FlashFeed

A Reddit user has created a touch-sensitive mouse mat with built-in buttonsThe Kage GhostPad device can be programmed with different functionsIt will enter crowdfunding soon, but already looks to be expensiveOver the years, there have been various devices that put quick computing controls at your fingertips — think the Elgato Stream Deck, for example, or standalone numpads built for your keyboard. But all of these things take up space on your desk, quickly making it crowded and cluttered. Now, though, one enterprising PC user thinks they’ve come up with a solution. Posting on Reddit, user cmajmus revealed a mouse mat they’ve apparently been working on for the last two years. Dubbed the Kage GhostPad, this isn’t just any old desk pad — this one is equipped with 16 touch-sensitive buttons that put quick PC controls at your fingertips. The buttons are built into the pad and sit under its surface, something cmajmus says means there are “No buttons, no bumps.” Once you press one of the active zones, “it triggers whatever you’ve mapped to it: keyboard shortcuts, macros, media keys, MIDI notes, gamepad inputs, even launching apps,” the creator says. You can customize what each button does using a browser-based companion app once the desk pad is plugged into your PC using a USB cable. You’ll be able to drag and drop functions onto each zone, set pressure thresholds, add custom icons, and more. And on the side, you’ll find a detachable LCD module that shows the device’s active mode, assigned shortcuts and any status indicators, helping you see what the GhostPad is up to at a glance. And you can “divide the surface into programmable zones,” cmajmus states, each with its own set of controls that can be switched between as needed. Convenience at a cost(Image credit: Kage)The GhostPad’s creator explained that they were motivated to create it due to “frustration with having a Stream Deck, macro pad, MIDI controller and numpad all eating desk space.” They then added: “I wanted one thing that does all of it and disappears visually.” Some Reddit users were curious about how the product prevents accidental touches, such as if you bump your hand against the mat or place an object on its surface. To this, cmajmus said that you can “turn off some zones if your keyboard overlaps” while also claiming that you can “have 0.5L of beer on it” without triggering any of the buttons. If you don’t like how the GhostPad looks — or if it becomes worn down over time — you can swap out the top surface with a variety of different visual options. And while the pad isn’t machine washable, the creator says it is water resistant and can be washed using gentler methods. Reaction seems to have been positive on Reddit. User Jfaun said it was “one of those things I see and am shocked it doesn’t already exist and I never thought of it myself", while another called it "ridiculously cool". XLB135, meanwhile, opined: “As a minimalist with literally nothing on my desk other than a phone stand and a small bamboo box of notecards, this is very appealing to me.” The GhostPad’s creator revealed in a different Reddit thread that the product will begin crowdfunding in a “few months.” You can also pre-order the device on its website, with “early bird” pricing set at €129 (about $147 / £111 GBP / $211 AUD). That makes it very pricey for a mouse mat, but if you think it could save you money on accessories like a Stream Deck (not to mention the desk space), you might feel it’s worth it.

The 84-year-old actor has spent decades bringing Samuel Beckett’s plays to life. Does his recent diagnosis give him new insights into playing ‘sad clown’ Krapp in a drama about age and the battlefield of memory?What a lot of Krapp. Pardon my French but Samuel Beckett’s haunting 1958 masterpiece about regret and isolation is having a moment. Stephen Rea recently took Krapp’s Last Tape on an international tour, Gary Oldman returned to the stage after decades away to deliver the tragicomic one-man show and this summer Stockard Channing will direct it at the Edinburgh fringe, with David Westhead as Krapp. Beckett’s eponymous loner, who sits in his dark den and ritually listens to tapes he made as a younger man, is riding a new wave of popularity.Peter Marinker first played Krapp half a lifetime ago and is preparing to star in a new production, reusing the tapes he recorded in 1983. How does he feel listening back now? “I thought of redoing them – it could have been better,” he says when we meet at the tiny Cockpit theatre in London. That assessment matches the spirit of the self-lacerating Krapp who looks back not just in anger but anguish. Marinker quotes Dennis Potter, who said we should consider our past with “tender contempt”. He adds wryly: “That rang a bell.” Continue reading...