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 )

Lightning Review: Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse for PC and Mac [Lightning Review]

The Gadget: Razer's DeathAdder, an 1800dpi right-handed gaming mouse for PC or Mac.The Price: $59.99The Verdict: You'll remember in my gaming gear Battlemodo that I slighted Razer's Lachesis mouse for its ergonomics and build quality. Thinking I might get along with a right-handed mouse better, Razer sent me the DeathAdder, which just dropped for Macs ('cause Mac gaming is so robust.)And I did, greatly preferring it to the ambi Lachesis. It's comfortable, and if you like the ergonomics of Microsoft mice, you'll probably dig DeathAdder, which has a similar form factor. The most clever thing about the design is that the two buttons are clickable deep into the mouse's body, so you can grip it shallow or really palm it—also useful if you have tiny hands. Tracking's accurate enough, though I'd have liked more than three settings for DPI.I would've also liked a thicker, braided cord, like on Logitech's G5 or SteelSeries' Ikari, but overall the build quality seems good enough. Is it worth $60? As much as any other gaming mouse is worth the extra bones. [Razer]

( Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog )