Five Nice Mice.
Where would we be without the computer mouse. That little disposable piece of modern technology that is used by hundreds of millions each day. Here at GadgetFreaks we took a bit of a peek about the net to see what’s new and wierd as we bring you ‘Five Nice Mice’.
1- The Origins Of The Species.
According to Wikipedia, the mouse was invented in 1963 by Douglas Englebart. It was a rather ungainly device ( see below ) which used a large wheel and was constructed of wood. The builder of his design, Bill English, later went on to invent the ball mouse whilst working for Xerox in 1972. Now 83 years old, Mr. Englebart must look at what he started with his invention and have a quiet chuckle to himself as the computer mouse becomes increasingly high-tech and/or bizarre.
2 - USB Vacuum Mouse
From Japan, here’s a rather unique and quirky spin on the mouse. It’s a mouse and it’s a USB vacuum cleaner. Yes folks you heard right, this 800 dpi laser mouse incorporates a tiny vacuum cleaner with removable dust reservior, a scroll wheel and an on/off switch for the cleaner. Keeping your workspace clean just got a whole lot more gadgety !
3 - USB Hand Warming Mouse.
Yet another mad mad mouse from The Land of the Rising Sun. This rather neat and relatively normal looking mouse actually keeps your hands warm. Reaching a maximum temperature of 45 degrees celsius, it has an 800 dpi resolution. Looks like Mac users may be out in the cold though as it only supports Windows NT/ME/2000/XP. However, as it is plug and play and therefore needs no driver we may see Mac users warming to it!
4 - Fingerprint Reader Mouse.
For those security conscious gadgeteers, fringerprint recognition technology is now available in a mouse. With it’s cool gadget grey and black design this mouse has an 800 dpi sensor sensitivity, a 508 dpi finger sensor and a 256 bit encryption algorithm. It boasts a 1 in 1000 false rejection rate and a 1 in 1,000,000 false recognition rate. It can also be used as a decryption tool for files and drives, a protection layer for website log-ins and it can be set up with 10 fingerprint samples to allow multiple users. That is one smart mouse!
5 - The Body Mouse.
This would have to take the cake for the most grotesque, bizarre, repulsive, creepy and just downright wrong gadget we’ve seen in a while. Looking like something from a Frankenstein movie, The Body Mouse was designed in 2002 by Chris Lomaka and seems to have just seen the light of day. There are no technical details available for it and I am not sure I want to know too much anyway ! The realism of the hair, skin and nails is positively creepy….I so want one ! Great for keeping the faint of heart away from your computer ! A definite chick magnet for geeks or the perfect mouse for crazed eccentric med students or morticians with a sense of humour?
Crazy Clocks!
It seems the gadget world has gone crazy clock crazy! Here at Gadget Freaks we are constantly fascinated at the wierd and wonderful array of gadgety clocks coming out of late! This Bulbdial concept clock is a combination of lamps and sundials. Using the ancient sundial principle it uses electricity and shadows to great effect to display the time in a unique way. Developed by Ironic sans this design has one drawback in that it won’t work in direct sunlight. Guess that’s why it’s called a Bulbdial !
This cool clock projects the clock face onto a wall or other surface. With a range up to 7 metres it has a funky, junky, 1930’s sci-fi look about it! Tiltable to 45 degrees and with manual focus this kooky design makes a great bedside gadget. You won’t even have to move to see you are late for work!
Another cool trend in clocks is the retro gear style model inspired by Steampunk. There are a whole bunch of these around, some better than others, but cool nonetheless! With a metallic look and exposed gears these clocks are great for educating youngsters about simple mechanics and give a neat feel to your living room. This rectangular wall clock is an awesome design combining industrial chic with functionality. Gotta love the big second hand.
Everything Old Is New Again!Wrist Watch Cell Phones.
Remember all those gadgets in cartoons and sci-fi movies way back when? Seems ironic that we are now seeing those devices becoming reality. We here at Gadget Freaks are somewhat excited by the rush of Dick Tracy style wrist watch cell phones coming on the market. Scouring the internet, we’ve uncovered quite a few of these cool gadgets that have us positively salivating. The features, the sleek style, the gadgetorial splendor of these extraordinary time pieces has us almost as excited as the start of a Moto GP race. Well almost!
At the top end of the market, Hyundai have introduced this rather sleek looking watch phone. Dubbed the W-100, it has a 1.3 mega pixel camera and bluetooth connectivity. Compared to a few of these watches this model looks quite light and streamlined.
Although it’s a relatively new concept and the mass popularity of the wrist watch phone is yet to be realized many makers are releasing models with an ever increasing range of features. As one of the best known of all watch makers Tag Heuer have developed what appears to be the ‘State of the Art’ when it comes to combining the timepiece with mobile communications. One of the draw backs with watch phones is their tendancy to be rather more bulky and conspicuous than conventional wrist watches, however, Tag Heuer states that it has achieved the combination of devices whilst maintaining traditional dimensions expected with wrist timepieces.
If a Tag Heuer is a tad out of your price range you may want to look at some of the huge range of cell phone watches coming out of China these days. This one features a still and video camera,MP4 &MP3 function and a whole other range of features including touch screen and bluetooth operation. We here at Gadget Freaks are so hoping to get our hands on some of these for a bit of testing. Just wondering how long till these things get GPS and can be worn underwater! See more…….
