A while back I came up with a hardware invention to make me more productive with my tablet when I'm using it on a desk. I figured why not give a boost to the sagging global economy by unleashing this little gem on the world now, even though it's still at what we might call the "early prototype" stage.

Here's everything you'll need to send your productivity off the charts:

• Block off 30 seconds in your day-timer for construction. I also recommend closing your door and telling your secretary to hold your calls because you'll really need to concentrate.
  
• An optical mouse.
• The Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical is a good choice because you can use it in either your right or LEFT hand (more on this soon), but use whatever you have handy.
  
• A Post-It Note.
• A real paper one. You might have to special order one of these because I hear people don't use paper anymore these days.
  
  
• Scotch tape (can get by without it in a bind).
  
  
• A marker and/or highlighter.
• Optional, but more fun. Personalize your device and show off your craftsmanship to jealous co-workers.

Alright, now here's how you can build your very own INTELLISCROLLER © ® ^TM

1. Flip the mouse upside down like a turtle.
   
2. Stick the post-it over the optical mouse eye on the bottom and tear off any excess paper. Don't stare at the light!
   
   a. Use a little scotch tape to help secure it in place during heavy use.
   b. I've written "NO CURSOR!" on my Post-It with a heavy black marker. It was more fun that way and I really wanted to tell that mouse take its little pointy arrow and go stick it somewhere.
   
3. Use another Post-It to add a decorative touch to the top. This makes your INTELLISCROLLER look different from other mice. A crude scotch-tape job on the curved surface also makes it bumpy, giving your INTELLISCROLLER it a nice tactile distinction as well. Here's what mine looks like:
   
   
4. Now, if you're right handed, point with the pen in your right hand while you use the INTELLISCROLLER in your LEFT hand for scroll, right click, left click, and double click. Since the buttons are new separated from the pen, you'll get much less interference.
   
   a. This is where having the optical eye covered comes into play. This "mouse" won't accidentally disturb your pen position while you use INTELLISCROLLER to click, scroll, etc.
   
5. Use the Control Panel for the mouse to customize all of its buttons.
   a. I have the wheel-click on my INTELLISCROLLER mapped to CTRL. This makes it a breeze to use my pen for CTRL-tap multiple-selection or CTRL-drag to copy files.
   b. At times I've also had it set up to switch to the next application when I click the wheel. This way, you won't miss ALT-TAB so badly when you're using your pen. I've decided CTRL is more useful to me though.

I'm thinking about proceeding directly from this prototype to the "INTELLISCROLLER 2.0." That one will instead use a small notebook-sized wireless 5-button mouse. That would make it easier to lug this thing around as part of my mobile kit. If truth be told, my INTELLISCROLLER has been getting left out of my travel bag more often than not. Having yet another wire in there, which inevitably ensnares everything else in the pouch into one gargantuan Gordian knot, is a major limitation of this first prototype.

On a 5 button mouse, I'm thinking I'd probably use one of the extra buttons for Ctrl (to get it off the wheel button- it's too easy to roll while clicking, which sometimes leads to errors) and the other I might use for switching to the next app window, or maybe SHIFT, or something else?

Now in all honesty, I am not really expecting this device to become an overnight internet sensation. But there is a real grain of truth to its utility.

Why is such a thing useful, even if marginally so? Well, with all the standard apps that don't really treat a digital pen with the respect it deserves, actions like right-clicking, Ctrl-clicking, or double tapping are critical to be able to get things done quickly.

And as we all know, these can be really frustrating at times when you're using a pen.

Now I'm well aware that there are standard options in the control panel to customize this stuff, set up the pen button for right click, or to use tap-and-hold to activate context menus. But these things are band-aids to the fundamental problem that a pen doesn't have good buttons in the first place. On a mouse, you can press the buttons without disturbing the cursor position. On a pen this is just not possible. No matter how you set up all those crazy options, to some extent they interfere with the pure joy of knowing that every time you set your pen to the screen, you will leave digital ink, AND NOTHING ELSE.

I hope there is a more clever solution to all of this, and maybe ultimately it means that every app there ever was really should be re-written to understand the pen better.

But for now the INTELLISCROLLER is the most salient symptom of my desperation.

Update: sumocat over on the GottaBeMobile comments thread recommends:

pick up a gaming keypad, like the Belkin Nostromo, to do this. It's already designed to do these things and can also execute commands like cut, copy, and paste.

Well I think that's a great suggestion. I hope to get myself one of these and try it out! But I'm a little bit sad to hear that the INTELLISCROLLER 2.0 may already be obsolete before it could hit the market. On the other hand, a hidden virtue of the 30-second hack is that it is really easy to rip the NO CURSOR! Post-It off of the INTELLISCROLLER if you find you need an actual mouse (in emergencies only, of course).

 

 

NEXT: Post #2 in the AlpineInker's Tablet PC Ultra-Productivity Series!