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No More Sweaty Mouse Hands 226

Posted by CmdrTaco from the to-much-spare-time dept.
linugen writes "How do you avoid those sweaty mouse hands after playing a game of Quake for a couple of hours? Sure, you could use the keyboard, but this site has a 'cool' alternative. It's in Finnish (I think), so the fish won't be able to help you. The pictures speak for themselves."
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No More Sweaty Mouse Hands More

No More Sweaty Mouse Hands

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  • Make me a wireless one, and I'll pay you $50 for it.
    • Make me a wireless one, and I'll pay you $50 for it.

      Yeah, and you'll be paying that every month for batteries.

    • Re:How about a wireless? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Razzious ( 313108 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @06:23PM (#2753224)
      Not if you created on that used the heat emited from your skin as you were getting all heated up and converted it to usable electricity to power the fan inside. Then you could rig a generator up on the buttons to give more juice with each click.

      Now add to it the rolling action you make and we have ourselves a powergenerator on your mousepad.

      OK OK I am sorry don;t mod me down for this stupidity

  • Here's the english version. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Mike the Mac Geek ( 182790 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:05PM (#2752992) Journal
    http://hw.metku.net/rottaflekti/index_eng.html

    For those of us who don't speak Finnish.

    • And here's the linked version... (Score:4, Informative)

      by dhamsaic ( 410174 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:06PM (#2753002)
      for those of us who hate cutting and pasting :)

      http://hw.metku.net/rottaflekti/index_eng.html [metku.net]

    • Determining a language (Score:3, Informative)

      by emkman ( 467368 )
      I came across this article about a month ago when it was Finnish only. While then fish can't translate Finnish, some other tools can, like InterTran [tranexp.com]. However, there was no way of knowing what language it was written in except for the .fi TLD of the author's email. This is obviously not a 100% accurate way to determine the language and many pages don't list any domains to guess from. So, I proceeded to post an Ask Slashdot: asking if there are any tools that will indentify the language of a URL or any translators that will autodetermine the input language you are translating from. Of course, my post got rejected, or I wouln't be talking about it now. I ask now once again ... Are there any tools online available to determine the language a page is written in?? If you know, share the wealth. Thanks.
      • Your post might have been accepted if you'd included the link to the article in question, and gave a brief description.

        And someone would have replied with a post more useful than this. Since when was hindsight any use?

        • Link to what article? The poster was asking a question about pages in general. To my knowlege there is not an article on this subject, which might indeed be why he is posting an Ask Slashdot.

          This is one of the major problems with Slashdot; it consists primarily of links to articles rather than any more than a pretense to original content.

      • I don't know if there's anything online, but back in '97 or '98 we (I used to work for TenFour [tenfour.com]) licensed a translation engine that could auto-detect the language used in e-mail messages. I'm not sure how it did it, but I'd guess that it simply looked for common, tell-tale, words like "and" in the different languages.

        Our product was aptly named TFS Translator. The engine was called Barcelona, made by Globalink, until recently Lernout & Hauspie and currently ScanSoft [scansoft.com]. (Some people have too much money) Link [lhsl.com] to the current product based on that engine. They also have some tips [lhsl.com] on what to keep in mind if you are preparing a text for automatic translation. Ah, they finally added Japanese! Konnichi-wa, Anjin-San! :-)

        ...and a balrog in a pear tree!

      • I don't know of any online automated tools, but I could have sworn that I saw a web page that had a list of heuristics you could use to try to guess some text's language.

