Microsoft is reinventing the mouse wheel, adding "Tilt Wheel Technology" for horizontal scrolling and smoothing the vertical scroll motion. The tilting wheel lets users scroll left and right as well as up and down without having to use the on-screen navigation bars. This can be handy when working on a large spreadsheet or trying to view an unwieldy Web site, Microsoft says in a description of its technology.
New Mice Due
Microsoft plans to release on September 3 three new mice that implement the new tilting wheel, a company spokesperson says. One will be a corded mouse and two cordless, operating at 27MHz, the spokesperson adds. The mice will also have a feature that lets users toggle between open applications on a PC by pressing down on the wheel, she says.