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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Meta mean?

Due to its unique design, the functionality of the Meta transforms as you go from one application to another. It has transcended the plane of mere material mouseness.

Is this like Apple's Magic Mouse?

It's almost the complete opposite of Apple's approach with their new mouse. The Magic Mouse has one giant button that can do 10 things, the Meta has 18 buttons that can each do two or more things. And a scroll wheel. And a joystick. And 512k of flash memory....

How do I hold the mouse?

We have found the most effective way is to rest your first three fingers on the mouse with your thumb on the joystick. Your index finger controls the first two vertical rows, your middle finger utilizes the two middle ones and the scroll wheel, and your ring finger the last two rows. This lets you click and double-click with a minimum of effort and finger movement. A two-fingered "V" approach can be even faster, but will tend to place an amount of strain on the index finger over time. On the ergonomic plus side, the decreased use of icons and pull-down menus significantly reduces the amount of wrist movement required.

Aren't all those buttons hopelessly confusing?

Not at all. It usually takes about two days to get accustomed to a new profile. If you can handle the buttons on a smartphone, you can easily handle the buttons on the OOMouse. The buttons are laid out in such a way as to make it easy to know which one your finger is on without needing to look at it. And if you get confused as to which button does what, just click the help button to see a transparent map of all the commands assigned to the buttons in your active profile. Or, alternatively, you can refer to the PDF exported for that profile.

Can I reassign the buttons on the default profiles?

You can customize them and rearrange them however you like. It's very easy. Just click on the function in the relevant profile, click Assign, then click on the button you want. To assign a double-click, do the same thing but check the double-click box before clicking on the button. You can do an entire mode in 10 minutes.

What if I don't feel like making my own mode but there's no default mode for a game or application I'm using?

We're building up a catalog of default modes for everything from major mainstream applications to obscure DOS abandonware. If we've got it, all you have to do is download the file and load it into Meta Modeware. That's it. Send the mode to the mouse and you're ready to go. And if we don't have a mode you want, email us a request.

When does the first gaming-dedicated WarMouse come out?

The Meta is already more powerful than the highest-end gaming mouse out there now, the Razer Mamba. Follow us on Twitter or the WarMouse development blog to keep up on the latest news.

Why did you change your mind about using the laser sensor?

Because we found one that we were able to use that didn't cost any more than the optical sensor. We're still not sold on the genuine necessity of cpi above 2,000, but if you want ultra-high resolution, we've got it.

What on Earth can you do with 512k memory? Isn't that just a marketing comparison?

Not at all. You can have longer macros with more characters. You can store more game and application settings in the Meta for faster and more reliable switching from application to application. The more buttons you have, the more memory you need. And, we suspect the open source community will come up with even more useful ideas for how to use it.

Why did you use the OpenOffice name without OpenOffice.org's permission?

We didn't, we always had permission to use it. We requested written permission from the responsible individuals in OpenOffice.org's marketing group, who met and discussed our request to make use of the OOo brand before deciding to grant our request. Engadget was completely, utterly, and totally incorrect to claim that we did not have permission to use the brand or the OOo logo; that is why their Associate Editor was quick to remove the term "fraud" from the story when we contacted them and requested a correction. Ironically, we didn't even require OpenOffice.org's permission to use the term "OpenOfficeMouse" in the first place since a) their trademark is OpenOffice.org, and b) that trademark applies to software suites, not mice. Our assumption is that they talked to someone at Sun Microsystems who had no idea what was going on in the OpenOffice.org Marketing Project. Sun did ask us to change the name of the mouse AFTER the story about us using it without permission appeared and we had no problem agreeing to their request because there was so much confusion over who was making the mouse and if it worked with non-OpenOffice applications.

Did people really think it only ran with OpenOffice applications?

Yes, and the assumption is really not quite as dumb as it initially sounds. After all, you can't use the additional WoWmouse buttons outside of WoW and you can only use the Naga's 12 thumb buttons in games for which they've written the interface. The Meta is very unusual in the way it can work in pretty much any application.

What's up with the Intellivision thing?

We are serious old school gamers with great respect for the classic games. Unfortunately, until now, the PC has never had a satisfactory input device to replace the gold thumb disc when using PC Intellivision emulators such as Nostalgia or Intellivision Lives. With all the wisdom inherent in 28+ years of game development, the Blue Sky Rangers saw the utility of our mouse design and were kind enough to provide us with a custom multi-game Intellivision emulator that serves as an excellent demonstration of the Meta's gaming capabilities.

Real Intellivision games? Which ones?

Of course. Our long-time favorites... we'll be announcing them in the future.

How about other emulators?

Thanks to the analog joystick, the Meta is phenomenal with MAME and classic arcade games such as Ms. Pac-man, Joust, Donkey Kong, and 1941. It has been extensively tested in this capacity.

Is your setup sofware really open source? Why?

Yes, it really is. We will be releasing our code to the wild under the GPL sometime in January. We don't sell software, we don't believe in stifling technological development, and we really don't believe that we are the only ones who can figure out interesting and effective ways to use the Meta's revolutionary mouse interface. If you've got a better idea, then we want to help you make it happen.


-faq