I have been using a netbook on a regular basis since Asus released their first Eee PC, the 7-inch having 701 back in late 2007. I have jumped around and used more than my fair share on netbooks since and they have all had one thing in common — the lack of a DVD optical more »

Yesterday I talked about the keyboard and how it is rooted in the history of computers, but this week is also important for another input device: the mouse. The 40th birthday of the mouse also coincided with history being made, as Logitech announced that they had shipped a billion mouses (or mice) since they started production. But how did it start, why is it so good and what is the future of the mouse? Read on.

You may remember the slightly odd Thanko Hot Cooler USB Keyboard which warmed/cooled your hands whilst you typed, which could be in some circumstances quite good. Well, undeterred they have moved to mouses (yes, that is the plural of a computer mouse) and mouse mats with the “USB Warm mouse” and “USB Warm Mousemat.” Unfortunately, it would appear that they still haven’t sacked the guy who names these things, as they are as unimaginative as ever.

However the awful naming does make my life a little easier: it is fairly obvious what they do. The mouse version is a basic optical mouse that connects to your PC through USB and comes in a range of colors such as black, black, black or black (seriously, I’ve seen paving slabs more imaginative than this company). The only clever thing about this mouse is the heater inside it, operated by a little switch about 10cm up the wire which can reach temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius.

Just imagine watching Monday Night Football with the players looking like they are running right at you. Talk about experiencing the excitement of the game without actually being there. Or fighting the bad guys in your favorite video game (and you thought the Wii made the fighting seem realistic).

Scientists have finally broken the barrier that had prevented this type of technology by creating the first updatable three-dimensional displays with memory. Dr Nasser Peyghambarian, chair of photonics and lasers at the University’s of Arizona’s Optical Sciences department, said, “This is a prerequisite for any type of moving holographic technology.” Although there is still work to be done, scientists are still very optimistic they are getting much closer to this becoming a reality in the next five to ten years.

Find out much more about holographic TV after the break!