Register Now!

61 Frames Per Second

PawSense Puts Cats in Their Place

Posted by Bob Mackey

If you have pets, then you probably know how much those little buggers love to mess with our precious and expensive electronic devices.  And out of all the monsters we allow into our homes, cats seem to be the most devious infiltrators of human technology.  To a cat, an unattended computer keyboard is an invitation to mischief; I'm sure we've all been subjected to friends sending us instant messages that read "nhmjmk,hhknh" because Mr. Boots decided to take a nap in an unsuitable area.  Even I've been subjected to these feline pranks; once, I got involved in a two-week online relationship with a girl who turned out to be a Calico.  An underage Calico.  You try explaining that to the FBI.

Fortunately, a solution to this problem exists--and it appears to be as old as the Internet itself.  PawSense, a simple windows application, is an adorable way to prevent keyboard input from both non-humans and people without fingers; the program can detect cat-like typing (yes, go ahead and click that link) and restrict access to even the most compute-savvy yarn fiends out there.  And if you're wondering just what the hell this has to do with video games, think of what's at stake every time you get up to go to the bathroom during a game of WoW.  Note: I'm hoping that you get up to go to the bathroom when you play WoW.

There are also cat-typing scenarios with much more dangerous consequences, as seen at 6:58 in the educational video below.



This product may have existed for eight years (the web design is a testament to that), but I'm still waiting for a way to protect my computer from those gangs of babies that roam the Midwest. Here's what PawSense has to say about that:

We are looking at that issue right now. BabySense(TM) may be available for sale soon.

I'm still waiting. Until this is no longer an issue, I'm afraid I must remain a prisoner in my own computer chair. I fear the interlopers.


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT

Comments

No Comments

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

If unsatisfied, please return unused portion for partial refund.

in

Archives

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


Send tips to


Tags

VIDEO GAMES


partners