WeeP5 makes other Wiimote gun mods cry home to their mamas

If your Wiimote-gun hybrid lacks a little bit of that "I would shut down an airport having this in my carry-on luggage" panache, we suggest you check out WeeP5, a toy MP5 chock-full of motion control. To be honest, we're most enamored by the setup of the above picture, as the modded armament rests lovingly over the heads of a young couple, against a picture of men in togas, and just under a VHS copy of The Lost World in German -- it's just so beautiful. In case you're wondering: B button is the trigger, A button is under the foregrip, 1 and 2 are on opposite sides near the front, the D-pad and Wii remote are jutting out of the left side, and the +, -, and home buttons are on the top just above the ammo clip. Hit up the read link for full DIY instructions.

( Hack a Day )

• ASUS offers up branded keyboard / mouse combo, remote for Eee Box

Cyber Sport's Orbita Mouse is a revolution

We've seen the Cyber Sport Orbita Mouse bouncing around the Internets for about a year in search of a manufacturer. Now they've got it, with a corresponding January 2009 retail delivery date to match. The big selling point on this 800 DPI mouse is the use of a spinning scroll-wheel that replaces the typical left and right mouse buttons (push down for left-click, squeeze for right) -- it's like a Griffin PowerMate riding optical wheels. That gives you 3-axis control over objects in 3D be they wireframe models, the world according to Google Earth, or a BFG 9000. It also makes for quick scrolling through documents or a low-cost jog dial for frame-by-frame video manipulation. Orbita communicates wirelessly over 2.4GHz "zero lag" RF to the usb charging base and includes PC and Mac compatible software to map the mouse to your different applications. $98.50, that's how much -- render of the Orbita docked after the break along with a video of an early prototype. We want.

( The Gadget Site )

• Thanko USB bear gloves don't inhibit your typing, keep palms toasty
• United Keys OLED Display Keyboard and Keypad hands-on

Review: MacPadd Aluminum Mousepad Lightning

The Gadget: MacPadd, the anodized aluminum mousepad meant to match the finish on newer MacBook and MacBook Pros. It's about the size of a standard mousepad, if slightly shorter than usual (but just as wide). The Price: $25 The Verdict: Holy butterface, it works! We originally thought it would be little more than a gimmick; a shiny surface that looked great but tracked horribly. Untrue! As a mousing surface for laser and optical mice such as our favorite, the Logitech MX 1100, it works fine—or at least as well as normal mousepads. It's also as weighty as you'd expect from something made out of metal, so there's the added bonus of it not flailing around as someone like Matt Buchanan vigorously plays Team Fortress 2, or like Jesus Diaz when he intensely photoshops Steve Jobs' face onto models (male and female). The undercarriage of the MacPadd is a gooey melted-marshmallow texture that holds the pad in place on your desk for added stability. There are, as always, a few downsides. It's a few inches shorter in length than normal mousepads—only one-and-a-half mouse lengths instead of about two—so you'll run out of room quicker. It's also hard (you know, metal) so you're more likely to scrape your wrist on the side as you're using it. And because it's made of aluminum, it's COLD. Using this in Chicago or New York during the winter would be a bad idea unless you had the heat turned up, but it's not too bad that you can't deal with it. At $25 though, it's not too expensive, and should last quite a bit longer than normal pads that wear out over time from friction. And when it boils down to it, you know you want an aluminum mousepad, and this is a good mousepad.


( Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog )

White bread wrist rest is non-organic yet ergonomic

Okay, let's say you're big into ergos. You've got your iPosture beeping at you like crazy whenever you slouch, ball-chair toning those core abdominals, and a split adjustable keyboard to make hunting and pecking that much more of an adventure. But what about maintaining the proper mousing angle? Put those fancy silicon pads away and reach for the riboflavin. We've seen a baguette-styled wrist rest before, but if that's a little too fancy for you, Brando has a another option: the plain white sliced bread. Sure, it's probably stuffed with GM wheat and has been bleached so thoroughly there's not a lick of nutrition left, but it might just delay the onset of carpal tunnel by a few years while whisking away any troublesome wrist perspiration. You're just six dollars a slice from this healthy mousing option -- $10 if you want enough to make a wrist sandwich.

( Crave )

Crazy Never Before Seen Logitech Mutant Mouse Prototypes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love Logitech mice, so I actually dug their shameless mouse timeline. Even more awesome, though, are these amazing prototypes that never left their lab, like the three-scroll wheel monstrosity and hockey puck above. They get wonderfully cheeky about them too, saying that the hockey-puck mouse "looked cool but turned out to be less than comfortable." (WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE.) Here are a few of the more ridiculous ones, but be sure to check out the whole run. It's hard to believe some these even made it off the page, much less into a polished, physical form in some cases. Of course, none of them will ever top my beloved, retired MX500.

Really fantastic. I wish more companies would show us some of their aborted lab creatures. [Blogitech (PDF) via BoingBoing Gadgets]

( Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog )

Logitech serves one-billionth mouse

Look, we're not going to go and get all sappy about Logitech shipping it's billionth mouse. After all, we still prefer our fingers for pointing and keyboards for quick navigation around the ol' computer. Still, a claim of one billion served is always notable, be it computer peripherals or hamburgers. Logitech's very first mouse was the Logitech P4 introduced in 1982. For the very first mouse ever, you'll have to contact Douglas Engelbart, its inventor. Or just click on over the break for pics of the P2 and Engelbarts original toothless sawblade.
Logitech P4



( Engadget )

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse ID Grip takes customization to a new, annoying level

Remember the Logitech G9? The totally boss, customizable gaming mouse with awesome mod possibilities like adjustable weight and LED inserts? Well, the G9 Laser Mouse ID Grip is out and ready to take the mouse-gripping experience to the next level. The ID grip will allow G9 mouse enthusiasts to have any image they want custom printed onto the insert of the mouse. The insert will also give the mouse a somewhat new shape. It's available to order online now -- you upload the image and they'll print and send it your way for $19.99. Seems like maybe Logitech's sold so many mice that they're willing to let anything fly, and we do have some good ideas for this after all.

( IGN )

Wall-mounted touchpad light switch ends accidental in-home raves

Flipping on a light switch usually doesn't require much in the way of cranial fortitude, but mount three or four of the things in a row and it's Concentration time whenever you try to flick the right one. Japanese graphic designer Mac Funamizu feels your shame, imagining a conceptual wall-mounted touchpad to end the confusion and inadvertent light shows. With his invention you'd simply drag your finger toward the light you want to turn on, do it again to turn it off, or make a circular sweep to illuminate the whole room. It certainly seems a bit more useful than other switches we've covered in the past, but until we see a version that will register our gestures from the couch we'll stick with our Clappers, thank you very much.
Update: Taku commented to point out a strangely similar though seemingly completely unrelated prototype from London-based designer Edward Horsford. It offers the same functionality plus adds ridges.

( Engadget German )