Ever felt the need to blow up that co-worker sitting across the room, or the colleague chatting away in the adjacent cubicle? If so, those thoughts are best kept to yourself. However, employees can relieve a little in-house-generated stress with Dream Cheeky's three USB missile launchers widely available for sale on the Internet. Ranging from $35 USD to $59 USD, all three versions plug into a local USB port and allows the end-user to aim and fire three foam missiles. Additionally, the launchers come loaded with pre-recorded sound effects, however consumers can download additional, home-made sound effects into the launchers' controller software.
Compatible with Windows XP and 2000, the regular $35 Dream Cheeky missile launcher shoots up to twenty feet "at an extremely fast rate." The wireless $45 version, on the other hand, only shoots up to ten feet, however the device doesn't require a direct connection to the PC, using a USB-powered transmission dish to transmit instructions remotely to the launcher's dish. Want to take the firepower to the next level? Take a look at the MSN Missile Launcher, offering consumers a built-in webcam and somehow works through Microsoft's MSN Messenger chat client. Out of the three, this one fires in the medium range, shooting up to fifteen feet. However, the MSN Rocket Launcher is the only "weapon" of the trio to offer compatibility with Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Vista.
According to Newo Corporation, there is an Apple iPhone / iPod Touch application currently on Apple's App Store that will enable users to control the standard $35 Dream Cheeky missile launcher from the mobile devices. Called the iLauncher, users must download and install a free Windows-based desktop application in order for the iPhone App to communicate with the launcher. Unfortunately, the iPhone application isn't free, costing potential missile-assailants a measly $2.99 USD.
The App works by wirelessly connecting to the Windows program running in the background via a local IP address and port number (provided by the software). Once a link is established, the iLauncher App pulls up a control screen displaying a virtual thumb pad. Consumers can position the launcher up, down, left, right, and then hit the nuke button in the center in order to annihilate the enemy target. Granted there are probably better things to do than send foamy projectiles across the office floor, the Dream Cheeky missile launcher and the iPod application may actually prove fun during working hours as well as at home.
At the time of this writing, Newo did not specify if the iPhone application will work on Dream Cheeky's Wireless or MSN missile launchers, or if there are plans to support the devices in the future.
