The modern mouse hasn’t exactly seen a ton of technological improvements in the last couple of decades. Sure, we’ve added buttons, made them a little more ergonomic and substituted that ball for an optical sensor. However, when you strip it all away, it’s still the same basic concept.
With all of the advancements in multitouch technologies, Microsoft is convinced that the next big breakthrough in mousing is along that path. Like any company with an idea of the future, they have been hard at work trying to develop the next big thing. In a rare move for the software giant, Microsoft has decided to show off some of their prototypes which are currently in development. I’d go into detail about each, however the above video seems to do them justice. If you’re itching for more info, you can find it on Microsoft’s website.
Bear in mind that these are nothing more than prototypes. They are simply using these to explore the possibilities that these technologies can lead to. Don’t expect to see anything from Microsoft using these ideas anytime soon. When you do finally see this stuff on store shelves, it won’t look anything like what they’re showing off now.
The Rubik’s TouchCube first surfaced back in February earlier this year, and the “available sometime in the Fall” release date that was given translates to very soon, if not already. The official Rubik’s TouchCube website claims the cube is already available at Best Buy, though a quick search of their online store returned no results, while The New York Times Gadgetwise blog claims it will be in stores on October 18, just a few weeks away.
For those who haven’t seen it before, the Rubik’s TouchCube is essentially the same sliding puzzle toy you had as a kid, except the moving parts and colored stickers have been replaced with illuminated panels and touch sensors that allow you to turn or twist a series of squares simply by swiping your finger across them. And for nostalgia’s sake there’s even an option to turn on an accompanying sound effect that’s an actual recording of the original cube’s twisting sound.
The best part is that thanks to a “powerful processor” inside, the TouchCube always knows the exact number of moves needed to solve it, though I imagine you could get all the sides back to a uniform color by simply resetting it. It definitely looks a lot cooler than the original, but is it $150 worth of cool?
I can’t remember the last time I actually used a screensaver, but that’s about to change now that I can spend my time starting at, and even playing, classic NES titles. The Nintendo Screen Saver, from the chaps who created the UberNES emulator, lets you fill your display with a wall of NES titles running in their ‘demo modes’ but at any point you can hit the space bar and take over playing any one of the games currently on screen.
Now since being able to play the games requires you to have the actual ROMs on your system, the legality of the Nintendo Screensaver is kind of a gray area, so if you’d prefer to stay legit, the screensaver can also stream pre-captured ‘movies’ of your favorite games from the UberNES gallery. Not as fun, but probably slightly safer if you intend to run it at work.
Anyone who’s ever taken a picture can probably understand how much of an effect movement can have on your camera. Of course the longer your exposure time, the less movement it takes to create a blur. Tripods are good, but even they are still not perfect. Sure, there are several forms of built-in image stabilization in modern cameras, but what if you’re taking pictures from something a little more bumpy? That’s where it gets especially tricky. There are advanced camera stabilizers out there, but they can be rather expensive. However, if you have a couple of old hard drives and some ingenuity, you can build one yourself.
One Instructables user discovered that a pair of spinning hard drives can create the same gyroscopic effect that professionals use to keep a camera steady. The parts list isn’t too exotic, with most of the parts being easily found in your house or garage.
This one’s pretty simple, and we’re wondering why we’re only seeing this product on the market now. The Brinno Digital Peephole viewer goes into the current peephole found on many doors, but allows you to view your visitor using a 1.3 megapixel display. There’s even a zoom option so you can examine facial features more closely. This is of course not an always-on device: pressing the button gives you 10 seconds to identify who’s there. 2 AA batteries last approximately 1,700 peeps.
Bonus: no one has to know you’re there anymore, since even just looking through regular peepholes kind of gives you away by going dark.
It’s $180 ($160 Australian) but currently out of stock.
Last week I showed you the M59 chasis from NZXT and promised reviews on a couple of their other new cases. Well you can stop holding your breath, as today I’ll be reviewing the Beta EVO Mid Tower Chassis. This is one of their sub-$50 cases, which makes it more of a budget offering. When you start getting into that price range, many cases tend to be lacking in both features and quality. Lets see if that’s the case here.
Features
Being the budget case that it is, it’s not surprising to see a general lack of extra features. You’ll find punched-out holes for cable management, as well as one beneath the CPU (just as the M59 had) and holes for accommodating a liquid cooling setup. You’ll also find room for 6 fans (only one is included) and a screwless installation solution for your optical and hard drives.
Today Kempler & Strauss launched their W PhoneWatch which they claim is the world’s smallest full-function quad-band GSM cellphone watch, and given how small the market is at the moment, it’s not that difficult a claim to make. The W PhoneWatch features a 1.5-inch touchscreen interface that can be operated with your fingers, eliminating the need for a stylus, as well as an impressive set of features for a watch-sized phone including a digital camera (640×480 stills or 128×104 videos) and a microSD card slot.
The W PhoneWatch also has Bluetooth of course, allowing it to connect to existing BT devices, or to the included Kempler & Strauss Communicator headset. As for battery life, the watch and headset are rated for up to 150 minutes of talk time, 150 minutes of MP3 playback and up to 100 hours of standby. And it’s got a price tag of just $199, which appears to be unsubsidized.
While it won’t disguise the fact that you’ve taken a self-portrait at arm’s reach, the Samsung DualView TL220 12.2 megapixel digital camera should at least improve your results since it features a second 1.5-inch LCD on the front allowing you to better frame your shots. The extra display, which sits right next to the lens, can also be used for displaying a shutter timer, settings info or even a ‘fun’ animation to capture a child’s attention.
On the back you’ve also got a large 3-inch touchscreen (with haptic vibrations) which keeps the buttons on the camera to a minimum, built-in optical and digital image stabilization, 720P movie recording, an actual recycle bin for retrieving deleted snaps and a smart album which can sort your photos by color, faces and even content. $299.99 available directly from Samsung.
Related Tags: Concept, mice, Microsoft
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