A hybrid rodent that's far from heavenly. A HALF-MOUSE, HALF-SCANNER sounds like more of a gimmick than an essential tool. And yet, here it is: the Halo Scanner Mouse, a straightforward-looking wired mouse with a small scanning window next to the conventional laser sensor.

It works by moving the mouse over the document to be scanned, which is then painted on-screen with each swipe. We're not sure anyone was asking for such a device, but it's an interesting idea on paper, so we had one sent to the office and got scanning.