New Pet Mouse

I just picked up the latest wireless mouse from Apple, the Magic Mouse. I was in need of new wireless mouse since my trusty old Logitec finally broke after 5 years of use. I'll admit that I decided to go with the Apple mouse not because it performs better than any other mouse, or that it more comfortable in my hand, or that it has more features. Quite frankly its not the easiest device to use. It has a very low profile that doesn't afford easy hand placement. It has hard edges where you want to put you thumb and middle finger. Comfort was obviously not what Apple was going for.


That being said I think it is one of the coolest and most stylish mouse devices I have ever seen.
I would describe it as a little piece of art that you can control your cursor with. Like most Apple products it is just asking to be used and played with. And that is partly why I bought it; I loved the way it looked in addition to the mulitouch surface. Yes, I admit I have been sucked in to the Apple cult.




The mulitouch interface is definatly the highlight. Scrolling is just a movement of the index finger and if you flick your finger off of the surface the resulting page will continue to scroll similar to the action of an iPhone. Overall responsiveness is great and very similar to the multitouch pad on my MacMook. All the levels of sensitivity can be adjusted in the setting box.




What I like:
Bluetooth - no wires, no docks, just Bluetooth goodness
AA batteries- no hassle with recharging batteries - just pop in some new AA's
Easy On- Off switch

What I am still wishing for:
Pinch zooming like on the iPhone screen and multitouch MacBook pad
Three finger swipe to initiate Expose or Spaces
Use your finger as a stylus to input signature or write (along with compliment software)

Tablet Time

Tablet PCs have been around for awhile, but until recently the technology has not been available to support the expectations of such devices. With the rumors swirling of a revolutionary new wireless tablet coming from 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, CA other companies have been racing to introduce their versions. Although Apple has not confirmed that such a device is in the works analysts expect them to reveal it later this month and possibly start selling it in the spring. The sudden rush of tablets will give us a great look at how human centered design interfaces have evolved and where they will go in the near future.

Below is a video showing some of the possible capabilities of Microsoft's Courier. I was pretty impressed by the demo- the motions and gestures used on the interface are movements that seem easy and intuitive.

There is a lot of buzz and speculation behind this new wave of tablet computers. Will this new way of interacting with our computers immediately be accepted or will there be resistance to change? Whatever happens, the introduction of wireless tablets will undoubtedly impact our computing habits and most likely change the way we live. Whether those changes will have the impact that Ben Kunz writes about in his BusinessWeek article are for you to decide and for time to tell.