Bits On Our Desk - 14

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2008/11...-our-desk-14/1

It's that time again and we're rounding up all the bits and bobs once more for a big round-up of the latest gadgetry and gizmogery. We've got books, games, peripherals, memory and...beanbags? Whatever, Joe, Faith, Richard and Tim take a look at what's been on our desks.

[Slyporkie]

Just dont leave that thumbdrive lying around on your desk. Your mouse might have a little chew on the casing!

[[USRF]Obiwan]

Ok to get things straight, this was just for the picture right.

right?

[qupada]

The one thing you've missed on the USB flash drive is transfer rate, how does it stack up compared to say the Corsair Flash Voyager GT (tested mine at 30MB/s read, 18MB/s write). Speed is everything

[Ghast]

"Tim loves typing on laptop keyboards, but hates gaming on them"

Funny, I'm the complete opposite. I like the short stroke laptop keys responsiveness due to less key travel (every nanosecond counts) for gaming and the... I guess you could call it long stroke (as questionable as that sounds) for typing because I know when I've hit a key and there's no question about it.

Regarding the N52te, is this compatible with XP x64 or no?

[Bindibadgi]

Originally Posted by [USRF]Obiwan

Ok to get things straight, this was just for the picture right.

right?

yes.

Just for the picture.

[liratheal]

Did anyone try the N52te with an MMO?

Room mate plays a lot of WoW, and he swears by his. I'm contemplating getting one based on his rabid love for it, but hey.

Any thoughts on whether it's him being a madman, or whether there's some truth in his theory?

[Bindibadgi]

I'd say go try his - we tried it in FPS in the office.

[cpemma]

One really good thing about the Earthdrive though is that it’s very cheap compared to a lot of other memory sticks. We were looking at the 4GB version which costs just over £10, but there’s a larger 8GB model too which can be had for only a few quid more in the UK.

Very cheap compared to a few drives that have something really special going for them, but getting on for twice the going rate for decent branded drives - £9.99 for 8Gb or two 4Gb for £11.

Thanks but no thanks. The thought of my data storage falling to bits after a few years is not a pleasant one.

[phuzz]

We've got one of those huge beanbags at home, currently it's set between two sofas, right in front of the TV and speakers, making it perfect for gaming. The only downside is they're too comfortable to get out of.

[GuardianStorm]

Originally Posted by liratheal

Did anyone try the N52te with an MMO?

Room mate plays a lot of WoW, and he swears by his. I'm contemplating getting one based on his rabid love for it, but hey.

Any thoughts on whether it's him being a madman, or whether there's some truth in his theory?

I use this (n52 original) for WoW too, and i think its great for it. i have movement assigned to the d-Pad, and use the buttons for spells etc, and the mousewheel i have set to target next/prev foe. works very well for this imo.

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi

I'd say go try his - we tried it in FPS in the office.

You are right bindi, i never found it as good as a keyboard for FPSs

[Veles]

I would love one of those massive bean bags, but £99? Holy ****

[Javerh]

The Omni is hardly small, measuring in at 4.5”x5.5”

I would call that quite small

PS. The MS Natural Ergonomic 4000 rules as a gaming keyboard. Although I use IJKL instead of the usual WASD.

[Xtrafresh]

Originally Posted by Javerh

I would call that quite small

badumm tsh...

Anyway, just out of curiosity, what happens to all this stuff after you reviewed it? You have to return it, you use it, or could you mayhaps... hold some mini-competitions?

[Hiren]

Originally Posted by Xtrafresh

Anyway, just out of curiosity, what happens to all this stuff after you reviewed it? You have to return it, you use it, or could you mayhaps... hold some mini-competitions?

Depends on the company / item. Most stuff goes back after it's been loaned. Some stuff is a long term loan for office use.

[Cptn-Inafinus]

I can't believe you get paid to test a bean bag.

That's almost sick.

[Xtrafresh]

Originally Posted by Hiren

Depends on the company / item. Most stuff goes back after it's been loaned. Some stuff is a long term loan for office use.

Oh well, 't was worth a shot

[RallyRoach]

Speaking as someone who has used the Nostromo Speedpads since the N50, and currently using the n52, I tried one of the n52te's recently. The biggest drawback for a long-time user is that the new Razer programming software is NOT compatible with the old software. You cannot import your old profiles. Also, i found the software not nearly as adjustable as the old Belkin drivers, but that may have been me getting used to it.

Also, for the record, in FPS's, I put the WASD on the thumbpad for movement, then use the buttons for functions. Add in a shift button, and you've got LOTS of buttons for games (I never have to move to the keyboard in Battlefield games, even as commander).

I'd say it'd be great for someone who never tried it before and was willing to learn, but for anyone used to their old Speedpads, stock up on the original n52.

[eternum]

I also swear by the n52 for MMOs, so much so that I bought a pair for a couple of my friends who played with me one christmas. I just won't play an MMO without it (those rows of easily accessible keys get mapped directly to the hotbar buttons and oh what a difference it makes), but both of my friends just couldn't get used to it. It takes some time to get used to the feel and get some muscle memory workin, but once you do, you can really tell the difference in the speed with which you play.

I still haven't gotten used to it in FPS games, though. I probably should try it with more of them.

All in all, it's a solid buy - even at that high price. I've found it makes more of a difference than a quality mouse of the same price range.

[metarinka]

Originally Posted by liratheal

Did anyone try the N52te with an MMO?

Room mate plays a lot of WoW, and he swears by his. I'm contemplating getting one based on his rabid love for it, but hey.

Any thoughts on whether it's him being a madman, or whether there's some truth in his theory?

yah I played wow a lot with a n52te and diablo 2. although I was a gamer for years I found wow on a keyboard gave me debilitating carpel tunnel, something that did not happen when I played other games. I purchased it within 1-2 weeks of it's release.

yes it worked under xp 64 just fine.

In my opinion it works amazing with wow if you use custom bar mods. I made bars that mimmicked the profile of the pad layout. And I saved the last most row for shift states. So on my shadow priest if I pressed "shift" all my bars would flip over to all my healing spells. I moved with the d-pad etc. I also had shift states on the pad itself (it has 3 available) to open general things like windows and bags.

All in all it works very well and by using your thumb instead of WASD to move it allows you to move and cast spells a lot more independently. I had less problems kiting on my warlock. If your roommate has one try it out. There's a learning curve when you have to memorize what each button and combo press does, but after a week or two I couldn't even play on a keyboard because honestly who can reach more than say 1-6 while moving? plus the few buttons around wasd?

I tried it a bit for fps, it works just fine not really much different than a keyboard, I didn't use the thumbpad to move though. Also the review forgets to mention that you can remove the thumb pad hat and underneath it is a arrow pad. I'm using the arrow pad