So I wrote this blog on Saturday about human-computer interfacing, and how mice might be going out of style, and I asked if there were any other interfaces that folks might see on the horizon. Sure enough, I got an email about a new 3D mouse actually exists and is being heavily pushed, especially in the gaming world. While the demo makes it look more useful for 3D gamers, obviously there are options that go beyond those obsessed with Halo. Design applications and mapping apps like Google Maps are a couple. But imagining a web browser or desktop that uses a third-dimension leads to some interesting possibilities. As crappy as it supposedly is, Windows Vista's new Flip3D is one place where the dimension of depth is already coming into play.

While I'm talking about 3D mice, I should mention that I completely neglected the ring mouse. It appears to be a predecessor to the "Minority Report" interface. Extremely primitive it may be. It is a single click device, bulky, and dependent on ultrasonic waves. But apparently it works flawlessly, and it only took 21 weeks and $700 to make the prototype.