Today marks a watershed in the history of the computer mouse. Our grandchildren will remember that on one fine autumn day, the two hottest features in cursor control came together in a single product. Please hold your applause as I unveil the cordless optical mouse!
So you're not impressed. Well, you should be, not because Logitech today introduced its Cordless MouseMan Optical, but because they put so much effort into designing something that most of us take for granted. And they're pretty good at it.
OPTICAL IS THE RAGE in mice because there's no ball to clean and it doesn't require a mousepad. Optical mice are also more accurate, a plus for graphics programs and people with big screens. Cordless is the rage because (obviously) there isn't a cord, although it should be noted that today's cordless mice and keyboards are a far cry from those of a few years ago. I am writing this using a Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse I bought at a warehouse store a few months ago. Infrared has given way to radio waves--27MHz, just like CB!--so the keyboard really is portable and isn't temperamental like the old ones were.
Optical and cordless haven't been combined until now because of high battery consumption. Logitech's first prototype of a cordless optical device ran through a set of two AA alkaline in three days. The production unit runs for three months.
THE NEW MOUSE HAS custom silicon and a specially designed infrared sensor that essentially takes a picture of your desktop 1,500 times a second and turns differences in the images into cursor movement on your screen. Logitech says this gives them a year's lead over Microsoft.
There are also new power-saving features, including an instant-on sleep mode and technology that turns on the LED--which gives the device the cool red glow underneath--just brightly enough for the desktop surface. A dark desktop takes more light to image than a light-coloured one, and the mouse adjusts accordingly.
I am telling you this because I was at Logitech last week for a visit. Driving over, I was regretting I'd agreed to spend an hour hearing about a new mouse.
BUT ONCE THEY GOT INTO describing what it took to build this desktop rodent and how perfect they tried to make it, well, I was hooked on how passionate they seemed to be about something I hardly think about.
But maybe I should. Logitech isn't alone in its devotion to mice; Microsoft works just as hard. The selling of replacement mice is a big, competitive business. How big? It's a US$500 million annual business worldwide. Where does the demand come from? That's easy. You buy a replacement mouse because the mouse that came with your computer lacks features. That makes it the tiny spare tyre of computing, I suppose.
Most people, including me, generally purchase mice without giving it too much thought. If the price is right and it seems to fit in your hand, that's good enough. But read the box and look at the details, and you'll find all mice aren't all alike and new things are happening that may even surprise you...as Logitech surprised me.
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