Not long ago I had the chance to take a close look at Microsoft's Sidewinder X8. One of the X8's main features was the BlueTrack Technology used with its optical sensor that boasts the ability to work on virtually any surface. In my testing I found this to be true, but not really needed in a gaming mouse. BlueTrack Technology would be perfect for portable use in a laptop mouse where you never know what surface you will be using as a mouse pad. Today I have the chance to test out this theory because Microsoft's new Explorer Mini mouse using BlueTrack and I will be putting it to the test.

After living with an HTPC as a main source of television for months now I quickly learned that a wired mouse and keyboard just weren't going to cut it. In the world of wireless keyboards and mice there is an almost endless selection, a quick search on Newegg turned up round 100 keyboards alone. Of those 100 most of them have limited or no media center controls that are key features for an HTPC. One of setups that stood out was Microsoft's Entertainment Desktop 7000 with Blue-tooth, a wireless mouse included, and media center controls. Today I will talk about my experience spending time with this setup, did it live up to my expectations?

Alright, it's time to come clean.  You can't deny harboring some inner desire to fly.  Unfortunately for humans as a species, we have all the the aerodynamics of a rock covered in silly string.  We are resilient, however, determined if you will, to dominate the skies.  Thus we fashioned great metal birds in order to pioneer yet another glorious frontier.  This innate desire to fly, and by proxy, pilot aircraft has translated into our entertainment with the Flight Simulator franchise and games like Tom Clancy's HawX.  Of course, on terms of reality, navigating a plane with any stock system controller is bunk.  Real cockpits are a literal slew of devices and mechanism all used to prevent the craft from going nose down.  So for a more interesting and realistic flight experience,  manufacturers have been developing special controllers for quite some time, in an effort to simulate as true of a flight experience as best as possible.  Thrustmaster, ever adept as they are at creating desirable peripherals, have a few such products and were kind enough to send us their T.Flight Hotas X to take for a spin.

Last week I looked at both Microsoft's Sidewinder X5 mouse and Sidewinder X6 keyboard. Both surprised me with their near perfect windows integration along with quality construction. To cap off our coverage of the current sidewinder lineup Microsoft provided us with their most recent mouse the X8. The Sidewinder X8 is Microsoft's first attempt at a wireless gaming mouse available just in time to battle it out with the Razer Mamba that is also wireless. With their new blue optical technology first seen in the new explorer mouse called BlueTrack along with learning from feedback from the X5 they hope to turn a lot of heads and finally garner attention from gamers the way Logitech, Steel Series, and Razer have been able too.

Earlier this week I looked at Microsoft's Sidewinder X5 Gaming Mouse, as it turns out they make more than just mice with the Sidewinder name. The Sidewinder X6 is the first gaming keyboard created from the ground up by Microsoft, there previous keyboard the Reclusa was a collaboration with our friends at Razer similar to what they did with the Habu mouse. Of course I'm always excided to take a look at new keyboards, I don't think I've ever found the perfect keyboard for me. With Microsoft's experience and quality, who knows this could be the one for me.

For years before I got into gaming I used my trusty ol mouse and keyboard, both being Microsoft products. The Intellimouse itself held up to multiple beatings without a hiccup. I know a lot of people who have stood by their Microsoft peripherals for everyday computing. It's no shock that with the gaming market growing that Microsoft followed suit with their Sidewinder Series. With their original sidewinder mouse it was always a love or hate reaction. Personally, I was never a fan, but keeping an open mind today I will be taking a closer look at their Sidewinder X5 mouse. Who knows they may win me over!

Last July i had the chance to take a look at Kensington's Si670m bluetooth mouse. I have been using that same mouse up until now, our friends over at Kensington sent me their Slim Blade Presenter Mouse to take a look at. A drastically different design than the Si670m that I enjoyed. How will it compare? Will this become my new laptop mouse?

Steelseries is well known for being a quality gaming peripheral company. Their headsets and mouse pads are seen all over any just about any lanpartys or tournament that you go to. Up until last year their mouse line was basically a Microsoft mouse with a paint job. Designing a mouse takes time, and designing a mouse of the caliber of their other products takes a lot of time, fifteen months in fact. A year later we finally have a chance to take a look at the Ikari Laser to see if the time they invested was worth it.

As much of a fan of Razer products that I have been I have yet to own one of their keyboards. When they brought out the Tarantula keyboard I seriously considered picking one up. But after testing one out I decided to go with the 2^nd generation G15 that I still use. Because of this I was really excited when our friends at Razer asked if we wanted to take a look at their new keyboard (ok so I may have begged a little). Today I am going to tell you my experiences with this new keyboard, will it live up to the hype of all of the other Razer products?

Last week I looked at a mouse pad from a company that at the time was unknown to us. After spending time with the pad, I found that the QPad XT-R was the first mouse pad that has had the style and performance to draw me away from my tried and true Destructor mouse pad. Coming off of that high note I had to put the XT-R aside and try out another one of QPad's products, the CT. Christer Körnbäck, the CEO of QPAD sent the CT in the Grin along with the XT-R because it is one of his favorite designs. We know they can produce a great mouse pad, but can lighting strike twice?

