Back in October of 2006, Microsoft filed a patent for a new type of mouse and recently that patent was just published. Thanks to it being published, we now have a glimpse into what a future mouse from Microsoft might look like. It’s a wearable design and not only does it look kinda cool, it’s actually pretty clever and practical as well. The images below help give us an idea of what it’s all about:
Now of course Microsoft isn’t the first to try and come up with a whole new way to use a mouse, but theirs is the first that I’ve seen where it actually looks like it could be used. There’s a huge convenience and time-saver factor with this design. Just needing to raise your hand off the keyboard slightly to move the mouse would be great. Think about how much time you spend completely removing your hand from the keyboard to bring it to the moue sitting at the side, it’s probably a lot in a days time.
There are a few things worth pointing out with this design. The first is that on Figure 3, buttons 114 and 116 would be used for right and left clicking, and would be pressed with the thumb. Obviously the mouse couldn’t always be active, so a “switch” which is shown on Figure 2 as 110 would activate the mouse. You could either close your hand to activate it or grasp the mouse like a joystick.
What do you think? Could this be the type of mouse we’ll be using in the near- future?
Source: I Started Something
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Tags: Gadgets, Hardware, Microsoft
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It’s an interesting idea, nothing revolutionary since the Logitech AIR is in the market, but this one could be far more convenient. I wonder what could be its impact on health, regarding RSI and similar injuries, either for the better or for the worse?
This one would be a lot more convenient because you could be typing and switch to the mouse without really having to move your hand. And I would say that it would be more ergonomic than using a regular mouse.