        I basically use the same method... I'm not sure if I can write down exactly what I do though; some of it is probably just recognizing certain words and knowing which language that word is from. Anyways, a rough list of my heuristics:

        Latin scripts (you know, like English :)
        If there aren't any funny marks above or below any of the letters, it's probably English. But you should recognize English when you see it :)
        If you see ã and õ, probably Portuguese
        If you see ñ, but no ã or õ, probably Spanish.
        No tildes anywhere, but various accents on top of vowels, especially à, é, è, ê, î, ù, and also ç. Probably French.
        üs and ßs. Probably German.
        Dunno about Italian... I know it when I see it :) Not too many accents... only é, I think.
        Long words with lots of doubled letters, and doubled äs; "y" always used as a vowel (like right at the beginning of the mouse fan article: "nyt"): probably Finnish (and Estonian too? Not sure 'bout that).
        å and æ: some Scandinavian language... I can't tell the difference between 'em :) Probably one of Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish.
        and : Hungarian
        ð and : Icelandic
        , , , , : probably Czech.
        : probably Polish
        , , : probably Turkish.
        Letters with way too many diacritics for their own good (such as , "latin small letter e with circumflex and hook above", or "latin small leter a with breve and acute"): Vietnamese

        Non-Latin scripts:
        Just memorize how they look and you can at least get to a group of languages that use that script (Cyrillic and Arabic, for example), or maybe even to a single language (Thai, for example). If you see all Chinese characters, it's Chinese. If you see Chinese characters mixed with Japanese kana, it's Japanese. If you see mostly Korean characters with some Chinese, it's Korean :)

        Well that's all I can think of for now :)

        • doubled äs;

          Yep, that's a pretty sure sign of Finnish, and indeed this article is Finnish.

          probably Finnish (and Estonian too? Not sure 'bout that).

          Both Finnish and Estonian (and Hungarian) belong AFAIK to the same group of languages. Finns and Hungarians can't understand too much of each other's languages though.

          å and æ: some Scandinavian language... I can't tell the difference between 'em :) Probably one of Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish.

          Hehe, telling the difference between Swedish and the two other are easy enough: Swedes use ö whereas we (I'm Norwegian) use ø. Also, "and" is "och" in Swedish but "og" in Norwegian and Danish.

          Generally, spoken Swedish is closer to Norwegian than Danish, but written Danish is closer to Norwegian than Swedish. I have actually been acting as translator between Stockholmers and Danes at times...

          Telling the difference between Norwegian (no) and Danish (da) is harder. It's easy enough to a native, but Danish was the official language in Norway for a very long time and dominated up to a big reform in 1917, where it was norwegianified. If that isn't bad enough, we have two official languages here, no is in fact nb and nn, so if you think it's hard to tell the difference between da and no, it's even harder to tell the difference between nn and nb. Besides, if I write informally, I'd like to write something in between of nn and nb. :-) I think no makes more extensive use of double consonants, but I'm not sure about that. You can see it on quite a few words, typically one letter is different, like "language" which is "språg" in da but "språk" in no, "of" which is "af" in da but "av" in no. And so on... :-)

  • Noise... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by BlueOtto ( 519047 )
    Can I get a quieter hydrolic version?

  • Power Issues... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cliffy2000 ( 185461 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:06PM (#2752999) Journal
    I can't imagine that it's a good idea to draw extra power off the bus. Without the proper regulations/driver information, this "cool" hack could quickly lead to a very "hot" fire.
  • If I play Multiplayer-anything for more than just a few minutes, I plan ahead and pull out my trusty Logitech Trackman Marble FX Optical.

    While sucky for art, Trackballs are the bomb for quick precision rail-gun targeting in FPS'ers, group selection in RTS'ers, and action selection in MMORPG's. Using a combination of trackball and keyboard chording, my mild case of RSI has all but dissapeared.
    • Really? I have the same model Trackman and I've always had a really hard time playing games with it, even after "training" myself in Half-Life with it for a while. Is there some trick involved?
    • I know some artists who swear by trackballs; maybe 5 of the 30 artists I support. I can't stand 'em for Photoshop or Illustrator work myself, but some make 'em work. Kensington Orbits seem to be their preffered devices. I use one on my work Mac for the RSI thing too. Does absolute wonders for wrists and fingers to switch pointing devices occasionaly.

