Atek optical mouse moves accurately across laptop screens
The Super Mini Optical Mouse by Atek Electronics doesn't simply move you quickly from place to place on your laptop's screen. It does it precisely. A tiny device - 1-inch wide and 2 1/2 -inches long - it offers a nice alternative to the eraser-head stick pointer or touch pad that laptop manufacturers incorporate into all of their computers.
The Super Mini is a standard PC mouse with left and right buttons that function the same as if you had a full-size mouse. The optical eye allows you to roll it on an airplane tray table, car door arm rest or your leg in a pinch and still track properly.
And because of its tiny size, scrolling side-to-side no more than two inches will get you from one end of the screen to the next - you don't need much space to use the Super Mini.
Thanks to its optical eye, this mouse doesn't require maintenance such as cleaning out the gummy mess that sometimes collects inside the ball housing of a roller mouse.
The mouse is available with a PS/2 connection or a USB port and works only with Windows-based PCs. The USB mouse will not work with a PS/2 port adapter, so if you have only one USB port and want to use that for a CD-burner or some other device, get the PS/2 mouse. Available through the company's Web site, the Super Mini costs $50.
Information: (888) 889-9990 or www.atekelec.com.- Kevin Washington
PSB Alpha Intro speakers deliver solid, clean sound
New home theater speakers land on store shelves faster than birds gathering in a Hitchcock film. The options and claims are so confusing, it's a wonder shoppers don't panic and race for the exits.
Expect more of a happy ending from PSB's Alpha Intro speakers. There are no flashy gimmicks or mysterious tech claims here - just full, clean sound. Available in two styles, the speakers' small cabinets pack more good audio per cubic inch than many comparably priced competitors.
These speakers follow a time-honored audio design philosophy - that a solid midrange is the foundation of the sound spectrum. Speakers that neglect this idea but promise booming bass or stratospheric highs soon seem annoying or screechy.
Not so with the Alpha Intros. As heard in a modest room with PSB's Subsonic 5 subwoofer, gunfire from the film "La Femme Nikita" was exciting, not ear-piercing. The drumbeats and cannon fire in "The Last of the Mohicans" were compelling but not fatiguing.
The price for five speakers plus subwoofer ranges from $1,016 to $1,264.
Information: 905-831-6555 or www.psbspeakers.com.- John Hanan/KRT