How about a small fan to both cool the mouse guts and aerate the palm?

what about bluetooth ?

can anyone get a pdf grab of that web page, i hate having to register for BS sites just to read one article.

hmm… i’d add a 32GB pendrive with a magnetic “failsafe” Hall keyswitch so only the user can access it :)

could also use a micro with some clever software and a few analogue sensors to read a unique swipe card-like key.

-A

Actually, this would be a really good idea with a keyboard.
Think about it, loads of space, you could even cut vents in the sides for cooling if needed, unlike a mouse where this would be a bad idea.

I’d put bluetooth and wifi, a USB hub for some extra ports, some storage in the form of USB sticks, a light for the keys like a reading light, a fan and switches for all the devices. Maybe even speakers and an audio input.

Getting seriously tempted by this. Anyone recommend a USB hub for projects like this? Something small and cheap, something easy to hack.

laslaw, thanks i didn’t see that login when i checked at bugmenot.

the only thing i would be afraid of is that thing drawing too much from a usb port and frying it. i’ve seen crazy things happen with usb ports when you start loading them up.

What about an HSDPA modem?

A trackball! No, wait…

A subwoofer.

- Flash drive
- Bluetooth dongle
- SD reader (externally accessible)
- Maybe one of those little USB TV tuners, with a long antenna wire coiled up inside. (Bonus points if all the software is installed on the flash drive.)

@ Laslow, they have combo usb devices that do all three (Wifi, Bluetooth, and [minimal] storage.)

@ Hollis, mouses are redundant on laptops as well, but not everyone likes touch pads, or movement nubs. Same as not everyone likes the small spacing between laptop keyboard keys, or reduced sized keys, or lack of a full number pad.

Some people also dock their laptops, so use a full keyboard and monitor instead of the smaller ones builtinto the laptop.

how about a pop-up sd/microsd card reader… like an old tape deck. Push a button, up pops the reader, slide the card in, push it back down… sure, you could put a little slot in the side, but that’s too easy.

or maybe a webcam…

SD card with some Linux distro on it would be kinda cool.

You could call it haxo-mouse, …. or maybe not.

:)

Mainly I guess the point is, if it’s USB you can most likely get it to work with this.

@cde: yeah specs are nice and all but to be honest i have seen way too many times usb ports overloading and frying themselves because of sucking too much from them. I just am paranoid any more i guess, and have seen too much damage from devices that claim one thing and end up frying ports.

as for the project, it is cool you just gotta be careful with it in the end.

@ Moogle: They do have mouses with stuff like this built in, especially the builtin hub. As long as it looks commercially made, then they don’t care. How sad really.

This is my hack, I’m dawning.

The site linked above has some good pictures, a part list (for those who really want one) and a reference to a youtube video.

Here’s a direct link to the vid: http://tinyurl.com/dm5dsp

“One mouse to rule them all, one port to find them, one wire to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them”

;)

@tomfy – Indeed, I was thinking the same thing.

That tangent also got me thinking about making a mouse that really was a complete system. Something like the Beagle Board (http://beagleboard.org/) would possibly work well for that.. But that’s a major project.. This hack was really easy.

An additional thought was regarding security nuts, one could keep their encryption keys in the mouse – so their encrypted volumes would be essentially useless without the mouse of power!

@dan k: Yeah, if you’ve got cruddy enough connectivity that could become the case.

If I were suffering for that, I’d then break out the wireless antenna and expose it from side the USB cable itself. Easy enough addition, but if I don’t have to make my own cables, I won’t bother – I’d have to buy a heat gun to get that wire-wrap stuff to shrink right!

:p

“Cool idea. I’d connect a memory stick and a WLAN stick. If you put a bootable Linux on the memory stick, you can take your fully preconfigured system with you.”

I would rather a small keyboard =] if you know what I mean.
Something like this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Hacking_Keyboard

Now that would be cool.

Pack it with C4 explosives and GPS so you can hurt anyone that decides to steal your laptop.

nice barry — I know the feeling of carrying “work” thru tsa security…the “what is this” comment followed by that hysterical gaze of bewilderment. great story.

as for the mouse – bluetooth definitely (take apart a thumbnail sized usb dongle) and let’s not forget the fingerprint scanner.

