The new mouse has a soft gel layer covered with a durable fabric where the hand touches the mouse. This new and innovative product not only "provides the ultimate in user comfort with patented gel housing" but it also soaks up and retains the grime and smell from the hand of its user.
"We were really aiming for the stars with this product," said Fellowes Product Design Manager Steve Petersen. 
"This mouse had to have everything, from three programmable buttons that make customizing a snap, to compatiblity with Windows© 95, Windows© 98 and Windows© NT. And that is all on top of the trend setting 'Smell Gel'."
"The science behind the mouse is actually pretty simple," says olfactory researcher Tim Jenkins of Cardiff University in Wales. "The fabric covering the gel is touched all during the workday. That means that it is in contact with a particular users hand. That user will usually be using his or her dominant hand for mousing."
The dominant hand is also usually the hand that does the most work throughout the day. So when the user takes a break, goes outside to have a smoke, uses the restroom on the way back to the desk, opens the restroom door, pours coffee in the lunch room, shakes hands with a new client, and even runs their hand through their hair, they are usually using their dominant hand. All of that goes into the fabric of the mouse.
"Within a week and sometimes as little as two days, the mouse begins to retain the smell of its user," says Jenkins. "Right now it seems like a gimmick. It's being marketed as a way to 'mark your territory' so to speak. But in reality, this opens the door to a whole new world of biometric security. If your hand smell doesn't match the smell on the mouse, no access for you."
Jenkins notes that the hardware technology to read or "smell" the smell of the hand to match it to the smell of the "smell gel" is at least a few years away.
"It's true that the technology does not exist in a form that is usable for this application, but I feel confident that the private sector will be able to produce a device that will make "smell gel" a viable biometric product. I mean, I'd do it, but the funding just isn't there. Besides, I added another class to my teaching schedule this semester, so I'm pretty booked."
Other proposed uses for "smell gel" biometric security applications are door knobs for home security, steering wheel covers for car security, and chastity belts for parental security.
Not to be outdone, Microsoft has announced a new optical mouse device that not only allows you to surf the web with a glowing light under your mouse, but also heats up to a sufficient temperature to iron clothes while you compute.
