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SilverStone Raven
Software: Eat Your Own Dog Food
In the software industry, "eating your own dog food" is a term for using your own preproduction software in-house, in order to get work done with the goal being that any missing or broken features will be discovered and corrected quickly and reliably. The Raven feels like a product from a shop that did not eat its own dog food; I doubt that such ergonomic foibles would not have been caught and corrected if they did.
Their engineers did, however, put together a technical powerhouse. It feels more like a tech demo at this stage of its development than a full production model. The laser sensor is capable of tracking some truly impressive accelerations and should be able to keep up with even the most violent whipping around - the sort of response one might have in a real-world game of Quake when being shot in the back. The laser also has one of the shortest hold-off distances, needing to be lifted less than an eighth of an inch to reposition it without it interpreting any motion as deliberate input. The OLED display is puzzling; while they get bragging rights over Microsoft's LCD mouse, neither were really that useful. The segmented LED display favored by Logitech on its G-series, specifically the G5 and G7, prove more usable, quickly 'glanceable', and better positioned so they sit between the thumb and index finger. With this design, one does not have to move their hand at all in order to tell which setting is active.
Conclusion
All together, these features paint a contradictory picture of the ideals behind SilverStone's Raven. The sensor and the sensitivity adjustment point to hardcore gamers as a target market, while The Flip3D and OLED-display based sensitivity control suggests power-users, CAD drafters, and Photoshop artists. The GAME/VISTA toggle on the bottom only reinforces these impressions. By trying to be all things to all people, the Raven compromises its core value to gamers. Its utility for power users is diminished only slightly. By splitting the product line into a dedicated gaming and a poweruser mouse, SilverStone could have a pair of aces in their hand. Alternately, with the next product revision, it's entirely possible that the vexing ergonomic issues that dog the Raven could be corrected, yielding a strong competitor for the "big two" periphreal manufacturers (Logitech and Razer). Software issues are only one firmware update away from excellence, but I won't be holding my breath. While I sincerely hope that such a solution is on the horizon, it's once in a blue moon that a manufacturer pushes out a firmware update that makes me dig something out of the closet. The choice between this mouse and the leading competetors basically comes down to your preferences in feel. Averaging around $75.00 at the time of this publication, the Raven is definately something to check out if your in the market for a new gaming mouse.
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