The Specifications:

• Connectivity: 2.4 GHz wireless (USB Adapter)
• Power: Two AA Batteries
• Sensor: 848nm Adjustable-dpi laser
• Special: DPI Controls & Stealth Thumb Button

The Buttons: - 5/5 stars
The best part of the MX 1100 is the large amount of buttons it features without becoming overwhelming for those who don’t plan on using anything past the essential ones. The mouse is a bit larger than an average sized mouse, but is quite comfortable to use and both the left & right click buttons provide great tactile feedback. A button below the scroll wheel allows switching between a “notched scroll” and a “frictionless scroll”. The standard “notches” setting lets you feel each bump while scrolling, whereas the “frictionless” setting allows flicking through pages rapidly. The scroll wheel supports 4-way scrolling, so leaning it to either side will allow scrolling in that direction. Pushing in the scroll wheel functions as a middle-click, which is great for opening links in new tabs. A plus and minus button at the top left of the mouse allows increasing or decreasing the DPI settings to adjust sensitivity. It’s quite neat to be able to change the sensitivity at anytime without having to dig through the Control Panel. Directly above the thumb rest are the forward and backward keys. Although well placed, they were a bit too soft to offer enough feedback in my opinion. The final neat feature is the “stealth thumb button”, located in the thumb rest, which has been configured by default to launch Vista’s 3D flip interface to switch between open windows. And as always, installing Logitech’s SetPoint drivers and software will allow customizing any button to do just about anything you would like it to do.

Accuracy and Transmission: - 5/5 stars
Despite being a wireless mouse, the device maintained a strong connection with the transmitter. There were no problems getting it to work from even over 20 feet away. The MX 1100 is also quite accurate, movements are almost flawless and the adjustable DPI doesn’t disappoint. Hard-core gamers will probably still complain about accuracy, but for most consumers this will end up being the most accurate mouse they have used. That doesn’t mean its bad for gaming, it was better than any of the mice I had and was excellent to use while playing a game of Counter-Strike.

Battery and Charging - 3/5
The way the mouse gets it’s juice is probably the only drawback. The Mouse runs of two AA batteries and Logitech claims it will last about nine months. The mouse automatically goes into a power-save mode, however Logitech still says by using the “on/off button, you save even more power.” There is a battery indicator on the mouse that lights up when turned on, but fades away after a couple of seconds. A re-chargeable version of this mouse is available, however it can only be purchased as a part of a Cordless Desktop Wave Pro keyboard-mouse bundle. Unfortunately we can’t test the mouse for nine-months, but from experience I can say that the lifespan could be much shorter or longer based of how many hours it gets used each day.

Conclusion:
Overall, the Logitech MX 1100 is a top-of-the-line mouse and is probably one of the best ones I have used to date. It is extremely comfortable, completely customizable, and just works. If you do happen to be a “lefty” (left-handed), you are out of luck. It would be quite difficult to use this mouse comfortably with a left hand. For a retail price of $79.99, while being available for as low as $65 online, it’s affordable and offers just about everything you could ask for. I only wish it was rechargeable, but despite that most owners will be truly satisfied by what Logitech’s MX 1100 has to offer.

Links: Logitech.com MX 1100
Buy: MX 1100 For $65 (no tax + free shipping via Amazon)

Wii owners who want to go wireless can pick up this third party solution - the Nyko Wing Classic Controller. All you need to do is plug in a wireless dongle into the bottom of the Wiimote and you’re good to go - as long as you don’t venture beyond the 10 foot radius that Nyko prescribes. A couple of AA batteries is good for up to 30 hours of use, but I would say realistically it will be a couple of hours or so off from the given figure. Good thing it come with a USB port and cable, letting you juice up rechargeable batteries while remaining connected and gaming simultaneously. The Nyko Wing Classic Controller will be available this October for $29.99 a pop.

Add a comment | From: Nyko Wing Classic Controller | Visit Ubergizmo

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This USB Desk Lamp doubles up as a speaker as well, with nine bright LED lights to help you read those fine print on your legal documents late into the night. You can choose to hook it up to your computer via USB, or leave it unplugged and let the internal rechargeable batteries get to work instead. The pair of speakers are located at the base of the device, but don't expect these to cause a commotion in your room when turned on - it is probably good only for use as a personal speaker minus the bass and all that jazz. The USB Desk Lamp and Speaker will retail for $22.50, coming in pink or green colors.