WTF !!!!!!
WTF !!!!!!

i’m currently working on doing exactly that !

He stole my IDEA !!!!

i feel sad… i could have been on hack a day

if I’d been quick enough

I feel sad……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Was this guy’s mouse getting hot or was his hand getting microwaved by th Wifi?

Apologies for the double post above.
I think I might have short term memory issues.

@paul g: I hope my hand isn’t being microwaved.. I don’t think 802.11 transmitters are nearly that powerful, but, I don’t honestly know!

Funny, I did something similar a few days ago. It’s not enterily the same- I gutted a small hub/cardreader-combination and fixed some usb-stuff inside the modified housing. Now it has a 2GB-USB-Stick and the receiver of my USB-Notebbok-Mouse. The third port is still free, I want to make it useable as a normal port, and the forth port supplies the cardreader. the size does not exceed the original, and it still runs without additional powering. When I made the final changes, I’ll post some pics maybe.

@l: I’m not sure why you say there’s no way when this worked before and after the mod…? Or are you somehow speaking to something else?

Adding more juice is easy. When 2.5″ external drives first appeared many required a ‘y’ adapter to tap into the power from a 2nd usb port. you can do the same – keep all the original wiring, unless its really small guage you should be able to pump 1 amp through it w/o a problem especially since many of the parts only have intermittant draw. Never heard of usb ports turning off, usually the power pins are all paralleled together and therefore unswitchable.

Make a custom wire with two usb plugs on the end. You can get a flexible rubber coated 10 conductor wire not much thicker than a regular mouse wire. it will look stock. Then use the second usb wire to connect other devices or just to power more stuff.

Dawning/paul g

Your hand probably is getting microwaved. Many 802.11 devices indicate a minimum distance one should stay away from the antennas while the device is on. (For instance manual for a Motorola WA840G wireless access point or WN825 PCMCIA adapter say to stay at least 8″ from the antenna), and of course further is better.

that was my idea (as well as [i guess] many other peoples) to put a usb flash drive in a mouse.
POWER TO THE HACKERS! we come up with these ideas. COPYRIGHT THEM! too many dang companies take our ideas and sell them. they make the money, and we had the idea. see the problem?

Cool idea. I’d connect a memory stick and a WLAN stick. If you put a bootable Linux on the memory stick, you can take your fully preconfigured system with you.

OMFG YES!!! Linux in a mouse :D I am SO doin that! Assuming I can fit a hub in the mouse, will probably try with a USB keyboard.

A key-activated accelerometer would be nice. As you have a USB-Hub you could build a little device using a little avr to do the magic. That way you could use gestures to start programs, make it act as arrow keys to navigate google maps and do other fun stuff – I think you got the point.

There is a way to over come this issue. http://www.instructables.com/id/LINUX-LEECH/ This is a project that I did as a proof of concept but, crunching it down into a smaller form isn’t much of a leap. While there is no mouse housing it will cover everything. The power issue is overcome by adding a battery pack. I have run a usb card reader, portable harddrive, wifi, and a small mouse (I really wanted to install a small touch pad on top). The distro that I was using had a virtual keybord. This unit made it easy to take over a machine with only one usb cable. I still use this little sucker.

@kulawend: I suppose people who are totally afraid of trivial increases in their environmental radiation.

BEWARE: Bananas are naturally radioactive! lol (it’s true, it’s also harmless).

@eric: You’re over simplifying the issue. You should watch the video and pay particular attention to the justification I give in the first few seconds. I was having difficulties using my wireless card inside my laptop due to lame interfacing between my hardware and OS. I found a card that worked better and decided to consolidate my peripherals.

I think people like the idea of this hack because it suggests compressing a bunch of handy peripherals in to one that they can easily move between computers. I think the best case is the idea of running a Linux distro from a flash drive inside the mouse. :)

@dogbot: And then put one of those implantable chips in your hand. Touch your mouse to log in!