The fine folks over at Amazon have introduced a new initiative: Frustration-Free Packaging. You know the feeling: you buy something in one of those bloody plastic clamshells and can't open the stupid thing. (Pun unintended, but my fingers have ended up bloody after cutting myself on them!) According to the main Amazon page that describes it, their goal is to "deliver products inside smaller, easy-to-open, recyclable cardboard boxes with less packaging material".
There are 19 products currently available with this new and improved packaging. Seven of them are Microsoft mice in various colours (my favourite is the pomegranate red one, in case someone on the hardware team is reading this and feels the urge to send a review mouse over to me ;).
I'm really pleased to see Microsoft on board with this. The out-of-box experience is an important part of the user experience. Spending ten minutes trying to saw open a clamshell, only to cut yourself on the sharp edges of the plastic, is not a great way to start off your experience with a new product.
I have to agree with you there. I hate anything that comes in those cut-to-open clamshells instead on nice saveable cardboard boxes.
For one, they're good for storage. (Or allowing you to put it back in the box in town before taking it home..)
For another, I feel that if I've had to destroy the packaging then I'm less likely to return it in case of a faulty.
I'm also a big fan of Microsoft hardware, especially the mice. My (aging) iBook has been served very well by a Microsoft Basic Mouse for most of its life, and it's the mouse I tend to recommend to people if they need one in a hurry.