5. Cyber Sport Orbita Mouse

Cyber Sport Orbita Mouse, $98.50

Many graduates entering the workforce will end up spending most of their days in front of a computer. That’s just the way it is in an “information economy.” Even (and especially) creative types like graphic designers, film school grads, and musicians will do lots of editing in front of their PCs. So do these guys a favor and give them a mouse that will take the discomfort out of day-long trackpad or mouse sessions. The Cyber Sport Orbita mouse doesn’t feel like a normal mouse. That’s because it spins, rotates, and gets squeezed to perform mouse tasks. These unusual behaviors reduce wrist strain and finger fatigue during everyday Web surfing and scrolling, and though they take a little while to get used to, they can even make using mouse-intensive applications like editing software, spreadsheets, maps (like Google Earth), and 3D tools more efficient. There’s a lot less clicking and pressing involved here.

The mouse sits in a round docking cradle, where it charges (the first charge takes up to three hours). It can be calibrated to learn where “up” is—maybe someone who does a lot of left-right scrolling wants “up” to be to the right. The mouse conserves its own battery life if it is accidentally left outside of its cradle—it turns off automatically after a few minutes of idleness. Giving this mouse as a graduation gift says, “Hey, I know work can suck, but it doesn’t have to hurt. Give this a whirl.”