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That is a good point, but that would limit things to the standards. Sure, things that are standard should use standard interfaces, and I bet this mouse works perfectly fine with the standard interface, but adds some extra functionality beyond that.

Granted, it's absurd it needs internet access, I'm just saying that regardless of how well they are written, it would be nice if some drivers were available from the device itself.



What functionality can a mouse have that couldn't have been standardized 20 years ago? I haven't encountered a mouse that had more than some sort of pointing device, scrollwheels, buttons and possibly some LEDs.


I think someone mentioned this particular model needed the driver for customizing the LEDs.

Off the top of my head, non standard features could be

haptic feedback, vibrations, or purosely slowing the mouse down for interacting witha game

palm print reader

electric shock if the wrong person uses it

locking mechanism for a secret compartment

temperature sensor to let you know you might be sick

fan to kick in to cool your hand off if its too hot

persistence of vision display using the laser on the bottom

That's all I got right now, but the point is if someone wants to do something weird they should be able to.


> What functionality can a mouse have that couldn't have been standardized 20 years ago?

Apparently there are some wacky domain specific mice: https://3dconnexion.com/uk/product/spacemouse-enterprise/




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