Image: Mark Hachman / IDG
Smart doomsday preppers invest in solar-powered or hand-cranked radios to keep in touch with other future survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Add Lenovo’s hand-cranked mouse and keyboard to your consumer catalog of the end times.
Deep within the bowels of the Wynn Hotel, just blocks away from the Las Vegas Convention Center and CES 2024, Lenovo is showing off its latest laptops and more, all looking ahead toward a brighter, more connected future. But if society collapses, Lenovo has you covered then, too.
Lenovo’s 12,800 dpi wireless mouse looks ordinary enough: two primary buttons, a couple of secondary buttons, and a thumb rest that favors right-handers. (Lefties like myself will apparently be the dominant caste, the Eloi of the new world, leaving right-handed Morlocks to do the unpleasant tasks like data entry.)
The Lenovo mouse can either use a dedicated dongle or just plain Bluetooth.
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Below the mouse, though, is something unusual: a pull-out crank. Yes, a hand crank: Spin the wheel for a few minutes, and you’ll generate enough power for 30 minutes of use.
Beware of spinning it too energetically: If the handle breaks off, you’ll put mankind’s future in the hands of touchpads. (Or perhaps it will be the iconic Lenovo TrackPoint’s time to shine, once again.)
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
The wireless keyboard is more optimistic. It, too, is wireless, but it has two power options. There’s a small Surface Dial-like knob in the upper left-hand corner. Spin it for 5 minutes, and you’ll generate enough power for 30 minutes of use. But there’s an array of solar panels, too, that can be used for charging.
That gives humanity an option: Live deep in the earth in sealed, possibly lightless vaults and spin the wheel to maintain power, or use the sun’s energy to generate enough power to try and hack into the global AI that is trying to eliminate all organic life. Not bad, huh?
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
Mark Hachman / IDG
In less dramatic terms, you could also simply spin away while on your next Zoom call.
These are all officially labeled as proofs of concept. Okay, that’s fine. We’ll keep your secret safe, Lenovo. But just remember to save us a pair when the aliens arrive and we’re all forced to fend for ourselves amid the last remnants of human society.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.
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