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HARDWARE
When I ran the onscreen arrow into the edge of the monitor, my hand felt a palpable jolt from the mouse. And smacking into a wall onscreen proved enormous fun, particularly compared to the equivalent offscreen. The first mainstream mouse to incorporate tactile effects, Logitech's WingMan Force Feedback mouse, in development for more than two years, is available at last. This gadget lets you explore the edges, contours, and densities of virtual objects by transferring the experience to your hand. It allows you to pick up an onscreen ball, toss it upward, and catch it. Computer games let us tweak natural laws, a big step up from being bound by them. Now, by using a software pulldown bar to adjust gravity and mass, I can play ball on Jupiter while feeling all the accompanying laws of interplanetary physics.
The potential of the force feedback mouse, however, goes beyond gaming. Logitech wants you to "feel your software," and while it had never occurred to me that I would want that, now I wonder what synaptic links I've missed by not fondling it sooner. It turns out to be easier to find the Exit button or maximize the screen on Windows 98 if you can touch the edges of the button and feel it subtly lock to your finger. The added proprioceptive element helps you navigate the screen, especially if you're visually impaired. (And who isn't after a long day in front of the terminal?) When shopping online, we may someday be able to get a much better feel for the merchandise. Web sites might incorporate special HTML codes for the mouse to make the Order Now! button feel wonderfully alluring, pulling us toward it again and again.
WingMan's various force feedback effects are already incorporated into enough combat sims and shooters to make a senator blanch, and though I don't want to get any closer to war games than the satisfying glide of an onscreen checkmate, the technology promises as much for peacetime pleasures. You can pet a virtual kitty! The Force Feedback mouse, which uses rods connected to tiny motors in the mousepad, can produce the sensation of a soft surface, and a vibration very much like a purr.
Whether I'm using my computer for business or pleasure, the ghost in the machine just got friendlier. This gizmo could bring me and my PC closer than ever before.
WingMan Force Feedback mouse: $99. Logitech: (800) 231 7717, +1 (510) 795 8500, www.logitech.com.
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