Airborne Mouse 253
edpin writes "CNN is reporting this new mouse that works without a surface. You hold the device in your hand and tilt it to where on screen you want it to go. It uses a similar technique to "rock and scroll" developed by Compaq (now HP) a while ago."
New? Not. (Score:5, Informative)
more info (Score:4, Informative)
reinventing the wheel (Score:5, Informative)
its been around for what.. two years now? and its at least 5 times smaller.
A good product, actually (Score:5, Informative)
Back in the 80s (Score:3, Informative)
I'd hardly call this revolutionary.
On a side note, I've sold a few items *very close* to this to presentation researchers. Wireless hand-held mice that allow the professors to give power point slide shows while still being able to walk around and point at other things.
Re:New? Not. (Score:4, Informative)
Ive seen the ones that professors use, and they usually have a small joystick or a small trackball.
(and yes, they have the built in laser pointer
Got one, don't really like it (Score:5, Informative)
I never really liked it. Control is not so good. I think the only place I would want one of these is for giving a presentation in a lecture hall where you need more functionality than "next slide/last slide."
We were using it in a small conference room, everyone seated around a table. Eventually we switched to a cordless trackball. Much better, in my opinion. I also use a cordless trackball when I use the computer and the TV together. (It sits on the armrest of the sofa.)
Re:reinventing the wheel (Score:2, Informative)
Re:New? Not. (Score:2, Informative)
No, I don't know about the OP, but I used a gyroscopic mouse in June 99 for a demo. It was just to run Powerpoint. Of course the powerpoint presentation was more important to people than the fact that the software worked, but that's business!
Most of the people that were giving demonstrations didn't have the technical capacity to use it (as in they were fully deficient PHB), so they'd still have someone working a computer in the back to scroll
Re:New? Not. even ,it's really old. (Score:5, Informative)
you simply press the mousing button and gesture to move the mouse.
and in fact I remember back in 1993-1994 many MANY people using nintendo powergloves as mice for windows 3.11 and Logitech had a wireless "airmouse offering back in the mid 90's.
Re:Need a one handed keyboard... (Score:3, Informative)
the #1 keyboard used by wearable computer researchers...
one handed keyboard just for you
Re:reinventing the wheel (Score:2, Informative)
6 Years ago... (Score:3, Informative)
The earlier version could work on a wire or wireless (wireless operation ate batteries, though) and was a beauty for clicking because you did it with your thumb, rather than index finger. The thumb is stronger and with it's shorter radius and good dexterity can click much more effectively without fatigue than a finger.
They also had the presentation mouse, which we put in a lecture theater about the same time.
This is merely Gyration receiving some nice press from largely ignorate media.
Re:reinventing the wheel (Score:3, Informative)
Try twenty years! There was an old pointing device for the Atari computers which used mercury switches. There is a note about it here [atarimagazines.com].
I've got one (Score:5, Informative)
The mouse does take some getting used to if you're going to use it without a surface. Instead of using it like a normal mouse, it's designed to be held and pointed like a flashlight. Wherever the "flashlight" would shine on the screen, that's where the mouse goes. I must admit, this isn't really practical for most uses outside of things like presentations and such. The best part about these mice isn't the gyroscope feature, it's the wireless range. The model I purchaced is supposed to have a 25ft range, but in practice the real range is closer to 35ft. There's also a 50ft model that's significantly more expensive. These things are great for home theatre PCs. It's really difficult to find an RF wireless mouse and keyboard with a range greater than 6ft.
Not So (Score:4, Informative)
And with a desktop mouse you're still taking your hand off the keyboard, onto the mouse, off the mouse, and repositioning over the keyboard. The typical use of separate input devices is your bugbear, not the mouse and whether it is hand held or deskbound. Some study revealed GUI designs which lack keyboard shortcuts and require mouse movement are far less efficient. It serves game designers well to remember this. Imagine grabbing a joystick, then leaping to the keyboard, then back to the joystick again. Same problem.
hen there is the issue of whether I want to hold my hand up in the air when using my mouse in the first place. That has to hurt after a few minutes.
Movement can be adjusted for very small arcs to very large arcs. When I had a Gyromouse I could rest my hand on the desk and just lightly move it around, or rest in on my thigh if I wasn't needing keyboard. It was far more relaxing, easier to use and responsive, when I had a Gyromouse (and I'm going to buy another one soon) than any desktop mouse or touchpad.
Specifications of the device as it exists on TX-2 (Score:1, Informative)
The major inherent advantage of the ultrasonic delay method of determining the position of a stylus is that the measurements are all delay measurements where a digital counter can provide a direct digital readout without requiring an analog to digital conversion. Sound is very convenient for measurement purposes since its propagation velocity is approximately one foot per millisecond. Thus, a 1-megacycle counting rate will resolve distance to