NuLOOQ navigator
Review - NuLOOQ navigator
by , 9:00 AM EST, December 7th, 2006
Where do you start with the NuLOOQ? It is an input device, but it's not a mouse. It can open documents, control the Adobe Creative Suite 2 applications, and execute keyboard shortcuts. But it's not a keyboard. No, it's far more. It is... NuLOOQ. Logitech designed the NuLOOQ navigator to improve productivity in Photoshop CS2, InDesign CS2, and Illustrator CS2 by giving you an alternative to accessing tools and other commands from the keyboard. The unit is programmable, so you can change functions to suit your needs. It's not a replacement for your keyboard and mouse - it is a supplement.
The NuLOOQ navigator looks sort of like a little dome sitting on your desktop. It is comprised of a touch-sensitive dial on top that includes five programmable buttons, a jog dial that wraps around the central part of the unit's body, and a weighted base that keeps it from slipping on your desk.
The jog dial moves ever so slightly to the left or right, and you can nudging its sides, too. In applications like Adobe Photoshop CS2, it zooms in or out depending on which way you twist, and navigates around documents when you press the sides. But don't expect to make grand gestures while using the NuLOOQ: You get only about a millimeter of movement out of the jog dial. That's to help minimize your hand movement.
On first glance the NuLOOQ navigator appears to be just another gimmicky add-on, but looks are deceiving. It actually improves your productivity in the Creative Suite applications by allowing you to keep one hand on your mouse most all the time. When it's time to select a new tool, or change a tool setting, the NuLOOQ navigator does that for you. No stopping to select a tool or type a keyboard command. That feature also lets you change brush settings on the fly. You can, for example, change the thickness of a line in mid-stroke. The downside is that you use the NuLOOQ with you non-mousing hand. I am so dominantly left-handed that it took me some time to get my right hand to respond the way I needed it to. Your milage may vary, but at first the NuLOOQ felt clumsy in my weak hand. But enough talk about the graphic design world. Does the NuLOOQ navigator work with other applications? Yes, indeed, it does. Some features, like changing your Mac's volume, are already there. Settings are included for several popular applications, but for others you will have to configure the unit yourself. Since configuration files are sharable, you can find some online. Logitech offers sets for Firefox, Garageband and Adobe Acrobat Professional 7 on its Web site. Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and iTunes sets are built-in. Safari even recognized the NuLOOQ and let me scroll through long Web pages.
After singing the praises of this highly useful device, it breaks my heart to have to share my big disappointment. The NuLOOQ was originally available in two versions: NuLOOQ navigator, which shipped with the hardware and drivers, and NuLOOQ Professional, which also included the NuLOOQ tooldial application. Logitech has since discontinued NuLOOQ tooldial, leaving an empty place in my heart and on my Mac. NuLOOQ tooldial displayed a dial-looking window whenever you typed a special keyboard command. Depending on what application was currently active, and how you configured the dial menus, you would have instant access to applications, files, folders, and application commands and tools. I found NuLOOQ tooldial to be a boon to my productivity, and I will miss it. If you are ready to rush out and buy a NuLOOQ navigator, check first to make sure you meet the minimum system requirements. It requires a G4, G5 or Intel Mac, and Mac OS X 10.4.4 or higher. To use the NuLOOQ with Adobe applications, you must have Creative Suite 2 or individual CS2 applications. The Bottom Line
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Observer Comments
Can the "triggerpoints" be assigned to be keyboard modifiers (like option, command, shift, etc.)?
I have been using a Contour Design Shuttle Xpress (http://contourdesign.com/shuttlepro/shuttlexpress.htm) for similar functions since I picked it up at Macworld SF '05, but this Logitech device does have some appeal.
Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:46 pm Subject: Re: Triggerpoints
[quote="mshoaf"]Can the "triggerpoints" be assigned to be keyboard modifiers (like option, command, shift, etc.)?
Yes, you can. The NuLOOQ navigator's Preference Pane includes a triggerpoints tab. You can assign assign keyboard combinations, modifier keystrokes, open items, and more to each triggerpoint.
I also have a Contour Shuttle that I have use over the years as a keybaord supplement, but the NuLOOQ's compact size has won out. My Shuttle has been retired.
Jeff
Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:23 am Subject: Looks interesting
I have a Contour Shuttle Xpress, too, but haven't used it much. (They do have a driver for the Intel Macs, now.) The extra weight of the NuLOOQ could help. The Shuttle Xpress has more buttons (5 vs 3), but the NuLOOQ's grey ring is sensitive not only to rotation, but nudging.
Interesting about the weak hand. I had rotator cuff surgery on my dominant (right) arm in May, 2005. In preparation for it (long wait for the surgery), I not only practiced dressing with my left hand only, but switched from my trusty Microsoft trackball that is right-hand only to a Kensington Expert Mouse to use with my left hand. I've not switched back--I now use the trackball with my left hand exclusively. The Kensington software (the best thing about their tools) allowed me to "flip" the definitions of the buttons so that the lower-right button is the "left-click" (one with the thumb), etc.
I should probably add that I use the Shuttle Xpress for Creative Suite work, not video... it's a great companion to my Wacom tablet. I pretty much keep my left hand on the SXP and the Wacom stylus in my right hand. Thus my question regarding mappin the NuLOOQ's button to modifier keys rather than key commands.
I am hot for this item.
I am also a long time shuttlePro user.
Still using my V.1 on my G5 with Final Cut Pro.
I have one main question.
Will this device set ins and outs in clips in Final Cut ?
Can it set a point and then erase it, possibly with the same button ?
Or is it just a shuttle ?
Cause I want one.
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