Sandio's crazy 3D mouse, which augments the standard layout with three analog thumb-joysticks, has new drivers which add support for modeling applications. AutoCAD, Maya and 3DStudio Max now map Cartesian mojo to the mouse's profusion of hats.

"Users of CAD and rendering software; such as AutoDesk’s 3D Studio Max, and Maya can now move along and rotate around X, Y and Z axes in Screen and Camera modes without switching between 3D objects and operation menus.For PC gamers, the Sandio 3D Game O2 is the only mouse of its kind designed for RTS and RPG games. It improves 3D game navigation, makes it possible to effortlessly and intuitively manipulate camera views, and even provides a competitive edge with 16 programmable keys."

I requested a review unit ages ago, but ever since it arrived it's just sat there on the shelf, looking far too intimidating to actually break out the blisterpack and make a fool of myself with.

Product Page [Sandio]

Many people want their Bluetooth headsets to be as subtle as possible. I am not one of them. In Berlin, there are only two sorts of people who stand in the middle of the streets, loudly talking to themselves, and the sort with whom I would avoid being mistakenly associated tends to wildly jactitate with the DTs when not complaining about the invisible insects crawling all over them. That vibrant, colorful Bluetooth headset, nuzzled in my ear canal? Irrefutable proof that I am not a lunatic. Or at least not by dint of loudly talking to no one.

So I approve of Bluetrek's limited edition Bizz and UFO Bluetooth headsets. Each one is decorated by artist Manuel Angot, and they come in all sorts of lurid patterns and colorful, chromatic swirlings. True, they aren't suitable for any professionals short of the most flamboyant of businessmen, but for the sort of hipsters who like colorful glasses and tech, these are pretty neat. At £79 a pop, though, I think I'll stick with my glitter, feathers and sparkles.

Bluetrek Bluetooth Earpieces [Techdigest]

Monica Hesse of the Washington Post has written a weird little piece about the Nubrella, an over-the-shoulders plastic dome which is marketing itself as the Umbrella 2.0, despite the fact that it features a five-step opening process and you need to put on a harness to keep it on. It's being described by its creator — who claims he's invested $400,000 into the Nubrella's creation — as the perfect umbrella for the on-the-go cell phone jockey who must always be charging down the street, thumbs a T9 blur as he texts, no matter what the weather. This prompts Monica to inexplicably note that...

Think of the 21st-century possibilities [of the Nubrella]. No more one-handed texting. No more rummaging for the ringing PDA while trying to keep the groceries off of wet pavement. Chatting, waving, toting, umbrella-holding: four tasks that were never before simultaneously possible.

The whole article's clearly a spoon-fed adverstory with some quirky umbrella history thrown in, but that's okay. The tone's hysterical: "Oh, sure, you might think the umbrella's pretty much perfect, but if you're so smart, why don't you tell me something, champ? Ever tried juggling while holding an umbrella? What about taking your contacts out, or defribillating a newborn, or walking on your hands? Who thinks the umbrella's perfect now, Mr. Weisenheimer? You need a Nubrella!" It's like declaring the shopping bag a failed accessory because it can't hover, open up into a dimensional wormhole or travel back in time.

If you would, for any reason, like a Nubrella, though, it's not too dear at $49.95. Think of all the antediluvian pedestrians you'll be able to stupefy into quadruple heart attacks, waving and using an umbrella at the same time like some sort of 39th Century Moon Man.

Need to text in the rain? They've got it covered. [Washington Post]