For a long time now, I have been a self-proclaimed mouse and mouse pad snob. I am very meticulous about my mouse pad and use only the best. Recently I have been using the Razer Destructor because I favor hard mouse pads. These can often be easier to use if you rely on your mouse to play games at sites like http://www.partycasino.com/, in my opinion. However, there are a number of other high quality options and brands to choose from on the market at the moment.
Recently I encountered a company called QPAD that produces a variety of different mouse pads.  QPAD is a Swedish company that "built its success on a grassroots commitment to the gaming community. Like you, we thrive in the madness of competition and embrace the free spirit of gaming". Sounds like our type of people! They provided us with two mouse pads to review, today I will be talking about the QPAD XT-R. The XT-R is QPAD's op of the line model as of right now. I am going to review the quality to see if it meets my high standards.

Yesterday we took a closer look at the Razer Lachesis gaming mouse. Every good mouse needs a good mouse pad. So today we are going to check out Razer's newest mouse pad the Goliathus. This is Razer's first full soft mouse pad. The pad comes in both a Speed and Control version. Due to my preference's we are going to be reviewing the speed version today.

When gamers are looking for mice there are only a few company's you think of. One of the big names in gaming mice is Razer. Razer made a name for themselves by making high DPI mice at a time that 400dpi was main stream. Razer's latest high DPI mouse is the Lachesis (‘lak- -s s), with 4000 Dpi it's a far cry from the old days. Today we are going to test out the Lachesis and find out how it performs.

Most people would be amazed at the difference in performance that a good mouse and mouse pad can give you. It might seem like something stupid, and I understand why you would feel that way. You have been using that same basic mouse for years without any issues. When you finally decide to step up to a gaming mouse normally your options are limited to Logitech and Razer, they are both great options. Recently Silverstone has brought out a mouse of their own call the Raven. With a long list of features along with the eye-catching blue thumb scroll wheel and the carbon fiber, it's sure to get your attention. We spent a few weeks living with the mouse to see how it compares to some of its competitors.

Considering how everyone has a different idea of what is perfect for keyboards its really not a surprise that so many companies claim to sell the ultimate keyboard. Of all of those keyboards there is only one that is rumored to improve your typing ability. All at the same time using some of the best possible components to give you the durability any hard core computer geek will need. Das Keyboard have been around, they have recently released their third design on the Das Keyboard. They now sell two different models. One standard Das Keyboard without key letters; this is what put them on the map. The other keyboard is of the same construction, but with letters on the keys incase you aren't into the idea of touch typing. Ether way you are going to get a keyboard that is known for its quality mechanical keys. If you are a fan of laptop keyboards, or have a S/O that you might keep up with clicking keys this may not be the "ultimate" keyboard for you. I myself love to drive my wife nuts and have been known to wear the letters off of keyboards in the past; we are going to find out if the Das Keyboard is the one for me.

Radio Detection and Ranging.   We commonly refer to this technology as radar.  A priceless boon to military efforts anywhere, oft the chagrin of gamers everywhere.  Strategy itself can be turned on its head in any game that allows the use of this technology.  Did I mention that a radar display generally looks pretty sweet?  Evo-G has picked up on this fact, and used the concept when developing their IMP1 Illuminated Mouse Pad.  Whether the intention is to rub salt in the wounds of all gamers betrayed by radar, or to simply look cool remains to be seen, but the IMP1 is marketed as a gaming mouse pad and Evo-G tossed one our way to find out some stuff for ourselves.

With Bluetooth becoming so widespread it’s not a big surprise that it is popular with the mobile computing crowd. In fact a lot of the midrange to high end notebooks are equipped with Bluetooth from the start. People with integrated Bluetooth can pick up a nice mouse like Kensington’s Si670m and not have to worry about a large USB dongle for their wireless mouse. Unfortunately my laptop doesn’t have integrated Bluetooth, but Kensington didn’t forget people like me. There USB Micro Bluetooth Adapter is made small enough to stay plugged in all of the time. Today we are going to check out the two items together. Click to read more.

We find ourselves once again taking a look at a gaming mouse pad, well two. Today we look at the C4 NGen 04 and the C4 NGen, both products from C4 Mouseware (a CSHyde company). With a Super Slick & Super Fast Teflon surface will the glide to the top of our mouse pad pile or stay planted on our desk?

A few weeks ago we did a review on the Steel Series I-2 glass mouse pad. Now we are at it again with Razer’s newly released mouse pad, The Destructor. Razer is known for putting out quality products for the gaming community. In order to stay in touch with the gaming community they have been known to hire mostly gamers. They also get very involved in the professional gaming community as you can see HERE. Razer has gone as far as getting involved with Video Games Live recently. So today we are going to find out if being in touch with the gaming community helps product a better product. We will also find out how the destructor compares to my everyday mouse pad also made by Razer, the eXactMat. Read more after the jump

Over the past few years everyone and their mom has produced a “gaming” mouse pad. Our friends at SteelSeries are all about making anything to help improve your gaming. So it comes as no surprise that they produce gaming mouse pads also. In fact they sell 14 different variations for every type of gamer. They have provided us with a Blue I-2 mouse pad. I wouldn’t even call it a pad, this is the first mouse pad I’ve ever used made of glass. Click to read more about it….