Forty years after the invention of the computer mouse, there's apparently still room for improvement for this ubiquitous input device. The most revolutionary change is undoubtedly from mechanical to optical mouse. Now that the whole world is embracing touch controls and that Apple already has its own multi-touch mouse hybrid, SPEEDLINK is trying to catch up for the PC with its own version of multi-touch mouse. With the SPEEDLINK Cue Wireless Multitouch Mouse allows you to flick vertically to scroll or horizontally to navigate through pages. You can also customize any commands you want, but keep in mind that the Cue mouse apparently recognizes gestures with one or two fingers. Granted, the mouse surface may not have enough room for three fingers anyway; otherwise, it would be as big as a trackpad. Don't expect this wireless hybrid mouse to give you any side thumb button as there's none. At least the Cue gives you up to 8m of wireless freedom via its 2.4Ghz nano transceiver.
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SplashID Password Manager on a USB Key, Literally
Paranoids often live in fear that their passwords are never safe, and their concerns aren't without merit. There are all kinds of threats out there from keyloggers to phishing websites. There's also an increasing risk of forgetting PIN information as we deal with so many different logins nowadays. It's better safe than sorry when it comes to password protection. SplashData recently recompiled their SlashID Password Manager for use on a thumbdrive; in fact, the company ships the app on a key-shaped flash drive. The key contains both Mac and PC version of SplashID so you can launch the manager in either platform. The SlashID is basically an encrypted database protected by 256-bit AES. Just plug the Key Safe USB drive, enter the main password and the manager will handle the rest, referring to website autofills. Interestingly, besides website logins, the manager can also store any other info ranging from frequent flyer number to serial number and even business ideas. The $29.95 SplashID USB key is also a 2GB drive but it doesn't appear to have hardware encryption.
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MacBook Air's USB OS Recovery Key & USB 3.0 (or Lack Thereof)
For the first time in Apple history, a Mac laptop doesn't come along with OS recovery on a DVD. Instead, the software is found on a Apple-branded USB key. This certainly isn't a surprising move considering MacBook Air has been without an optical drive from day one. The USB key is a super slim one with all the system's software on it, including Snow Leopard and iLife. It also means the same thumbdrive can boot up a dead MacBook Air for repair or OS reinstall. Could this mean the entire Mac laptop line-up would dump DVD burners altogether? This does appear to be the trend given Steve Jobs also introduced an online Mac App Store. Though, the switch to USB OS recovery drive is likely to address the problem that some users may not have another Mac to enable DVD Sharing. Speaking of the new business notebook, the executive's MacBook could really use USB 3.0. It now gains an extra USB 2.0 port, but since wireless transfer still isn't as fast as we would have liked, a faster wired connection like SuperSpeed USB seems like a perfect match with the laptop's speedy SSD. We certainly hope Jobs doesn't see USB 3.0 isn't a bag of hurt.
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