For applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, it's mostly just a fun add-on, as it doesn't do much that a mouse doesn't do just as well (though Mac users will doubtless appreciate the scrolling function). It shouldn't take terribly long, but it's not exactly plug-and-play either. Windows users, on the other hand, will also have to configure their PCs to recognize the USB device and then update their drivers, among other hurdles. Mac users merely need to run a basic installation and restart their computers and the PowerMate is ready to go. Griffin has been making Apple accessories since 1992, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that the PowerMate is a little Mac friendlier. The PowerMate, which connects to your computer's USB port, includes an installer CD, with separate folders for Mac OS 9 OS X Windows 98, 98 SE, and Me and Windows 2000 and XP, along with an Acrobat user's manual. Its main cord is only 22 inches long, but it comes with a 40-inch extension so you can position it either next to your mouse or on the opposite side for two-handed control. It's also cleverly engineered, as the blue light responds to your commands, brightening when the volume increases, for example, and dimming when you turn it down. Many owners have compared it to the volume knobs on high-end stereo receivers, and the description is apt. With its heavy-duty, black housing that sits atop a pulsing blue light, the PowerMate just looks cool. However, the PowerMate also comes with several preset configurations for such programs as iPhoto, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Adobe Acrobat Reader, and allows the user to change the settings or add new ones (for virtually any application) based on their needs. The default configuration controls your computer's volume, along with specific audio applications such as iTunes. Each setting corresponds to one of the PowerMate's six main movements: rotate left, rotate right, click, long click, rotate left with click, and rotate right with click. For example, users can set the PowerMate to open a new Microsoft Word document by inputting, or highlight text by inputting. The PowerMate works by sending keyboard shortcuts, called key commands, to your computer. In other words, the PowerMate's functions are defined almost entirely by the user's imagination and creativity. How can a simple two-direction knob do all this? By letting users configure the functions themselves via their computers' system preferences. And those are just a few of its potentially hundreds of functions. Stylish, versatile, and extremely functional, the Griffin PowerMate universal controller may look like a mere volume knob, but don't be fooled-it can also jog through video footage while editing, scroll through long text documents, and zoom in and out of Photoshop images.

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