"To enter the mouse pad" - meaning

[fighting spirit]

Could you, please, help me with the meaning of the following sentence:

"Enter the mouse pad or calculator or radio."

What does it mean to enter the mouse pad? I mean, how can anyone enter the mouse pad? What does it actually mean? I've been doing some translation, and I really have no idea what it could mean.

Any suggestions?

 

[charliedeut]

It makes no sense to me either. Is it translated from another language? Maybe that could give us a clue.

Greetings,

charliedeut

 

[emsr2d2]

That makes no sense to me. As charliedeut said, it might be a bad translation from another language. If that's the case and if you can find out what the original said, someone who speaks that language might come up with a better translation. If that's how it was written originally, then there is either a typo or was written by a non-native who didn't know it was wrong.

 

[SoothingDave]

Context would help. Is this talking about computer applications? I'm not sure how else one would "enter" a calculator or a radio either, unless it was talking about starting a computer program.

 

[fighting spirit]

Thanks for your replies.

The text hasn't been translated from any other language. It was originally written by Roland Rust, Debora Thompson,and Rebecca W. Hamilton, who, I believe, are native speakers of English. I'll give you the headline and the first paragraph:

Defeating Feature Fatigue

A mouse pad is a simple thing. Essentially an
oversized coaster, it keeps the incessant scooting
of a computer mouse from destroying a desktop’s
finish. Beyond that, the most it might do is amuse, soothe,
or advertise with the artwork imprinted on it. Or so we
thought. Enter the mouse pad or calculator or FM radio.
Recently, one of us was the reluctant recipient of this inovation
in office equipment.



I really have no idea what to do with that sentence.

 

[SoothingDave]

Apparently there is a device which functions as a mouse pad, a calculator and a radio.

The author is saying that the conception of how much a mouse pad could do was rather limited until this new device "entered" onto the scene.

 

[BrunaBC]

Actually the text sounds confusing to me. "destroying a desktop's finish"? :roll:

 

[emsr2d2]

Actually the text sounds confusing to me. "destroying a desktop's finish"? :roll:

The "finish" on something like a desk (in this text, the desktop is not the computer screen and its icons, it's the top of the actual desk) is the surface. A mouse constantly being moved over the surface of a desk would damage that surface (it would destroy the desktop's finish) - a mouse mat stopped that from happening by being placed between the mouse and the desktop.

 

[SoothingDave]

The "finish" on something like a desk (in this text, the desktop is not the computer screen and its icons, it's the top of the actual desk) is the surface. A mouse constantly being moved over the surface of a desk would damage that surface (it would destroy the desktop's finish) - a mouse mat stopped that from happening by being placed between the mouse and the desktop.

That's true, I guess, if you have fine furniture that you are worried about. But I think mousepads came about to give proper traction to the ball inside the mouse.

 

[5jj]

That's true, I guess, if you have fine furniture that you are worried about. But I think mousepads came about to give proper traction to the ball inside the mouse.

That's what I understand a mouse to be for, but in fighting spirit's sentence, ems has the meaning.