Gel mouse mats and keyboard wrist rests

Gel and memory foam are rapidly making in-roads into a range of product applications where support or padding is required.

Previously this has been in the sleeping and seated product arena, but now the world of computing is seeing the large scale introduction of these materials.

Two ideally suited areas for these materials are in the application of a projecting wrist support for a mouse mat and a wrist elevator/support for a keyboard.

In both cases these products already exist, but their manufacture has been utilising more conventional foam materials. Even so, gel appears to be ideally suited to such applications with is mouldable and cool-to-the-touch feel, whilst memory foam offers similar contouring properties, but with its characteristic slow recovery foam.

As ever, manufacturers have been quick to capitalise on the interest in Gel and visco elastic foam and there are many gel mouse pads and keyboard wrist rests already in stores and online retailers. For some reason, the memory foam seems less popular at present, but this will no doubt be corrected over time and with more marketing.

Here is a url that will illustrate an example of one of these products, http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=46845, in this case a gel keyboard rest.

Alternative radiator styles

The last few years have seen a big change in not just the efficiency, but also the aesthetics of radiator design.

Heavy cast iron radiators have been replaced by much more slick and cleaner looking models and towel rails and tubular designs have become the norm in bathrooms, utility rooms and even kitchens.

Much more recently, “real” designer radiators have made an appearance with styles covering flat, concave and convex monolithic designs, along with highly complex pipe-like montages that can even double up as sculptures or artistic statements.

Some of these radiators even hang from a wall like a painting and other use electricity and can be moved around a room for maximum effect.

These radiators do have high price tags, but they manage to take a fairly ugly and awkward looking household utility and turn it into something much more appealing.

There is also a selection of different “heat providing” operations with many designer radiators plumbing into a standard central heating system, but an equal number being more “location independent” and gaining power from mains electricity. These radiators can provide heat through various means including: being oil filled, using a heater element, or heating a solid material and radiating heat rather than convecting it.

The other big development in designer like radiators is their availability. Just two or three years ago these radiators could only be obtained from specialist suppliers, but now they are available at DIY stores, plumbing centres and many furnishing outlets.