Add a comment | From: USB Desk Lamp And Speaker | Visit Ubergizmo

Wii owners who want to go wireless can pick up this third party solution - the Nyko Wing Classic Controller. All you need to do is plug in a wireless dongle into the bottom of the Wiimote and you're good to go - as long as you don't venture beyond the 10 foot radius that Nyko prescribes. A couple of AA batteries is good for up to 30 hours of use, but I would say realistically it will be a couple of hours or so off from the given figure. Good thing it come with a USB port and cable, letting you juice up rechargeable batteries while remaining connected and gaming simultaneously. The Nyko Wing Classic Controller will be available this October for $29.99 a pop.

Add a comment | From: Nyko Wing Classic Controller | Visit Ubergizmo

The big thing here I'm a fan of is the lack of wires between the Wing and the Wiimote. It's always awkward finding somewhere for the Wiimote to sit, and it frequently falls off my lap/couch/table, causing a distraction. The Wing uses a RF dongle that plugs into the bottom of the Wiimote and has a range of 10 feet. The controls generally felt as tight and responsive as the original classic controller, but did suffer the occasional glitch (Nyko attributes this to the controllers being engineering samples and assure it will not be a problem with the final product).

As far as design goes, the shape is more akin to a PS2 or Xbox 360 controller, and make the Wing fit in your hand more naturally than the classic controller. The four R buttons on top have also been adjusted and spaced so that its easier to distinguish and tap each one. The build quality is pretty decent, but not quite as nice as an official Nintendo product — which is to say that the Wing is more clicky and plastic feeling. But it's hardly a bargain bin product either.

And one of the neater additions is the mini-USB port included for charging batteries in the Wing. If you have rechargable batteries, you can plug in to a mini-USB cable and charge up the controller for another 30 hours of wireless play, making the battery process easier. As mentioned earlier, the Nyko Wing will arrive in stores around mid-October and with a $30 pricetag, it's a pretty appealing product. [Nyko on Giz]

Tags: consumer products safety commission, notebook, sony, vaio

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Tags: consumer products safety commission, notebook, sony, vaio

Related Entries
• A Crapware-Free PC? Now, You're Talking! - Jul 21, 2008
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• Everything in the World's Going Wireless - Aug 27, 2008
• What Economy? TV Sales Surge Anyway - Aug 18, 2008
• PlayStation Home Beta Up for Grabs - Aug 07, 2008

Never mind renting a tent with faux Palladian-style arched windows for that chic outdoor soirée — make your guests think a UFO has landed in your yard with the solar-powered Art Rainbow. Providing shade and psychedelic colors akin to multi-hued sunglasses by day, this design concept's solar panels are charging up its batteries all the while, ready to light up the night with its flexible LED matrix display panels when the sun goes down. (We suggest the designer specify flexible OLED solar panels.)

Whether you want its translucent roof panel colors to resemble rose-colored glasses, green aviator shades or yellow skier's specs is entirely up to you, but just remember that your trophy wife might not look quite the same tinted a shade of Martian green, especially after a few of those chocolate martinis of yours.

Keeping that in mind, just add guests and mood-altering substances, and you're good to go, and maybe even unstuck in time, Billy Pilgrim.

It comes with a transmitter that you can plug into your stereo, iPod, computer, TV, or anything else you want to have broadcast to your garden party. The light consists of three white LED bulbs, which are long-lasting and bright. You'll need 5 AA batteries for the main unit, with the transmitter requiring 2 AAAs. There's still some warm weather left this year; take advantage! And don't forget the food and booze.

Boys Stuff, via Book of Joe

Oops -- Sony's done it again. The company has issued a recall for 438,000 laptops worldwide, after 15 reports of overheating and one burn hazard.

Mike Abaro, senior vice president of Sony's VAIO laptop division, wrote a letter saying a bad wiring job is potentially affecting four VAIO notebook models: VGN-TZ100 series, VGN TZ200 series, VGN-TZ300 series and VGN-TZ2000 series. He asks users of those models to visit Sony's support site to determine whether their notebook needs to be sent in for inspection.

Of the 438,000 laptops that may be affected worldwide, 72,800 were sold in the United States.

This comes as bad news especially for Sony, whose reputation took heavy damage in 2006 after a problem with exploding batteries, which resulted in recalling 9.6 million laptops worldwide.

Sony's recall on Thursday is similar to the recall Apple issued after three incidents of iPod nanos causing fires in Japan. Apple said the overheating was caused by battery-related issues.

When portable devices overheat -- and, at the extreme, explode or catch fire -- problems are often tied to faulty, cheap battery cells. Some analysts have said that as devices get smaller, their risk of malfunction and overheating increases -- and designers today face challenges as consumers demand gadgets to get smaller but more powerful. Sony's VAIO serves as strong example, since it wasn't a faulty battery cell but rather an assembly error.

(Photo credit: aegiap/Flickr)