Hailing from Sao Paolo, Hong Kong, Brooklyn, London, and Sarajevo, the new artists used the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 as their canvas to bring their unique global influences to life. With backgrounds in printmaking, textile design, engraving, silkscreen, digital design and folk art, the newest artists are excited for you to experience their passions and try out their Microsoft-exclusive designs.

Meet the Artists!
Yellena James – Preferring pens, inks, and acrylics, Yellena combines complex abstract forms into dazzling images full of life. Her colorful arrangements of organic shapes and tangled lines are at once floral and alien. Each world she creates possesses its own ethos and ability to radiate emotion.

Calvin Ho – Calvin is a multi-disciplinary artist and founder of the award-winning design studio, AtomicAttack. Since its inception in 1996, AtomicAttack has created many unique works for international clients, fusing art direction in fashion photography, branding, design and illustration.

Zansky – Zansky works with all types of graphic arts including silkscreen, letterpress, engraving and digital printing, seeking to push the limits of each process and medium. He is also a member of the artistic group Base-V, which paints murals and designs silkscreen posters for independent publications.

Dana McClure – Dana is a Brooklyn-based visual artist whose work spans a variety of mediums including printmaking, collage, and textile design. Her self-initiated work ranges from limited edition prints and mixed-media collages to hand-printed textiles and objects for the home.

Matt Lyon – Inspired by folk art, fine art and illustration, Matt’s work explores reoccurring motifs and themes using shape and pattern. His designs have been widely published in books and magazines, and selected works have been exhibited in his hometown of London, as well as throughout the U.S., Europe and Far East.

New Colors
In addition to the new artist designs, we’re also offering new colors for our Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 in Cyan Blue and Magenta Pink, and for the Wireless Mobile Mouse 1000 in Cyan Blue, Magenta Pink, and Flame Red.

For more information about the latest Artist Series mice and the stories behind each artist, please visit the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition Artist Series page.

- Hardware Team

BlogHer is an annual gathering of female bloggers from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and skill levels. For the Style Makeover Sweepstakes, conference attendees have been given the opportunity to nominate themselves or another attendee to win an amazing prize package that includes a makeover with well-known celebrity stylist Jeannie Mai, a brand-new Samsung Series 7 tablet, and a new Microsoft Hardware mouse and keyboard.

Style Makeover Sweepstakes nominations consist of a written blog or video blog post, or a Pinterest board that explains why they deserve a makeover and what their ideal makeover would look like. Check out these fun examples: The Crunchy Wife (blog) and Bus Stop Style (Pinterest).

Meanwhile, our Pin It to Win It sweepstakes begins on Aug. 2 and runs until Aug. 4. To enter, simply log into your Pinterest account and “pin” the sweepstakes announcement image plus one image of a Microsoft Hardware mouse. 10 winners will be randomly chosen to receive a Microsoft Artist Edition or Limited Edition Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500. Winners will be notified on August 15. See details and official rules here.

We can’t wait to find out who the lucky winners are for both contests! We’ll be at the BlogHer conference this year with the Windows team at booth #132, so for those of you attending, stop by and say hi!

- Hardware Team

With all the exciting new products available, ranging from Artist mice and Limited Edition mice to Skype-certified HD Webcams, why not outfit your whole family with the newest gear this season? Give your desk a good spring cleaning and replace the old gear with new, colorful products from Microsoft Hardware.

And starting this week we’ve launched a spring themed Pinterest contest: Pin It To Win It! Use the below as inspiration for a new Pinterest board and share the link. It’s that simple. Doing so makes you eligible to win a basket of sugar-free goodies worth over $300 like an Artist Edition mouse, HD Lifecam and more! Learn more at Windows on Pinterest.

- Hardware Team

• Kenzo Minami
• Stina Persson
• Oh Joy!
• Tchmo
• Sally Zou

From across the world to the palm of your hand, Microsoft Hardware is bringing modern artwork to your desktop to help infuse color and life into your computing experience.

In addition to the new artist designs, we are also today announcing several limited edition colors to add a pop of color to your desk or laptop bag. The Explorer Touch Mouse will be available in Dahlia Pink and White, and the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 will be available in Aqua Blue, Citron Green, Cobalt Blue, Dahlia Pink, Flame Red, White and Black.

To celebrate the introduction of these new mice, we invite you to take part in our Microsoft Hardware Pinterest Contest. Please visit the Microsoft Hardware Pinboard and build a board inspired by one of the mice displayed—focus on the colors, the design, or your favorite workspace. We look forward to seeing what you create!

If you’d like to take a closer look at the new patterns and colors available, please visit the Arc Touch Mouse, Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 and Explorer Touch Mouse product pages.

- Hardware Team

With great product quality paramount to the success of our lineup, we are excited to announce today that the folks at Skype have classified all currently available Microsoft HD webcams and USB Microsoft headsets as officially Skype Certified. The certified products include:

Skype’s high product standards and impartial testing guidelines ensure that all products bearing its blue “Skype Certified” seal deliver a strong Skype experience to its millions of users. This includes HD quality on your video calls and crystal-clear clarity for your voice calls. So pairing Microsoft Hardware webcams and headsets with Skype enables you to catch up with people in a way that makes you feel as if you were right there with them. For more details on the Skype certification testing process, check out Microsoft News Center and Skype’s Big Blog.

