Thursday, October 19, 2006

Another input device, another awful name


Logitech have announced a new computer control device. The NuLOOQ (eughh!) navigator is a stationary control device, about the size of a bisected tennis ball. It has a multi-dimensional 'navring', allowing 360 degree pan and zoom and a touch sensitive circular disk, called the *cough* tooltuner for fine control.

Using the hand you don't use to control your mouse, it allows you to adjust brush sizes by 1 pixel increments in Photoshop, or text attributes in InDesign, timelines in video/audio apps or control your system volume using the touch sensitive circular disk.

Nudging the grey ring forwards, backwards, up, down, or twisting it clockwise or counter clockwise, allows you to instinctively navigate your way around your digital pictures, illustrations, documents and (if that's your thing) spreadsheets.

A click or tap on the top plate can execute undo and redo commands, access Photoshop tools, or play/pause a video/audio track. Pre-programmed macro commands could also be triggered using this method, for regularly-used keyboard or mouse-click sequences.

The NuLOOQ's web page has more information, and an interactive demo. As someone who spends a lot of time working on documents that demand a mixture of mouse and keyboard input, I will be very interested to give this device a try.

One important question the Logitech site doesn't seem to address is, with both of my hands now being used to control my computer, how am I going to supply my face with sandwiches and coffee?
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3 comments:

Teifion said...

Logitech will be releasing a companion device which is based on medieval catapults. You place a selection of food stuffs on the catapult and it will periodically fling it at you.


A third device is expected not long after which will manage the coffee.

Brett Jordan said...

thanks teifion, always good to have someone around with their finger on the pulse :-)

Anonymous said...

i thought that is what imigration was created to battle…?

 
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