    • Not quite my version of things, I was an avid user of Trackballs for about 2 / 3 years for FPSers mainly due to the precision, but this year my thumb all but died & I unfortunately purchased a M$ optical trackball (its terrible, keeps clogging up & sticking even after being cleaned).

      I used to be real happy with my logitec trackball, what model do you use or recommend? (anyone) Id be happy to go back to one as long as its reliable under heavy usage.
  • I kinda wonder if this idea will gain more of a foothold in the gaming industry, or the online pr0n industry...

    Oh wait, is that sweaty palms or hairy palms?

  • Bad Airflow (Score:2, Insightful)

    by mookoz ( 217805 )
    How can you cool down the mouse with those vent holes when your hand is going to be blocking most of them most of the time?
    • umm....look at your hand while it is on the mouse. Mine has lots of space between the mousie and my hand.
    • If you read the page (gasp!), it specifically mentions that the guy put intake holes on the side. The pictures even make it fairly clear.
    • It probably has to do with how you hold the mouse. Many players will only have the pads of their fingers on the mouse because it gives a more accurate feel (you are fine adjusting your aim by moving your fingers instead of your wrist). Not everyone does it. Some are great shots even with their whole hand on the mouse. But for the "delicate touch" types this is a pretty cute hack. It is rather annoying when the sweat drips from your palms, down your fingers to your fingertips and starts making the mouse slippery.
  • First it was wireless mice [slashdot.org], and now it's Holy Mice! (in time for the holiday season).

    Or...

    I don't think that's sweat he's got on his palms... <badum-ching!>

  • Some thoughts (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jdc180 ( 125863 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:08PM (#2753015)
    Just from the pictures, I'm thinking a lot of crap could fall in those holes. Just the buildup of hair and potato chips could be enough to make cleaning it a daily chore. Oh, and I don't want my mouse vibrating and making noise like I'm sure that one does. I think a lower-tech solution is to remove your hand from the mouse once in a while, maybe wipe in on a t-shirt, or something.. jees...

    JC

    Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD.

  • Ok... Ok... Hold on... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Peridriga ( 308995 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:09PM (#2753018)
    This is getting really crazy..

    When I actually need personal cooling devices b/c I am concentrating so hard on a video game... That is when I stand up and go walk outside... I mean comon.. Are the people using these also strapping Gatorade bottles to their heads and urine bags to their waists so they can remain hydrated and excrete waste with out getting up as well....

    Comon... nice hack, but, get up and walk outside for a while. :-)... Thats all...
    • Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated

    • Comon... nice hack, but, get up and walk outside for a while. :-)... Thats all...


      Ah, from this statement, we know you are not a real gamer. Dude, real gamers don't walk away from the game, this is about professionalism.
    • Comon... nice hack, but, get up and walk outside for a while. :-)... Thats all...


      The hack is the point, not cooling. The cooling is just the excuse. I bet if you checked out the rest of his system, his case is modded, his kb is, & he's water-cooling his overclocked processor.

      While I dig case mods, I'm kinda surprised to see it here. There's no politics involved. I guess the "gaming abuse" aspect covers it. Go figure...
    • ... strapping Gatorade bottles to their heads and urine bags to their waists ...

      Of course! Urine bags! Why didn't I think of that? But as for Gatorade, I might like something that will not only hyrdate me but also nourish. Really, something intervenous would be best, just as long as it doesn't get in the way of my gaming. Why don't they sell this stuff in game stores?

  • Bingo.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by 2Bits ( 167227 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:10PM (#2753026)
    I know I need one of these as soon as I see it!

    The problem with my mouse is not me, but my boss. For some reasons that are too difficult to grasp for my techhead, she just loves to play on my computer. The problem is, she never washes her hand after toilet, according to a female colleague who was horrified to see the boss play with my computer.

    Now, only if I could get a mouse to wash and sanitize itself too....

    • OK, I'll bite...

      did you sniff your kbd and mouse?

