If you’ve been losing sleep trying to reconcile your internet addiction with your recent enthusiasm for the “back to nature” movement, check out this wooden mouse, hand made in Japan’s rural Gunma prefecture. The “Jupiter” mouse, apparently named so for the wood grain swirls and clicker reminiscent of the largest planet’s famous spot, is available from Actbrise Electronics for ¥13,980.
Not only does it look cool, however, the spherical shape also means that the Jupiter functions differently from a traditional, err, mouse-shaped mouse. The cursor moves in a particular direction and velocity according to the tilt of the ball, somewhat like a joystick, staying relatively put on its little stand.
In other spherical mouse news, Actbrise also has a stainless steel “Escher” mouse (¥8,925, available for Mac too!).
And this nifty series of “Deco” mice (¥12,600-¥15,600), for personal computer users who prefer the bling side of things.
Rebecca Milner was a contributor at ShiftEast.com, and is currently a Japan correspondent for Lonely Planet. 
