It’s refreshing these days to see a gadget go away from the “less is more” design and go with the “more is more” theory of gadgetivity. Because sometimes more really is more (that’s what she said). Eschewing all common sense and thoughts of usability, the OpenOfficeMouse puts 18 buttons on a single mouse. Apparently that’s so many buttons that they ran out of space to put spaces in between the words in the mouse’s name.
All 18 buttons are programmable, so you can put whatever functions you want on them. You’ll probably have to consult some sort of key to remember what each does. Even if you have the buttons all memorized, you’ll still have to look down at the mouse to see exactly what button you’re pressing which COMPLETELY DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF A MOUSE. See a mouse is normally designed so that you can control things on the screen WHILE LOOKING AT THE SCREEN. If you have to look down at the mouse, that’s not much of a shortcut- you might as well use a keyboard shortcut or click what you want on the screen.
Sure it’s designed to work on touch alone but look how small those buttons are. Could you press the buttons on your remote or cellphone without looking? Maybe if you have tiny hands. Of course the consequences of hitting a 7 instead of an 8 on your remote are much less severe than if you hit the wrong function on your mouse. I’m calling it FAILMOUSE. Plus it’s $75.
OpenOfficeMouse via Crunchgear
“Could you press the buttons on your remote or cellphone without looking? Maybe if you have tiny hands.”
Or maybe if you are, you know, not overweight.