    • Re:Bingo.... (Score:3, Funny)

      by heikkile ( 111814 )
      I'm sorry, but the 5 volts used in this project is far too low voltage to cure that sort of behaviour. Try with a bit of electronics, a little transformer, and most of all, two fine electrodes on the upper surface of the rodent... For timing the effect, trigger it with one of the buttons.
  • And you thought all those XBox hacks were cool (pun intended). I guarentee you some MS engineer is already drawing up the patent papers for that little do-hicky.

    Side note: anyone know when they'll come up with something similar for sticky hands? ;)

  • Central Air (Score:3, Funny)

    by alacqua ( 535697 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:12PM (#2753032) Homepage
    Now if I could just get a beowulf cluster of these, I could get rid of the central air in my house.

    (ducking)

  • Oldschool solution (Score:5, Funny)

    by babbage ( 61057 ) <cdeversNO@SPAMcis.usouthal.edu> on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:13PM (#2753037) Homepage Journal
    ...of course, the traditional varieties of mice never had this problem, as the natural fur coating would wick away unwanted moisture. But now that we have them overclocked and pumped full of steroids, we resort to these fancy technological measures and have forgotten about the simple, elegant solutions that nature has provided for us.

    Bring back furry mice!

    • ...of course, the traditional varieties of mice never had this problem, as the natural fur coating would wick away unwanted moisture.

      I was thinking along similar lines, albeit steering wheels instead of mice. You can get wool covers for steering wheels, I figure a nice patch (no, the physical kind) of same on the mouse would have a good effect.

      On a steering wheel it also keeps you from burning/freezing your hands in hot/cold weather, but until X-Treme Outdoors Quake Arena!!! takes hold, that shouldn't really be a problem.
    • Bring back furry mice!

      Yeah, at least they were quiet as they ate the crumbs off your desk. Big fan in box on floor? It's a vacuum cleaner! Wheeeeeeeeee, all day long!

  • no wheel (Score:1, Insightful)

    by FigBugDeux ( 257259 )
    who plays quake without a wheel mouse

  • Sweating for traction. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Neon Spiral Injector ( 21234 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:14PM (#2753042)
    I read in a Popular Science magizine a long time ago, that someone was theorizing that our feet and palms would sweat when we got nervose to improve our traction if we had to take flight.

    Maybe this responce was better suited to natural services like dirt, leaves, and grass, than todays PVCs.

    So maybe mouse makers could come up with some other materials that work hand in hand with our flight responce and stick better when wet.
    • Yah, clay mice would be perfect. Whenever you get real pissed while gaming or surfing, you could just throw it against your monitor, or the wall, and it would stick. I'd love to see that. - - - Wooden mice, OTOH, I'd be too scared of splinters to really let go while fragging...

  • Finnish translator (Score:4, Informative)

    by Parafilmus ( 107866 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:15PM (#2753044) Homepage
    There's a translator at http://www.tranexp.com/intertran/ [tranexp.com] which handles Finnish and other non-babelfish-supported languages.

  • Not sweaty (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Dyolf Knip ( 165446 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:16PM (#2753045) Homepage
    Now my problem was never sweaty hands but cold ones. I spend a few hours on a computer and my hands get so cold I'd swear they were blocks of ice.

    Are there any electric hand warmers out there or should I go build my own?

    • Now my problem was never sweaty hands but cold ones. I spend a few hours on a computer and my hands get so cold I'd swear they were blocks of ice.

      Hey, now you can make a neat hack of your own and solve that problem! Plus, you can double the processor power of your PC! Instead of that fan in the mouse, just install an Athlon 1900+ processor, and voila! No more frozen fingers!

  • Honestly... silly mice aren't useful for playing games like Quake. I can't imagine having to constantly pick up and drop down a mouse when I wanted to do circle around someone and given that your hand doesn't cup the large ball of a Kensington (pointer and middle finger are all that's needed), no sweaty hands.

    Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
    • With mouse tracking speed up high enough you almost never need to pick up the mouse. Certainly not during a circle strafe.

      It takes a fair bit of getting used to that kind of speed though.
      • "With mouse tracking speed up high enough..."

        good luck getting some decent rails in with such a high sensitivity. ever notice how all the top quake players (the ones making thousands of dollars in tourneyments) always have really low sensitivty?
        • I can't comment on that tourney players but I know from experience you can get precision with high sensitivity (I use 15 sensitivity in Half-Life, and I know people that use 25). Use the mouse to put the crosshair very close to the target, and use strafe and movement keys to put the target under the crosshair, fire as necessary. It keeps you moving eradically and gives you easier aiming at the same time.
    • I can't imagine having to constantly pick up and drop down a mouse when I wanted to do circle around someone

      what the hell are you talking about? if your circle strafe takes more mouse movement than pad before you score a kill, then you need to turn your mouse sensitivity up.
  • The great people over at adequacy.org [adequacy.org] put up a mirror of the pages and images. You can find it here [adequacy.org] on their site.

  • It's shaky... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Tha_Zanthrax ( 521419 ) <slashdot@ z a n t h r a x . nl> on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:21PM (#2753062) Homepage Journal
    I like the idea but I think your hand will obscruct the airflow rendering it useless.
    It should draw in air on one side and blow it out on the other. The cool air would have to pass some holes on top.

    Anyway... I don't know how long she can take it capt'n. a mirror. [geocities.com]

  • Slashdotted (Score:3, Informative)

    by base2op ( 226729 ) <spambait@bunkergate.org> on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:26PM (#2753076) Homepage
    It seems to be gettin' slashdotted. I decided to mirror it:

    http://bunkergate.org/RottaFlekti-MouseFan.htm [bunkergate.org]

    I hope this doesn't hurt too much. : P
  • I've been using an optical mouse for about a year, and this looks like a great idea. However, I have been thinking about going to a trackball, as it should work better with counterstrike which I run in linux (trackballs play better from what I understand.) I'm wondering how I put a fan in a trackball.

  • Pick a better subject! (Score:5, Funny)

    by fritter ( 27792 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:57PM (#2753159)
    I thought this was about a sexual harassment suit at Disney!

  • Another alternative: beta-blockers (Score:4, Funny)

    by ez76 ( 322080 ) <slashdot@@@e76...us> on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @05:59PM (#2753166) Homepage
    Beta-adrenergic blocking agents can limit the physiological effects of Quake-borne adrenalin rushes (i.e. sweating and tremors). As medications that lighten the load on the heart, they are most often prescribed for hypertension, chest pain, and related cardiovascular stress ailments, but they have also historically been prescribed "off-label" for stagefright and other situations where one needs to "be calm." They are so effective at steadying your play that many professional gaming leagues forbid them explicitly (when money is on the line).
  • Whenever sweat becomes a problem when using a mouse for an extended period, I usally use a handkerchief - I either tie it around my hand or just place it on the mouse. Keeps the mouse nice and dry.
  • And I saw a couple of weeks ago.
    By the way.. If you have problems with sweating.. Is it a good idea to open the mouse??..

  • Fish? We don' need no stinkin' fish... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by talks_to_birds ( 2488 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @06:20PM (#2753214) Homepage Journal
    ...check out the English version:

    hw.metku.net/rottaflekti/index_eng.html [metku.net]

    Also take a step back up to root at hw.metku.net/ [metku.net] and look at the other cool stuff they've been doing...

    t_t_b


  • In these cooler times, when I have to pay the heating bill, I tend to keep the temp colder. I can always put on a sweater, but it doesn't seem to help keep my mouse hand warm. Gloves are abviously out, so what are the options? I can't be the only one with this prob.

