruins your day."-C.Doctorow
Reminds me of the virtual laser keyboard that came out a few years back. Is there anyone out there who actually bought one and used it regularly (or, like, more than 5 minutes)?
I can't stand trackpads (of any nature), they feel unnatural and clunky to me. Things such as a precision drag and drop across the desktop seem almost impossible for me and no, I don't have massive chunky fingers! It's a pity that the other two methods of control on a laptop (Trackpoint and trackball) seem to have fallen out of favour, with the notable exception of Lenovo (which owes that to its IBM heritage of course). I did once see a review of a laptop which had a mini-mouse pop out on a stalk, but that wouldn't have been very comfortable to use.
The thought of using a trackpad out of choice on a desktop (even if it's a fancy virtual trackpad) is a turn-off to me. I'll be keeping my Microsoft mouse, thank you! (I just wish you could still buy the original Intellimouse Explorer, that was the most comfortable mouse I've ever used....)
... that turns just about any flat surface into a virtual trackpad ...
/.
Great, I don't need my trackball anymore. Oh wait...
Described by its creators Celluon as the next evolution of the mouse, the evoMouse works in a similar way to the Invisible Computer Mouse we looked at last year – but is infinitely cuter.
Awww...cute. I am glad you did not mean a mouse on streoids, like those rats in Fallout 3.
Two infrared sensors that form the eyes of the small animal-shaped device track the user's finger movements
Great, I don't have to use my fingers anymore. Oh wait...
The evoMouse can even be used for drawing – or is that finger painting?
This should help let the Van Gogh in you out. Your fat fingers can't possibly get in the way.
while a handwriting recognition feature lets you write with your finger or a pen.
Phew, I thought you just said "your finger or a penis". Imagine that.
the evoMouse could also help reduce repetitive stress injuries like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by allowing users to hold their hand in a natural position.
Yes, in its natural position I always point my finger forward and down.
We are witnessing the making of the future from the first page of
I choose sandpaper as my evoMouse work surface. The added bonus is that when my wife is murdered and they suspect me as the culprit there won't be any fingerprints for them to lift off the hammer.
Accuracy aside, the ergonomics for touch based devices are terrible. Repetitive large movements in the wrists and fingers are bad whether you're moving a mouse around or dragging your finger on a surface. High resolution mice which only require an inch of movement to cross an entire screen provide good accuracy while minimising wrist and finger movement.
If you notice the video, there's quite a bit of latency between the physical action and the response on the screen. Which is kinda normal as this thing needs to do quite a bit of processing. From my experience with another mouse that for some reason had latency, slow response is *very, very* frustrating. So, no matter how cute it is, I can't see it succeeding in the market, not even as a device for a niche market.
I can't see it being very good for the fingers as well. Ok we use smartphones using fingers on touchscreens quite a bit, but for a device that boasts that it's the evolution of mouse they should have thought that 2-3 minutes (smartphone quick use, on the road, whatever) is very different from desktop/laptop use (could be hours).
Get this mouse == Welcome to my-fingers-hurt-and-input-is-now-freakin-slow world.
New device for sale soon? Check
Summary direct copypasta? Check
No testing or analysis performed? Check
Posted by Timothy? Check
Classic Slashvertisement. Come on editors, you're supposed to be better than this (I know, I must be new here, but I did say 'supposed').
I'm puzzled why this doesn't have a pico-projector. With no physical feedback, seeing what you're touching would make it a much more useful device. Especially after the hardware-hacker community got stuck into it.
For example, even if it isn't accurate/fast enough to replace the mouse, it can add another layer of input that might still result in sales from the first gen device. (Especially if it didn't steal focus from the main screen.)
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
Reminds me of my fingerworks plate - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FingerWorks - "we have reinvented the mouse". Nice, but the same basic problem.
No physical buttons! This is important, because it means that button presses must be made by interpreting the users gestures. And with interpretation comes misinterpretation. Software sometimes guesses wrong. And if it does that in an "unpredictable" or "random" way (I know it is an algorithm, but "random" from the user point of view) the user will (consciously or unconsciously) adapt by change his behavior - i.e. by emphasizing or repeating the gesture. This is annoying.
With a physical button there is no interpretation. You can feel it has been pressed. It may be by accident, but you know you're the one responsible for the click.
Another problem in my opinion is there is no weight. This is usually described as a feature, but in my experience the weight of the mouse gives stability and increases precision and for me this helps to reduce fatigue - I tend to overshoot or jitter and have to correct myself or do things slower when I don't have a physical object to give mass in my hand.
And finally; no scrollwheel. I don't notice that I use it, but whenever I encounter an old mouse without the wheel I realize how much I depend on it.
I like to use my laptop in bed sometimes while my wife is watching some crap on TV. I can just imagine her expression when I rest the EvoMouse between her breasts so that I can use her stomach as the 'Virtual Trackpad'.
"It's OK Darling, the instruction manual tells me I can use... oh crap - it said 'Any flat surface'.".
New Paradigm: Vi key bindings for all navigation. Really, its great! Try some web browser addons for this, you'll see what I mean.