Since Apple began inserting a lowercase “i” in front of its products (and, actually, perhaps before that), the Microsoft PC has been doomed to inhabit a certain position of comparative beigeness. But Bill Gates’ bland signature does’t always extend to his company’s peripherals. Case in point (although now more of a historical footnote), who else remembers the curious case of the Microsoft x Joy Division ZUNE?
Well, Microsoft recently announced its latest series of artist collaborations and blog-favorite, SKWAK, is on the roster. SKWAK designed the artwork for this wireless mobile mouse 3500. New BlueTrack technology means it can be used “even on a rough park bench or your living room carpet”. I presume their is a footnote against “shag” carpeting…
I found this dedicated Japanese Microsoft site with downloadable wallpapers by SKWAK and other series artists, Kenzo Minami, Tchmo and Sally Zou. You can use them on your PC’s screen or to make an outerglow, outerspace Photoshop montage, as I did above.
SKWAK says these should be available pretty much everywhere, but, in ironic news, the only site I could currently find selling it was a Mac site. It was still listed as “on order” with a retail price of $27.98. Soon I will be able to write about SKWAK using a mouse designed by SKWAK. How meta!
