Shmee.Me

io9.com recently had their Sci-Fi/Fantasy March Madness poll, and it came down to Star Wars versus Star Trek. It was a predictable final two, but one that was very hard for me to choose between. On the surface they appear to be similar: they take place in space, they have a multitude of alien species, and they both get in quite a few skirmishes, but they are in reality very different.

Star Wars is a mystic fantasy with a mysterious and powerful ancient religion, and no matter how far things progress, they will always stay the same. Humanity can’t get better than it is. There is no light without the dark. Star Trek on the other hand is totally Sci-Fi. Everything can be explained by science, and humanity is always getting better. Give humans more time, and they will make themselves in to better people.

Those are both interesting premises (one person broke it down between theocracy and communism, and he wasn’t far off), and I love to delve in to their worlds, but the fantasy element is what makes Star Wars end up winning this battle for me. It allows my imagination to run wild. Sure it is a bit pessimistic about human nature (so am I), but it gives me space ninjas with laser swords, and a hope that one day I will be able to turn off my light switch at night by just concentrating really hard. I guess I will always be thirteen.

That doesn’t mean the space exploration, and constant state of discovery that Star Trek provides is lost on me. It just doesn’t give my imagination the same sort of jump start that Star Wars does. I love both these franchises very much, but in the end if I had to pick one it would be Star Wars, prequels and all. I hope next year io9.com doesn’t force me to pick between DC and Marvel, because that would just be cruel.

It was a sad day around the Shmee household. Their trusty Logitech MX510 wasn’t gliding well, and it was coated with gross human skin deposits. I tried to clean it, but it just wasn’t working like the same mouse I bought ten years ago, so I had to replace it. As you can tell by my recent computer build, I am fairly brand loyal when it comes to computer parts and accessories, so if a mouse has served me well for over a decade, I am going to replace it with a member of its family. I selected the Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury.

Besides the terrible name. I mean really, Hyperion Fury? This mouse has everything I could want: A super high 500 image per second (IPS) rate, up to a 4,000 DPI resolution that you can change on the fly, and a built in processor to keep all that info heading to the computer without any lag. Though by far the best part is just how it feels. It is the perfect weight, and it glides like a dream. I don’t know how Logitech does it, but their gaming mice make everything else feel like trash once you have used them. I almost grimace every time I grab my mouse at work. A good mouse makes all the difference.

There are mice with better specs out there, and even some in Logitech’s product line, but after awhile they are just flashing big numbers that you will never use. You are never going to be able to control a mouse with 8,000 DPI well. 4,000 is even pushing it. The big deal is the IPS. The higher that is, the less chance there is of your mouse missing a movement, and at 500 IPS the Logitech G402 isn’t missing anything. The only good reason to get a different mouse is to get a different button layout, or the super nifty braided cable on the Logitech G502.

I know spending $50.00 on a mouse seems a little steep when you can get a mouse for under $10 these days, but trust me if you use your computer a lot a good mouse makes it much more enjoyable. Thanks to my job I get to try out a lot of different mice, and the Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury is by far the best one I use. You may have good luck with some of the cheaper or fancier gaming mice out there, but for my money it is Logitech all the way.

Month: April 2015

Star Wars Versus Star Trek, Shmee’s Take!

Shmee Glides With The Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury!