GadgetLiving

There’s no end to the new computer related gadgets that roll out every year. From new mouse models to funky new laptop styles it’s all we can do to keep up with the whirlwind that is technological upgrades. Here are some of the new releases that we thought were noteworthy.

The Orbita mouse changes the shape of the computer mouse as we know it. Scrolling is achieved by dialing the mouse for both vertical and horizontal scrolling which eliminates the “jerky” scrolling of other mouse models. What really caught our eye is the absence of the right and left click buttons. The large button on top of the mouse serves as the left click button while you activate the right click function by squeezing the mouse. It’ll be interesting to see if this radical new design catches on.

The Apple triBook is a concept laptop that we hope comes to fruition. One of the biggest drawbacks to laptops vs. desktop computers are the standard small screen sizes. As laptops get sleeker those screens get smaller. Finally someone has realized that we actually like to be able to read what’s on our laptop’s screen without the use of high powered magnification. As an added bonus it is reported that should this baby come to life it will be endowed with a “kick-ass” hard drive (yes, that’s a quote).

Another trend we’ve noticed is several radical new redesigns of the traditional wrist watch. One example is this Torus watch designed by a student from Belgium. Depending on the colors displayed it tells you what time of the day it is. Blue and green signify morning, yellow and orange for afternoon and red and purple for evening. I can’t say how accurate this watch would be but it does look cool. The surface also acts as a touch screen to set alarms and such—if you can figure out what time you’re setting it for.

Lastly there’s a new social media gadget that makes connecting with friends on social sites such as Myspace and Facebook as easy as a high five. When you meet up with someone in person instead of exchanging usernames or urls just “high five” each other’s Poken and your information is instantly transferred. Then simply download the info later on and you’re connected online. It can store up to 64 contacts at one time so remember to take this little fellow along to your high school reunion.

While some of these gadgets are a little “out there” it’s always fun to see where technology is taking us in terms of the fantastic new gadgets available.