Trackballs. Back around 1996, optical trackballs came onto the market, a few years ahead of optical mice. Using an optical trackball was a smooth dream compared to the clunky hair-clogged mechanical rollers of mice. And the unfamiliar device was a great deterrent for college mates trying to grab and use my machine, heh.
Trackballs still exist, but are about as unsexy as any piece of computer technology these days. Logitech and Microsoft haven't made any significant updates in years. Trackballs are seen mostly as lame mouse alternatives for RSI sufferers or some such. And a laser mouse is faster than a trackball for desktop usage, but for lying down on the couch with a laptop, there's no pointing device that can match a good thumb trackball.
On another topic, the article mentions the NES and its odd cartridge slot. Do folks here know why that came to be? The design was to make the NES look less like the older Atari and Intellivision systems (which had just endured a famous industrywide crash) and more like the form factor of the nascent and successful VCR.
Finally, in the software category: DesQView. I spent many hours running DesQView for DOS multitasking, with a BBS download going in one window, an offline mail program in another, and a MOD music player in a third.