Zoom-in Online

When new technology comes out, it tends to fall into one of two categories: Tools that make our technological lives and work easier, or gadgets that make our technological lives maybe not improved, but a hell of a lot more fun. As a technical professional, I review and judge tools, but every now and then an item comes along that falls short of being a useful tool and is instead a sensational gadget. One such item is Cyber E Sport's Orbita Mouse.

The Orbita is sleek, stylish, and resembles hockey puck. It is a wireless mouse that sits on a ball bearing track, which enables it to endlessly spin in either direction, making it the "world’s first wireless 3-axis mouse." Aptly described, this mouse is saved, accurately, from the "three dimensional" label being thrown around by certain tech websites. Turning it like a knob, or just giving it a full tossing spin will simulate scrolling or shuttling, depending on cursor placement. Its top boasts a push button that can be set to switch the up-and-down scrolling to left and right, and the mouse is covered in click buttons for right and left click functionality.

Out of the box, I fell and fell hard. I spent the first several days with it showing it off to my friends. It fits in the hand well, has a good feel, and is easy on the eyes. The charging dock is very low profile and discreet on the desk. Calibrating the device is quite easy, though it took me several tries to get what I thought of as “up” to be “up.” Even after orienting it properly, left and right had rather an angular direction and on-page navigation took a little getting use to.

Online and document functionality was great. I flew around text documents and web pages like a madman, and after a while, it almost became fun. I'm practiced spinning it hard and the sudden stops to see if I could land in just the right spot. It almost added a game element to the morning online news journey. The mouse is also great for the simpler software out there. ITunes and Quicktime responded quite well to it, letting you zoom through your playlists, control volume and scrub thru the playing track with a fair amount of accuracy.

The pro applications, however, relegate the Orbita to the realm of gadgetry until a good software patch comes along. In Logic Pro, it seemed scrubbing of any kind just was not supported. Certain minor items would respond, but for a good shuttle tool and precision cutting, you need to look elsewhere. A trial with Final Cut shows similar problems. Though you can shuttle around in the timeline, it isn't in the way you would hope. A true jog wheel will let you move from slow motion playback to full fast forward. The Orbita clicks you along a handful of frames at a time, which creates a decent video editing option, but renders audio specific edits impossible. Often the “handful” turns into “too many” – with the division of steps so small, making a "one degree rotation" is nearly impossible. As if both dumb and clairvoyant, the mouse, from time to time, will stop paying attention to you, then realize it is behind and jump you several seconds down the timeline in a misguided attempt to catch up.

So while the $98.50 price tag may scare away gadget geeks, and a lack of functionality will deter editing professionals, the Obita Mouse has nonetheless won a permanent home on my desk. It is a great mouse for day to day use, and makes mundane tasks like email, web browsing, and searching iTunes much more enjoyable. Beyond that it looks extremely cool, and let’s face it, technocrats like me need all the help we can get.

Matthew Hendershot is an audio engineer in New York City with a chip on his shoulder about the same size and his editor Deborah Arndt is a panda tamer whose only religion is sugar.