By: Aaron Lai
May 27, 2016
A month back, I was sitting in a review session for one of my last classes in university, going through some sample questions and thinking of possible answers. As this was my engineering ethics class, the topic of intellectual property came up. One of the questions was, "What determines how long a trade secret lasts?” Being the cheeky and tired person I was, I wrote down "The secrecy of the secret". I chuckled to myself, and continued taking notes. A week later, my friend asked me for a copy of my notes, so I scanned them over to him. A few minutes later, he laughed and inquired about my response to the question above. The best part is the fact this is the correct answer. Unlike other things such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks, trade secrets have no time limit. The only limiting factor to a trade secret is how good the employees are at keeping quiet about it. In fact, once the secret is out, anyone else can patent this secret for themselves. Despite how obvious the answer may be, it is almost ridiculous to state such a glaring fact. As for the product at hand today, I have another question for it: What makes a mousepad, a "gaming" mousepad? You could say something like, "It is great for games", or "It is good at holding mice", and while these answer the question, it is not exactly what I am looking for. Instead, this inquiry takes a bit more digging into. Hopefully I will make it a bit clearer as we look closer at the Fnatic Gear Focus G1 XL.
Today's review unit of the Fnatic Gear Focus G1 XL shipped with FedEx's International Priority service to get to our APH Networks Calgary location. The box looked to be in average condition, with some bruises near the top of the box, but nothing to really worry about. Along with the Focus, we also received the Fnatic Gear Flick G1 and the Rush G1. The mouse was reviewed by myself a few weeks ago, while Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Kwan covered the keyboard.
Much like many mousing surfaces that we have seen before, the Fnatic Gear Focus G1 XL comes in a cardboard cylindrical tube, with a plastic cap on each end. This ensures the mouse pad can be easily moved, while protecting the surface from possible creasing. The tube has a faded image of one of Fnatic's e-sports teams, enforcing the origin of the manufacturer. The tube otherwise is pretty busy with lots of words wrapped around. The product's name is shown, with the description of "Low profile cloth mouse pad" displayed underneath. As you may have known, this is their XL size, which actually lands right in the middle of all the available dimensions. The Focus G1 also comes in two smaller sizes of M and L, and two larger sizes of XXL and D, where 'D' is for "desktop". Otherwise, several features are listed on the side with some specifications too. Just so you know, this mouse pad also comes with a two year warranty.
Below are the specifications for your perusal, as obtained from the manufacturer's website:
Tech Specs
- Surface Material: Cloth
- Type: Soft
- Dimensions: 400x305x3mm (L x W x H)
- Net Weight: 227g / 0.50lbs
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look
3. Subjective Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
