Entrapped or Enraptured?

Microsoft Product Blitz Begins

Microsoft not being in the news would only mean one thing – they’ve ceased to exist or we’re living in some parallel existence where Bill Gates finished college and never got around to heading the biggest software company on Earth. After being in the news for all the wrong reasons, Microsoft gave journalists more positive things to write about by holding their APAC workshop in Singapore from the 17th to the 18th of October.They even managed to pull a few more surprises on the 16th and it looks like Microsoft’s building up the hype for what looks to be the final coming of the long-awaited OS,Vista.

Malaysian journalists were greeted by the disconcerting presence of the Singapore haze. Visibility was really low but Microsoft morale certainly wasn’t as we were enthusiastically ushered to its Singapore office to be greeted by…a whole lot of hardware.

Group Marketing Manager for Southeast Asia, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division. On the table in front of him was a gamut of mice, wireless desktops and…webcams? Yes, Microsoft has finally added the webcam to its arsenal of peripherals and behind the introduction of these products was well, Live Messenger.

Microsoft’s been excitedly touting the new featureset of their latest iteration of its IM program. First up was the LifeCam VX- 1000, 1.3 megapixels of prettiness. It also had a button for instant photo uploading to Windows Live Spaces as well as a button to facilitate Live Call to enable one-touch video calling. Right next to it was the Lifecam NX-6000, a webcam optimised for notebooks with a handy clipon to fit right on top of your notebook lid. According to Boatman, with the healthy demand for notebooks on the market, Microsoft saw the point of having a webcam just for notebook users.

Besides the webcam surprise, there were the standard wireless desktops. Black is back, it seems as the new desktops came in black and myriad shades of gray. What Boatman was particularly excited about was something that looked like a large, funnyshaped paperweight. Say Hello, everyone, to the Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000. It’s large but according to Boatman, it’s already a hit with designers due to its perfectly natural fit with hands. You’d have to try it to like it, folks. To fully understand what this mouse fits in, let’s see what the press release has to say about what it has:

• An elevated thumb scoop shelf maintains hand rotation to reduce pressure on the carpal tunnel.
• A rounded shape more closely matches the relaxed curve of the hand to reduce finger extension.
• An angled profile reduces wrist pronation (turning or rotating).
• The vertical right side allows the side of the hand to rest comfortably on the desk while improving wrist posture.
• A rubberized thumb scoop and sides of the mouse provide comfort and easy lifting.

In other words, using the mouse gives you the feeling of slipping into an invisible glove that just happens to be magnetised to the table.Then there was the Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 that looked really ordinary until Boatman flipped it over on its back and used as a laser pointer and controller. I suppose the average corporate presenter would like a mouse small enough to slip into a projector case and then use during a presentation.