/dev/null/kevin

I found this in my "save for later" folder:  It's the solar powered mouse.

Is there a big market for this?  Do a lot of people need a wireless mouse - outside?  It's not like you can just use it all day and then leave it outside - at night - to recharge.  You would actually need to use this outside to get any benefit.  Also, wouldn't your hand cover the solar panel?  Maybe this is just for people with desks by windows that face the equator.

But this leads to a bigger question:

Why use wireless mice at all?

I've seen plenty of people sit at their laptop, plug in a wireless mouse dongle into the USB port, and the use their wireless mouse all of three inches away from it.  To me this just seems like extra trouble for no gain.  You need to keep the mouse recharged (solar or not) and now you have two things to lose instead of just one.

I travel with a simple mouse with a retractable cord.  It's small, works, and doesn't need batteries of any kind.  Mine also has cool LEDs to make it flash colors.  I got mine on sale for $5, but even at the full retail price of $25 it's still cheaper than any wireless mouse out there.

Yes, I can see a need for a wireless device if you give presentations and like to be away from the laptop.  I'm not talking to you.  But I'm pretty sure you're not giving your presentations outside in the sun.

I'm off this week, so you'll have to find another source of useless, sarcastic information.

While I'm gone, consider the following topics:

• The practicality of a wireless/bluetooth mouse.  Unless your Media Center PC is in the closet, do you really need it?
  
• Is Molly Wood just a bit of a posuer?  I like her, but she doesn't always know what she's talking about.
• How come NeoOffice, a free product, costs money for early access?
• Is High Def really better?  Pores, makeup smudges and dandruff don't really add much.  Check out these Star Wars images.
  

Talk amongst yourselves.

Yesterday I wrote a post about how the gestural user interface from the movie "Minority Report" will never replace the mouse as a primary interface device.  While perhaps I was being glib on calling it a "really bad idea," I stand behind my prediction that, other than a few niche cases, such an interface won't find widespread popularity.

Today, there are many alternative interface devices that people use instead of a mouse, but no one is talking about replacing the mouse with them.  There are touch screens displays, graphics tablets, the laptop touch pads and "eraser" mice (and trackballs, Brian.  .  There are experimental devices that track your eyes and can tell what you're looking at, there are projection keyboards that project an image of the keyboard on a surface and then track your fingers.  I assume that the same technology could be used to track your hand as a mouse.  These devices all exist today, but none of them are threatening the mouse as the default device.

Now, the success of the Nintendo Wii has proven that a gestural interface has a place and people will accept it for some things.  But a three dimensional interface is best used for manipulating three dimensional objects.  So, until such time as everyone has a 3D display device, I don't see widespread demand for the "Minority Report" interface.

Commenter Brian noted the "innovation happens" and I agree with that.  Any replacement for the keyboard and mouse will probably evolve organically.  No one will boastfully declare it while it's still in the experimental phase.  If you haven't figured our by now, it's not the device that I'm bashing, it's the arrogance of the developer who says he's working on the replacement for the mouse, and the silly reporter who propagates his claim.

Tags: user interface | computer mouse