The period of the Aqua Mouse lives on, however provided that you reside in Australia

The 90s and the early 00s had been a time to be alive — we had sit-down Pizza Hut eating places, Blockbuster video rental shops, and even the downright legendary AOL On the spot Messenger. This time interval additionally gave beginning to a very inventive tech product: the aqua mouse.

Aqua mice hit the scene at a time when tech producers weren’t afraid to get inventive. Translucent shopper electronics had been all the craze, with their semi-see-through casings and brilliant colorways. This was the period of the bondi blue iMac G3, the atomic purple Nintendo 64, and the clear yellow Tamagotchi.

Aqua mice adopted this similar design mantra, however with a twist: injecting fluid inside their clear casings, whereas suspending collectible figurines or different floating decorations inside these aquatic chambers. It is not an exaggeration to say that at one level within the late 90s, aqua mice could possibly be discovered on desktops the world over.

The Cat Aqua Mouse is a vestigial reminder of the great outdated days

This heavy obligation machinery-themed mouse is not fueled by diesel, however moderately by nostalgia

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As of late, it is practically not possible to seek out an aqua mouse on the market exterior of the used market. The fashion’s distinctive mix of translucent plastics and fluid-filled interiors fell out of style within the mid 2000’s, and hasn’t reemerged since. However, one holdout nonetheless stays, and it is referred to as the Cat Aqua Mouse.

One TikTok user by the name of ratgirl.333 went on a mission to seek out herself an aqua mouse nonetheless in energetic manufacturing, and she or he stumbled upon what is perhaps one of many closing choices nonetheless available on the market. Say hey to the Cat Aqua Mouse: a $17 AUD (roughly $11.30 USD) optical mouse offered by the Aussie-based Cat tools supplier WesTrac.

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As you would possibly anticipate, the Cat Aqua Mouse leans closely into its equipment aesthetic. It is a wired USB-A mouse with a outstanding Cat design print, and it incorporates a floating D11R Cat machine duplicate inside its liquid-filled base. In accordance with the WesTrac storefront, the peripheral is suitable with Home windows 98, NT, 2000, ME, and XP machines. Whereas there is not any phrase on compatibility with newer variations of Home windows or different working programs, I would think about little or no tinkering could be required to get it up and operating on Windows 11, macOS, and even Android.

Sadly, the Cat Aqua Mouse is available for purchase solely inside Australia, and there is not any choice to ship internationally. If you happen to’re like me and dwell 1000’s of miles away from the island nation, you then’ll need to expertise your serving to of nostalgia vicariously by ratgirl.333.

Cat Aqua Mouse

An optical USB mouse that hearkens again to the great outdated days of enjoyable PC peripherals, with a translucent casing and a floating D11R Cat machine duplicate.

Might we be in for an aqua mouse renaissance?

Aqua mice most likely will not be coming again anytime quickly, however translucent units look like on the rise

Sadly, I do not anticipate aqua mice to make a triumphant comeback within the shopper house anytime quickly. As enjoyable and distinctive as they undoubtedly are, their fluid-filled insides are restricted by sensible manufacturing constraints. Modern PC mice have rather a lot occurring internally today, cramming lithium-ion battery packs, Bluetooth radio antennas, USB-C sockets, and complex optical sensors right into a moderately small bundle.

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That being stated, we’re bearing witness to one thing of a resurgence in translucent shopper tech merchandise on a broader scale. The UK-based Nothing smartphone brand is arguably main the cost with its lineup of smartphones and Bluetooth equipment, together with the agency’s new semi-transparent Nothing Ear (Open) earbuds. Even business juggernaut Samsung has jumped on the bandwagon with its newest Galaxy Buds 3 and Buds 3 Pro fashions. It is unclear whether or not this pattern is just a play on nostalgia, or if it is a real design ethos with legs.

On a private degree, I’d like to see the return of Nintendo’s legendary atomic purple colorway in its upcoming successor to the Switch gaming console. A translucent Magic Mouse would even have me grabbing for my pockets, however Apple’s latest USB-C refresh of the peripheral makes this an extremely unlikely prospect.

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