The Slab

"The Slab"

Manufactured By: Unknown

Retail Price: Unknown

Review Date: April 1st, 2000

About a week ago I received a plain packaged box with no sender information, just a postmark from Paradise Ranch, Nevada. Upon opening the box I found among the packaging peanuts a 16 inch slab of stone (something I have never seen before in my geology classes or books). It has a Mickey Mouse hand like recess in its center. What struck me as bazaar was the overall weight of the slab- although it appears very strong it is also very light. The total weight of the package was only 6 ounces.

Affixed to the bottom of the slab was a series of symbols. I was not sure what it was but it looked pretty neat so I decided to figure out a way to mount it on the wall of my junk filled computer room. When I entered my computer room I realized what it was. As I got within sight of my system the computer instantly booted to the Windows desktop and the slab took on an eerie glow. The light emitted from the depression in the slab but did not have a specific center. I placed my hand closer to feel if it was hot and detected nothing.

As I touched the inside surface of the depression the light dissipated. At that moment I thought this is a bit bazaar and I should e-mail my friends to see if any of them had sent me this strange thing. On my computer the Outlook Express program opened, quickly created a new e-mail and sent it away before I could see what specifically happened. My thoughts went to "what just happened?". As I thought this the outbox listing appeared and the last e-mail sent opened. I had sent an e-mail to "my friends" list asking if any of them had sent me this strange thing!

That's when I realized it must be another innovative game controller sent to The Control Center for review.

Features-

Because a feature list was not available I have had to discover the attributes of this device. To date I have found:

• Driverless operation
• No power supply necessary
• Unlimited axis and button configuration
• No programming needed

Appropriate For-

• Any game or application known.

**System Requirements

**Unknown, but appears to work on any Microsoft based system including DOS, Windows 3.1, 95/98/2000.

Price-

Unknown

Warranty-

Unknown

Performance-

I tested The Slab with a huge number of games and applications before it was stolen from me in a break-in sometime yesterday when I was at work. I found its use highly addictive (so much so I ended up missing nearly a weeks worth of work). It has a range of over 50 feet and the wireless operation does not demonstrate any signal loss. The lack of an external power supply or battery need is very user friendly (not to mention environmentally sound) and will reduce operation costs.

The first game tested with The Slab was Quake III. Soon after I realized what it was for I thought about playing a 3D shooter and Quake III launched. The auto-launch feature is pretty handy and quite convenient (just be sure to stay focused- When I was showing my fiancé The Slab Pam Anderson was being featured on TV. I thought about not seeing her video with rock star Tommy Lee and my web browser launched taking me to a non-family oriented site!). Anyway, in Q3 control is superb. I was moving, shooting and looking all without a single muscle movement. I cleared the entire set of tiers with all but one perfect match. In the final match Xaero caught me with a single rail gun blast. I managed to finish him off but did not try Q3's on-line play because I smelled something burning in the room. I realized I had burnt a hole in arm of my shirt somehow and stopped playing for the night.

The following day I tested the slab with racing games, flightsims, real-time-strategy games and more. Everything installed on my system played flawlessly with the strange, but effective Slab controller. The unlimited axis and button controls are nice touches. These features coupled with the mind reading ability of The Slab allow you to concentrate entirely on the game and not have to worry about memorizing keystrokes or even programming them. The Slab totally replaces the keyboard, mouse and any game controller you can imagine.

The Slab is also useful for other applications. Graphics programs were able to to be used with The Slab and translate my ideas into rendered images. Word processing and web browsing was a breeze. Again, the only real issue is the users ability to focus. As I "typed" memos for work I needed to proofread them to be sure my true thoughts on a project were not accidentally written into the document. Letting my boss know that that requisition for a case of White Out will end up on my home desk is not a good idea!

Setup-

Setup occurred as a bit of an accident. As I described above, I was not even sure this was a game controller when I received it. I brought the package to my computer room where upon inserting my hand into the recess my computer instantly booted.

Software -

No software was provided and it was apparent it was not needed.

Documentation-

No manual was available and the "documentation" on the bottom of The Slab was unable to be translated.

Since the source of "The Slab" is not known a website was not located.

Overall Rating-

The Slab (or whatever its really called) is a superb device. It has everything you can ask for in a controller. Its lightweight, easy to operate, has no special requirements and it improves your game performance while providing a total immersion experience.

Unfortunately, no purchase details were available. Also, the manufacture is not know or is the price. I know "the truth is out there" on this ultra cool device. The CC highly recommends this device. I ask of the person who sent it to me take me to your leader (so I can get more details).

Pros-

• Very accurate control
• Lightweight, durable construction
• No wires or external power source

Cons-

• The persistence of men in dark glasses and black helicopters following you once you own one.
• The unexplainable power outages in your region when in use.
• The lack of a manual printed in an understandable language.