pop ‘n music be-mouse: weird name, odd controller

Ist hier eine Spieleigenartigkeit von Japan. Irgendwo fallend zwischen Tetris und Felsen-Band, Knall ` N ist Musik Maus ist ein Windows PC Spiel, das mit einer bunten Multitaste Maus für das Steuern das gameplay kommt.

Here’s a gaming oddity from Japan. Falling somewhere between Tetris and Rock Band, Pop ‘N Music Be Mouse is a Windows PC game that comes with a colorful multi-button mouse for controlling the gameplay.

To play Konami’s music pattern matching game, pop open the ladybug-like wings on the Be-Mouse controller to access the game’s nine buttons. As the colored indicators fall down the screen, you tap frantically on the buttons to keep up with the music.

It plays out much like the chord pattern interface on Guitar Hero and other familiar music games. While you might think it’s just another GH clone, it’s actually based on the popular Japanese Pop ‘N Music arcade series which dates all the way back to 1998.

While you can use the mouse for other computer activities, it’s a bit unwieldy for most things. I certainly can’t imagine using this thing to navigate around Excel spreadsheets, but to each his own, I suppose. Importer Play-Asia is now taking orders for the game and controller package for $69.90.

tonal plexus synthesizers get up to 1688 keys

Die Tonal Plexusreihe der Tastaturen ist ein Mikro-tonal Eingabegerät, das Reihen und Reihen der Tasten kennzeichnet, die Töne mit weit mehr Präzision erzeugen, als ein Klavier 88-key anfassen kann.

If you thought that the 312-key Chromatone synthesizer had a few more keys than your everyday piano, just wait ’til you get a load of the Tonal Plexus and its even more plentiful keyboard design.

The Tonal Plexus series of keyboards is a micro-tonal input device featuring rows and rows of buttons which generate tones with far more precision than an 88-key piano can handle.

Created by H-Pi Intstruments, the Tonal Plexus comes in variants from a compact 2-octave, 422 key controller, all the way up to a gigantic 8-octave keyboard with a whopping 1688 keys.

The keyboard layout is based on a traditional piano keyboard pattern of 7 white and 5 black keys, but each key gets a bunch of additional variants, including 7 naturals, 7 sharps, 7 flats, 7 double-sharps, 7 double flats, 6 triple-sharps and 6 triple-flats.

In case you’re keeping count, that’s 211 unique keys per octave. For some reason, I don’t think that you’ll ever run out of notes on this keyboard.

Prices range from about $1300 to $3800, depending on the number of keys and whether or not you choose to include the optional synthesizer/amplifier module, or you just need a MIDI controller.

scientists develop video games for cats

Sicher, haben Sie das Wii, das PS3 und das Xbox 360 gespielt, aber jetzt kann Ihr katzenartiger Lieblingsfreund in die Tätigkeit dank das späteste in der videospieltechnologie - das CatBox 360 erhalten.

Sure, you’ve played the Wii, the PS3 and the Xbox 360, but now your favorite feline friend can get into the action thanks to the latest in video gaming technology — the CatBox 360.

Each time kitty steps into the automatic litter box, a new game is activated and a random music track starts to play. Colored indicators scroll down the flip-out LCD screen much like they do in a game of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. As each paw scratches across the litter, it triggers the notes, and every time your cat leaves a “present” in the litter box, the game enters a bonus multiplier mode for extra points.

The system includes such cat-friendly tunes as Cat Scratch Fever, Stray Cat Strut, and of course, Cool for Cats.

The makers of the CatBox, Pawsitivity Games, say they’ve tested the device with hundreds of cats. With time, most of them do start to scratch to the rhythm of the music. An unfortunate side effect, however, is that a handful of cats have started “doing their business” any time they hear music playing — so beware when you crank up your stereo — you might get an unexpected surprise. Hopefully, they’ll work out this minor kink before the CatBox hits the market.

Pawsitivity hasn’t announced a release date or price for the system yet, but my cat can’t wait to get his paws on one.