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...like this lot should make its new slogan:

"Microsoft - for all the products you'll never need."

I like the idea - its cute - I like the DIY info from Microsoft .

Im waiting for this - it seems cool to me - its about time these mice got killed off .

Using a pen on a tablet is so much nicer & comfortable .

Replacing moving lumps of plastic with clickable bits with a fluffy bar of soap seems good to me .

A piece of hardware that makes use of our motor abilities

Greetings to the MS bashers that will come along

...I'm suffering from shoulder and elbow injuries with regular mice, this one looks like your hands have to work in an overly detailed way, making them susceptible to similar injuries in all the joints of your hands.

From the UT Video, it realy doesn't look very precisely to me. Could be a nice control for mobile devices anyway.

omg! That thing should be outlawed! Is that all people can come up with?
Forget about neural interfaces, and eye movement scanners, the fluffy lump is here to stay.

I'll have to try this sometime.

Why is it that the only thing that MS can seem to get right is it's human interface devices?

Now if only they'd make a ergonomic/split keyboard that was bluetooth....................

Edited 2006-08-27 01:02

... like the wearable computer!

i've been doing this with a cordless mouse and my thumb for years.

Didn't anyone notice it only goes left-right while moving up-down is somehow difficult? Clicking on more than one button is a mistery also and let's not even think about scrolling wheel. Bottom line, while this is only a concept, it's completely useless and leads nowhere. Nice to see Microsoft is spending money on "inovations".

Edited 2006-08-27 09:45

My hand cramps just watching it in use. If it works the way it appears to then I do not see it as a improvement for any reason than you happen to not have a desk. ???

Maybe a interesting gadget for a pda/handheld or similar device for people who want one. I just don't see it replacing my mouse anytime soon.

I think this is a really interesting device. Even if it doesn't fit for UT, it could be very comfortable for other tasks.

How can constantly moving your hands be MORE comfortable than holding a controller in the up position or holding down the up-arrow key?

People have joint problems now from resting their hand on a mouse and moving it around. How would this be better or at least not worse?

I would like to see a hand-pad mouse. You simply rest your hand on a pressure sensitive pad.

The "problem" is, Microsoft doesn't really produce any special hardware. Okay, there's the XBox, something rather embedded that runs games (and Linux ), and there's the Microsoft mouse that isn't seeming to be able to beat its Logitech competition any time soon.

So people might think (keeping in mind the not so impressive state of MS's software development), what good could come out of Microsoft, as for hardware?

But then, why wouldn't certain research teams in Redmond be able to come up with something real good and innovative, like the fluffy sponge mouse?

Unfortunately, as unlike Apple Microsoft doesn't design laptops, for example, more interesting tools such as an improved touch pad (Apple's notebooks let you scroll horizontically and vertically with two fingers on the touch pad, for example), or similar improvements of the mouse that we already know, are not being made.

And there's more.
Real progress in ergonomy would be to teach people that use your software about the great powers of that ancient thing called the keyboard shortcut.
Alas, few interfaces today take an effort in telling people ("tip of the day", perhaps?) a few nice shortcuts that they will love to use every day. The interface may be mouse-based, but nothing beats the hundreds of possible shortcuts.

Take Firefox that I'm now using on a Mac.
Apple T: open a tab,
Ctrl (Shift) Tab: switch between tabs,
Apple W: close a tab,
Apple +: magnify text, etc.
I'd really rather not use any mouse, or sponge, for that.
I could add to that, that many OSes and programs, a lot
of them being open source, make extensive use of the Alt key in combination with a given letter, to enter menus or options that have this letter underlined in their name. This is a great way of never having to remember a single shortcut.

So I guess it's all about a simple choice. Offer your interface users to teach them a little about Simple Stress Saving Shortcuts, or come up with a peculiar, fluffy device that nobody knew they needed until you tell them so.
I wonder which option is "innovative" to Microsoft.

I cannot see that being used afor games and on the desktop. However, it would be useful for media center PCs. It's hell trying to navigate MythTV with a remote control.

Make it in fleshtone and stick a nipple on it and it'll look like something out of a David Cronenberg movie.