The "King of All Computer Mice" Finally Ships 207
An anonymous reader writes "The much-anticipated, much-mocked 18-button joystick mouse from WarMouse is now shipping. The press release features an impressive set of user quotes from game designer Chris Taylor, new SFWA president John Scalzi, and a doctor who runs a medical software company. Crazy or not, it's obviously more than just a gaming mouse."
Re:Mod parent up (Score:5, Informative)
Disagree, if you've ever competitively gamed, you're wired. Minimal signal interference, no loss of signal due to dead or dying battery.
Archduke of all computer mice (Score:5, Informative)
Engadget review (Score:2, Informative)
Since we slashdotted the website... (Score:2, Informative)
Since we slashdotted the website I thought I'd post a cache version of the article. So, here goes.
WarMouse Meta: "The King of All Computer Mice" is now shipping and it isn't just for games
Oxford, England, July 28, 2010 - WarMouse today announced that its much-anticipated multi-button laser joystick mouse is now shipping. With a patented design featuring 18 buttons, an analog joystick, and a 5600-CPI laser sensor, the Meta has been well received by gamers and commercial software developers alike. Containing twice as much memory as the original Macintosh, the WarMouse(R) Meta holds 3,072 commands in 64 mouse modes, allowing the mouse to completely change its functionality on the fly according to the active application.
Hands-on reviews of the mouse from various technology sites have been uniformly positive:
* "WarMouse has given the concept of the mouse a whole new meaning." - Techzine
* "There's no doubt that the $79.99 Meta with its 512K of memory is the most advanced mouse we've ever seen - each of its 18 buttons along with their double-click functions can be configured for different applications, and its analog joystick can be customized to perform eight different commands.... The WarMouse Meta goes where no mouse has gone before." - Engadget
* "The King of All Computer Mice.... If there is one mouse that beats them all, then it sure is the WarMouse Meta." - Trends Updates
* "Mouse technology has reached a peak with the Warmouse Meta." - Trendhunter
The Meta is one of the first computer mice to incorporate a digital/analog joystick into its design and is the first mouse to permit the use of the joystick as a keyboard interface. In the three digital joystick settings, the user can assign up to sixteen different key functions to the joystick in each of the 64 mouse modes. In the analog joystick settings, the use can select between having up to seven joystick buttons available or using all 18 buttons as keyboard and/or mouse commands instead. In addition to providing an easy means of creating and customizing mouse modes, the Meta Modeware software records the user's button clicks and stores the statistics by application, allowing players to perform postgame analysis of their multiplayer matches and more efficiently arrange their button assignments.
"The WarMouse Meta isn't just an awesome mouse for gamers, but for game designers too," said Chris Taylor, the designer of Total Annihilation, the Strategy Game of the Decade, and CEO of Gas Powered Games. "Being able to data mine game actions through the Meta takes gaming mouse technology to a whole new level."
Unlike most gaming mice, the multi-button utility of the WarMouse Meta is not limited to games despite its high-end specifications.. The award-winning science fiction writer John Scalzi, known for his mad photo-imaging skills as well as his predilection for slaughtering the digital undead, declared the Meta is "Equally at home fine-tuning pictures in Photoshop or fighting the slavering zombie hordes. Because I do both. Although usually not at the same time." Dr. Murray Reicher, M.D., the CEO of DR Systems, was one of the first adopters of the new mouse interface and said: "This new input device has great potential in healthcare, particularly in the field of medical imaging. I'm looking forward to introducing it to our physician and technologist customers."
The features of the WarMouse Meta include:
* 18 programmable mouse buttons with double-click functionality.
* High-resolution laser sensor with adjustable resolution ranging from 100 to 5,600 DPI/CPI.
* Six assignable button modes: Key, Keypress, Macro, Mouse, Special, and Mouse-Key Combo.
* Analog Xbox 360-style joystick with six analog and digital joystick modes.
* Clickable and co
Re:Mod parent up (Score:5, Informative)
The voltage/capacity curve for rechargeable batteries is *much* flatter than for alkaline batteries -- alkaline batteries have a pretty steep slope with a fairly linear relationship between "current voltage" and "remaining power", and devices that expect alkaline batteries and have a low-power indicator calibrated for that curve. Rechargeable batteries have a much flatter curve and the low-power indicator never lights because the trigger voltage is not reached until there's far too little power.
So presumably, devices with built-in rechargeable batteries are properly calibrated for those, and produce a low-power warning at the appropriate time.
http://www.powerstream.com/AA-tests.htm [powerstream.com]