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"BlueTrack" Mouse More Advanced Than Laser, Optical
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Oct 18, 2008 08:17 AM
from the perfect-for-my-granite-workstation dept.
from the perfect-for-my-granite-workstation dept.
ThinSkin writes "Just when you thought laser and optical mice were enjoying their reign on mousepads worldwide, Microsoft has to come along and introduces their 'BlueTrack Technology,' a mouse tracking system that aims to work on virtually any terrain short of mirrored and reflective surfaces. ExtremeTech reviews the Explorer Mouse and Explorer Mini Mouse, both of which are powered by Microsoft's newest sensor, to see just how well this technology works. Testing on granite, carpet, marble, and other surfaces, the reviewers were impressed with the responsiveness of BlueTrack, but they also noted that laser mice were competitive on these surfaces as well. Even though the mice didn't get a recommendation from the reviewers (price being a major concern), they did admit that this BlueTrack is the best tracking system available today. MaximumPC has some pictures and a brief technical interview."
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Yeah (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
In 2011 we will see the "Ultra-Trak Quattro" - five ultraviolet lasers, three gyroscopes, a GPS, and a spring-loaded lubricating strip.
Warning for incredible retarded web design (Score:5, Interesting)
The linked review is one of those pages there the article uses at most 15% of the space but still had to be split amount 6 pages or so.
Parent
Anyone actually read the review? (Score:2)
I'm curious on how much better it really is.
e.g. latency, maximum tracking speed (many optical mice lose track if you move them really quick - and that sucks for many games).
As for not being able to work on reflective surfaces, there are already cheaper "laser" mice that work on reflective surfaces.
Maybe I should read the review - but I hate reviews that are split across tons of pages and turn out to be useless (e.g. PR/Ad company crap).
Re:Anyone actually read the review? (Score:5, Insightful)
the article suggests that the BlueTrack mouse only has around 800 dpi resolution/sensitivity. but considering that most laser mice have 2000-3200 dpi, BlueTrack doesn't seem more advanced than lasers. the only advantage i can see is that it works on more surfaces than laser mice can. but so do conventional optical mice, which can already go up to 1600 dpi.
the Explorer Mouse is not very impressive or groundbreaking. i'd rather get a hi-res laser or optical mouse by Logitech at a lower price.
Parent
Re:Yeah (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
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To be honest the parent is probably the target market, i.e. gamers. No-one else spends more than £10 on a mouse because there is no need to, the technology and usability of a £10 mouse is perfect.
Since anyone buying an expensive mouse probably also buys expensive mouse pads, this thing is doubly pointless.
Re:Yeah (Score:4, Insightful)
i bought a razer mouse. not for the blue lights (the only reason i installed the razer driver was to turn the lights off), the gaming gimmick angle, or the razer name, but because it was the only mouse in either of the stores i went to that had the buttons i needed (5) and was actually comfortable in my hand and on my skin. i felt like a chump shelling out 40 bucks for a mouse, but after 2 years with it, i'm VERY glad that i did - especially when i use someone else's computer and their $17 mouse.
without a comfortable, durable interface, a computer is pretty damn useless, imo.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I've always been amazed by people willing to spend extra money (and significant amounts of it at that) on just a tad faster processor, GPU and whatnot, but then picking a cheapo monitor, keyboard and mouse.
Somehow, I'd rather work on a merely decent configuration with excellent peripherals than on a ultra-fast rig with a $5 keyboard and $2 mouse. Whatever I'm doing, my CPU is mostly idling; my hands on my keyboard are not.
I spent a bunch of money for a Unicomp SpaceSaver keyboard (Model M, for all practica
Oh just stick a 2-axis accellerometer inside (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Oh just stick a 2-axis accellerometer inside (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Oh just stick a 2-axis accellerometer inside (Score:4, Funny)
Well, lets diss the puny little accelerometer then and replace it with a triple ring laser gyro. It'll be accurate to a couple of centimetres for every thousand or so kilometres that you push it on the table. For those unhappy about this level of inaccuracy you could also link it in with GPS and perhaps your own personal DGPRS beacon and so forth to keep the pointer where it damn well needs to be. :-)
Parent
Re:Oh just stick a 2-axis accellerometer inside (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Oh just stick a 2-axis accellerometer inside (Score:5, Funny)
> Attach a bowling ball to your mouse, put it on a frictionless surface,
> and then move it with an elastic band,
I'll get right on that.
Parent
Re:Oh just stick a 2-axis accellerometer inside (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
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It's called "Butter" and it's available at any grocery store!
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That'd be one heavy mouse indeed.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
You might want to study accelerometers more. Despite the runaway success of the Wii and iPhone, they don't cure all ills.
What you would end up with is something that would both be as accurate as your average pedometer and still so sensitive that your pulse would screw up its tracking.
Yes, there are ways to mitigate both of those things but they would dramatically increase the price of the thing. And laser mice are really cheap.
where is jerry? (Score:2, Funny)
I expected at least a Seinfeld quote somewhere.
All the buttons in the world (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:All the buttons in the world (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The MX Revolution is a piece of junk. I absolutely hate it. I have my desktop wired up to my HDTV and use the MX revolution along with the diNovo Edge keyboard. The keyboard, which is bluetooth, works amazingly well. No signal loss, no lag between typing and text appearing on the screen. Even the touchpad works reasonably well, however it has some difficulties determining double clicks but it's not my main mouse so who cares?
The Revolution, on the other hand, has been nothing but headaches. Mind you,
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
I've got one of these for my HTPC, stows well with the keyboard in a coffee table drawer for when the computer is not what's on screen. It works very well. I sit about 10' from my TV (under which the dongle sits) and it's fairly infrequent that I get missed connection with it. Though I did have it behind the TV for a while and it was extremely spotty then, so YMMV.