  • Bowling (Score:3, Funny)

    by StaticLimit ( 26017 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @06:22PM (#2753220) Homepage
    First Person Shooters (FPS) aren't the first thing I think of when I see this. It looks like it'd be more useful in First Person Bowling (FPB) sims. The hand-dryer-blower-thing is just that subtle element of realism that FPBs are always missing ;)

    - StaticLimit
  • I think he should patent it. This is pretty cool and I am sure that after some health tests some companies might follow a suit and start produce such mices. :)
    • I think he should patent it.

      Too late. The second he puts it on the web it becomes unpatentable.

      You simply cannot publish something you intend to patent untill you are some way along into the patenting paperwork....

      Roger.
      • You simply cannot publish something you intend to patent untill you are some way along into the patenting paperwork....

        This is not true, at least in the United States. US patent law allows the "first to invent" to patent an invention, period. There is no requirement not to disclose invention details to the public.

        Secrecy has to do with "trade secrets," not patents.

        BWT, I'm co-inventor on US patent 5,331,222.

  • Hygenic Solution (Score:5, Interesting)

    by spector30 ( 319592 ) on Wednesday December 26, 2001 @06:35PM (#2753260) Homepage


    Use a feminine napkin. Get the thinnest one you can find. Be sure to get the kind that DOES NOT have gel inside it. Slice it into 3 or 4 strips depending on how long it is. Peel the strip to expose the adhesive. Stick it on the mouse right under your palm. This should absorb any moisture from your sweaty game hand. This will also work on the wrist wrest for your keyboard.

    I got this idea from watching my buddy's father gardening while I was in High School. He used to use them for knee pads. What a sight he was, but his knees never ached.



    • Jack: (Standing in line with basket full of Maxi's) ... 2, 3, 4... that ought to be enough.
      Frank: (Gets in line behind Jack) ... Jack, is that you, you old dog?
      Jack: Frank! How's it going, friend?
      Frank: Great, great... (notices basket) Looks like the old lady has got you running errands again.
      Jack: No, no, these are for me. I've got a lot of work to do.
      Frank: ... I don't read.
      Jack: Well just last week I was hunched over whacking the weeds when I noticed a strange discharge seeping out of my Grace's prizewinning flytrap! There is much to be done if I'm to save that old beast.
      Frank: ...aaaaalrighty then....

  • thats all we need (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    another damn fan for cooling.
    WHAT??? I CANT HEAR YOU!
  • Even better...

    Just get the exact same setup but point the fan down. Drill the holes on the underside of the mouse and you got yourself a... Hovermouse!! :)
  • Why not just glue on a piece of formed sponge or a cloth? A lot cheaper, and a lot easier.

    (Not to mention I already did it to my mouse. :)
  • Strange, but when I play Quake or other online games my palms don't get sweaty at all. Instead, they get ice cold, like my blood circulation has slowed or something. Am I just weird or does this happen to anyone else?
  • think you could drill out the "Microsoft" while your at it? :P
  • My problem is that after a long gaming session, my mouse hand is cold and clammy (poor circulation, I suppose :).

    How about making a heated mouse garage?
  • Over clock the bi*ch
  • Finally, something suited to my needs. This mouse will make my late-night masterbation binges so much easier!
  • A story about a handheld input device presented with an icon of a foot.
  • I bet there's enough room in the palmrest of the Microsoft Natural keyboards (and other similar ones) to get some sort of airflow going. Maybe I'll break out the dremel and go to work...

  • Nice to see you all. (Score:4, Informative)

    by japala ( 546358 ) on Thursday December 27, 2001 @07:49AM (#2754461) Homepage
    Feels great to get /.'ed. Thank you all for visiting my site http://hw.metku.net. Thanks to those who made mirrors to my site. hmm... this is getting similar to Oscar Gala, maybe I should thank my wife too... ;) Hope you all understand that this mod was made just for fun. I just wanted to see that could this be done. It was also intended to be a joke to everybody who place n+1 fans to their computers. Too bad that it really worked ;)
  • IF you've seen the results of a recent slashdot poll you would realize that several thousand slashdot readers ARE LINUS.

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