Microsoft Dance Pad is the New Mouse

Ever feel like you’re not making good enough use of your feet when you’re catching up on your e-mail or sorting through all those digital pictures you took on that last vacation?

Computer scientists in Microsoft Corp.’s research division have developed a color-coded “dance pad” with buttons you can tap with your feet—or jump on—to scroll through electronic files.

“StepMail” may never make it to store shelves, but that’s no concern to Microsoft, which spends billions of dollars a year researching far-out technologies without worrying about whether the gizmos will ever make it to store shelves