So whether you’re on the move, out of touch or simply craving a little closeness—switch on your Microsoft HD webcam and headset to connect with your family, friends and colleagues and do things together, whenever you’re apart.

- Hardware Team

A lot of the buzz with Windows 8 has been around touch technology and how we’re changing the way you can interact with your PC. Touch is a first-class citizen in Windows 8, but so is the mouse and keyboard – it’s all about a no compromise approach.   The tools we know and love today for interacting with our PCs, like mice and keyboards, remain important devices for getting tasks done quickly, powerfully, and comfortably. In fact, today we are announcing that the Microsoft Touch Mouse – the winner of Engadget’s “Peripheral of the Year” award – will be updated for Windows 8, as it’s an ideal tool for quickly navigating the new Windows 8-style UI where horizontal scrolling is a fundamental need. In the meantime, its sleek design and ergonomic shape combines the classic functionality of a traditional mouse with advanced touch gestures that make everyday tasks more fluid and intuitive.

We’ll have more updates to come on the Touch Mouse sometime around Windows 8 general availability, so stay tuned for details.

For those of you who decide to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (or perhaps already have!) you may be wondering how to best work with your current Microsoft mouse and keyboard and the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Starting today, we’ve launched a new beta app for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview called Microsoft Device Center that will help you more easily customize your Microsoft mouse and keyboard to make the most of your computing experience. Available for download here, the Microsoft Device Center beta combines Microsoft’s existing mouse software (IntelliPoint) and keyboard software (IntelliType) into one simple solution. Remapping your mouse buttons or assigning keys on your keyboard to your favorite file or webpage is easier than ever in the Microsoft Device Center beta for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Stay tuned as we’ll have plenty more to share in the coming months!

- Hardware Team

Our winner scored a sweet prize package too, including an Explorer Touch Mouse, a Samsung Series 9 laptop with Windows 7 , a Lifecam Cinema Webcam, and Microsoft Office Professional 2010. Rose also gets to enjoy her masterpiece on a custom laptop skin and a 36”x24” wall decal created by Zazzle.

But guess what, we are still giving away weekly prizes! So try your hand at the Art of Touch today, and get your friends to vote for you. It works. Just ask Rose.

*pending eligibility confirmation

- Hardware Team

We’ll be announcing our Grand Prize winner and final featured artist this week.

We’ve already been honored to have three renowned artists participate in the Art of Touch. Each brings a distinct style and visual signature to the experience. Be sure to explore each of their unique brushes to create your own masterpiece.

Dr. Woohoo! gets cyclical with his Spinning Top.

A lot has changed since our humble beginnings in 1982. This was the year we began to realize that the complete PC experience should encompass so much more than a strong and efficient computer. Building on our extensive background and knowledge of PCs and computing, we paved the way for the hardware industry by delivering products that make the time you spend with your PC more efficient… and better yet, more enjoyable.

As we reflect on our 30 years, a few things remain true about our approach. Our commitment over the years has been to create products that offer comfort, design, control and a better interactive experience for you, our customers. These design developments have been shaped by years of watching and learning how you work and play on your PC, ergonomic findings and data, as well as input from usability experts. All of which help develop and deliver products that improve the way you interact on your PC.

Showing Off Cool, New Colors
Building on this, we are excited to unveil two colors of the Arc Touch Mouse never before seen in the US:  Sangria Red Diamond and Cement Gray. If you haven’t seen the Arc Touch mouse in action yet, check out CNET Senior Editor Rich Brown’s video review here.

Art of Touch
If you’re at CES this week, please come by the Microsoft booth and show us your inner artist! The Art of Touch lets you release your inner Da Vinci–we know you have one hiding in there somewhere.  And stay tuned to @MSFTHardware to hear more about an Arc Touch Mouse giveaway we’re doing on the show floor.

Thank you so much for being a part of our first 30 years–here’s to 30 more! We’re looking forward to celebrating this milestone with you throughout all of 2012!

- Hardware Team

Today, Microsoft Hardware offers a more comfortable keyboard experience with the new Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 — the perfect balance of portability and comfort for both tablet and laptop users. Featuring an ergonomist-approved Comfort Curve design, the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 promotes a more natural wrist posture whether you’re typing from your office cube, the couch or your favorite café. The keyboard’s comfort does not compromise its portability because its slim design makes it lightweight and convenient to carry — just throw it in your bag and you’re off!

Ditch the cords, docks and USB Nano transceivers and connect via Bluetooth to Windows-based tablets, iPads and Android devices with ease. Whether you’re searching for the latest music, taking notes in a meeting or just catching up on email, make sure you’re getting things done comfortably. The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is available now in the U.S. for $49.95.

- Hardware Team