Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft has pursued ever more exotic shapes in the name of comfort. Its new Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop might just take the cake, however. The all-wireless bundle’s centerpiece, the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, centers around a U-shaped layout that keeps wrists in more natural positions; there’s also a cushioned palm rest and a separate number pad. Its companion Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse, meanwhile, relies on a gently sloped design that allows for a Start screen shortcut and a tilting scroll wheel. Both the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop and a stand-alone version of the mouse should ship this month at respective prices of $130 and $60, while the keyboard will fly solo this September for $81.

If your forearms don’t need quite so much coddling, Microsoft is also putting its Sculpt Comfort Keyboard and Sculpt Comfort Mouse together in one kit. The not-so-creatively titled Sculpt Comfort Desktop (shown after the break) drops the number pad and uses more conventional shapes across the board, with the exception of the mouse’s swipe-driven touch tab. We suspect many who buy the Comfort Desktop this month will most like its $80 price — it’s a better deal than the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop for those who only need the fundamentals.

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals, Microsoft

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Via: Windows Experience Blog

Source: Microsoft (1), (2)

If you spend hours immersed in MMO raids, you likely value anything that helps you click faster. It’s a good thing that Razer has just overhauled its Naga mouse, then. The 2014 model year now uses mechanical switches for its signature 12 side buttons, offering clearer feedback with each press. There’s also a new tilting scroll wheel, in-game customization software and a tweaked grip that should fit a wider selection of hands. That includes left hands, we’d add — Razer is shipping its promised left-handed Naga alongside the regular model. No matter your input preferences, you can buy the new RPG-friendly mouse today for $80.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

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Source: Razer

Gaming peripherals, while pricey, are quite durable and full of features that even the sternest desk-jockey can appreciate. Recently, I saw a couple of LED-powered keyboards that had me drooling, since they lit up very brightly to highlight gaming keys. The Mad Catz RAT has always been an extremely good mouse for gaming, since it allowed you to get the perfect shape for your hands. If you don’t like to buy off-the-shelf peripherals like these, then check out this 3D-printed alternative.

Granted, the Statial mouse housing costs a lot more than I expected, but if you can get similar functionality to a higher priced mouse, then you’re still winning. The Statial is a cover that will turn any Logitech M100 mouse into an adjustable alternative. Each section of the Statial cover can be adjusted to fit the form of your hand. The Statial was designed by Pyott Design.

Unfortunately, the $69.99 price tag for the shell on Shapeways makes this kind of a non-starter, since you can buy gaming mice with more functionality for the same total price. Still, if you’ve got the blueprints and a 3D printer, you can always print your own custom mouse cover.

Though trackpads and touchscreens are slowly replacing the industrious little device, we’ve all used a mouse at one point or another, and they can found in tens of thousands of offices and homes across the globe, having served as a vital bit of modern computing for decades. Last night, the device’s inventor, Doug Engelbart, passed away at the age of 88 in his sleep.

The information came from Engelbart’s daughter, who reported his passing in an email to the Computer History Museum located in California, the same state where the inventor worked at a research institute on a variety of other technologies used in modern times, including early forms of word processors, video teleconferencing, and email.

You can see the mouse for yourself in the image above, with the device being little more than a chunk of wood, a cable/connector, and a couple wheels inside that are made of metal. The invention took place in the 1960s, and it would be a while before it was adopted for widespread use with computers. Engelbart’s background consisted of electrical engineering, which he studied at Oregon State University, then going on to earn his doctorate degree in the same field from the University of California at Berkeley.

His career was kicked off by a stint during World War II as a radar technician, eventually leading to an electrical engineering position with Naca, which later became NASA. His focus eventually zeroed in on the mixture of human cognition and computers, taking him to the Stanford Research Institute. Not stopping there, however, he eventually started his own laboratory called the Augmentation Research Center.

Unfortunately for Engelbart, his patent on the mouse expired in 1987, and it was never widely used before that, having been licensed by the Stanford Research Institute to Apple for what was a decent sum at the time – 1983 – of $40,000. Since then, according to the BBC, it is believed that at least one billion mouses have been sold over the years.

Regardless, his work is said to have been before its time, and has found implementation in a lot of the modern technology we use now. He demonstrated the first-ever video teleconference at the same time he demonstrated the mouse, and also contributed to ARPANet, which eventually led to the creation of the Internet.

SOURCE: BBC

Doug Engelbart, inventor of the mouse, passes at 88 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The computing world lost one of its great minds and true pioneers yesterday. Douglas Engelbart passed away at age 88, just over a half-century after he joined the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) — the place where much of his ground-breaking computing research would take place. Among his (and his research team’s) many inventions made at SRI are the mouse, bitmapped screens, hypertext, networked computers and elements of a modern, windowed GUI. Should you be among those unfamiliar with his work, we’ve included a video of his epic and appropriately named “Mother of All Demos” that he gave in 1968 to introduce many of his computational contributions to the world. Tip of the cap, Mr. Engelbart. You will be missed, but assuredly not forgotten.

Filed under: Desktops

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Source: Computer History Museum (Twitter)