Also, they're not cheap, wait for them to go on sale online or at Fry's. Got mine for $60 for the mouse/kbd combo..
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Mice (Score:3, Insightful)
The Explorer Mouse uses a proprietary, Microsoft-designed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip with advanced algorithms and pixel architecture for more precise tracking.
Get it through your heads, fellows: Proprietary is not an advantage. Patented is not an advantage. Don't go crowing about it! Proprietary is what brought us Windows. Are we supposed to be impressed and go "ooh, more of that"?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
What? Yes it is. Its an especially big advantage if the proprietary+patented new tech is actually better.
Of course some open source people might have a cry about "teh evils", but to me that sentance means "You must buy the cool new tracking from us."
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"Propriety" and "patented" are there to show you that they're the only game in town with this technology, and that you can feel secure in buying from them without having to do anything like compare to other vendors, or anything else the intelligent consumer is supposed to do.
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Proprietary is not an advantage. Patented is not an advantage.
That's not from the article per-se, it's from MS's press release [mshardwareguide.com] that the article quotes. The article tells you it's a quote and uses a different font even so it's pretty obvious.
Patented and proprietary are advantages to MS's investors. That's why they put it in the press release.
Just what we need... (Score:5, Insightful)
From the article:
We got some hands-on time with this handsome wireless mouse and were impressed by its tracking accuracy, stylish design, and mesmerizing blue glow.
Yeah, because we haven't got enough glowing gadgets. I'm not sure who considers "mesmerizing" as a positive aspect of consumer electronics. End the madness, people! Or are you too hypnotized by blue LEDs to move?
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, it's totally non-functional, but it moves units. And if your product isn't selling, what's the point?
Just what we need...Nightlight. (Score:4, Informative)
Oh I don't know. I haven't needed a nightlight since I got into consumer electronics.
Parent
Weird (Score:3, Insightful)
I was very convinced that optical sensors was LESS picky than laser ones. Everyone I know have had issues with laser ones (ok, I may not have heard any complaints on the Logitech G5 but..)
Haven't read the article though, just woke up. (My mouse is an optical Razer DeathAdder and works good as long as there are no huge contrasts on the material or on my white melamine (?) desk or white paper. Brown table, piece of unbleached paper box, pants, all good.)
A solution without a problem (Score:5, Funny)
This is just another optical type of mouse. What we really need is an ACTUAL mouse that has been genetically modified with a USB cable for a tail that can transmit the information issued to its brain by the aggregate information provided by its belly hair as you push it across any surface. More advanced versions will do the same using mental telepathy to another mouse head that was severed and merged with a USB dongle.
Specs better but Technology Point-Less (Score:3, Interesting)
Testing on granite, carpet, marble, and other surfaces, the reviewers were impressed with the responsiveness of BlueTrack, but they also noted that laser mice were competitive on these surfaces as well. Even though the mice didn't get a recommendation from the reviewers (price being a major concern), they did admit that this BlueTrack is the best tracking system available today.
I wonder if they realize that this is flat out saying "yeah its nice tech, but no one really noticed much of a difference and isnt worth the price". Slashvertisements are getting a little weird these days.
Battery: 3 weeks !!! (Score:3, Informative)
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Trackball (Score:5, Insightful)
I use a trackball, it works well on any surface at all - sand, carpet, wood, jello, etc.
How about a trackball? (Score:5, Insightful)
It just fricking rocks. After fiddling around with sensitivity and getting used to in (one or two days) it's the best mouse I ever had.
Never again will I run out of space or need to lift my hand and reposition the mouse.
Of course people who use mice to draw stuff will be somewhat crippled by it, as I have a little more difficulty when using it in order to doodle something quick in paint, but what self-respecting artist uses a mouse as their main drawing interface?
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
but what self-respecting artist uses a mouse as their main drawing interface?
Disney?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Self-what?
No thanks, waiting for something better (Score:3, Funny)
As a Linux user (Score:3, Interesting)
I can also say that I've always enjoyed Microsoft's mice, especially their Intellimouse Explorer, and will probably continue to do so.
And this sounds like a nice step forward. But $100? I could get a secondary monitor for that price. Or enough ram to max out my 32-bit system. Or a new hard drive so I can raid my system. The list goes on. Also, I'd prefer to be rid of my mouse at this point. Unfortunately, hitting those slashdot preview/submit buttons is a pain in the ass without a mouse.
I want one that works on mirrors--here's how (Score:5, Funny)
This continual failure of mouse makers to address mousing on mirrors annoys me. Hey, mouse makers, here's how you can address this.
Originally, your mice were based on a rolling ball. The mouse felt the ball rolling, and figured out the movement. In human sense terms, your mice were based on touch.
The current mice are based on sight. They look at the surface under the mouse and see the relative movement.
The sense you should be looking at is smell.
In the center of the bottom of the mouse, there should be an emitter that leaves a chemical trail on the mousing surface. The rest of the bottom of the mouse should be covered with odor sensors that can sense when they are near the chemical. By laying a pattern of odors, and sensing them as they move under the mouse's "noses", the mouse can determine position.
Think ants and the chemical trails they leave to find their way around.
Not only would this address the mirror problem, you could also use this technology to address a serious workplace health issue. You could make it so the tracking chemical has antibacterial properties. This would help keep shared computers sanitary during cold season, reducing sick days and boosting overall productivity.
1 whiff of ball sweat... (Score:3, Funny)
and it opens up your favorite porn web site.
Re:Didn't you break a rule? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:seriously... (Score:5, Insightful)
Uhm...
So you want to spend $120 a year on crap vs. $100 for something good?
Now that makes a whole lot of sense..
Parent
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