NEW DEVICES MAKE MOUSE A RELIC.Byline: Craig Crossman Craig Crossman is a national newspaper columnist for McClatchy newspapers, specializing in computer-related articles. Throughout the years his articles have appeared in hundreds of newspapers including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire The keyboard and mouse are devices most commonly used to control computers. In the days of disk-operating systems with text-oriented applications, we needed only keyboards. With the advent of the Macintosh and Windows, a mouse became a must. And today's multimedia software, with state-of-the-art graphics and sound, requires even more precision. Anyone trying to operate the simplest flight simulator flight simulator, device providing a controlled environment in which a flight trainee can experience conditions approximating those of actual flight. A simulator generally consists of an enclosure housing a working replica of the interior of the cockpit of an or play a game of Duke Nukem Duke Nukem may refer to:
Games aside, graphical applications, such as architectural programs and other types of computer-assisted design, cry out for more than a mouse. I've found two new PC-only gizmos that you should check out: SpaceOrb 360 ($99) is designed to be comfortably held in both hands. Its tightly arced crescent shape sports four buttons positioned under your right thumb, along with two more on the crescent's edge for your right index finger. But the real genius behind SpaceOrb is the orb. It's a rubberized high-friction material that makes it nearly slip-proof. You can grip the sphere neatly in your left hand. It provides 360-degree control in every direction. In addition to moving the orb like a joystick (hardware, games) joystick - A device consisting of a hand held stick that pivots about one end and transmits its angle in two dimensions to a computer. Joysticks are often used to control games, and usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the computer. for left-right, forward-back movement, you can press it down and lift it up. You can also twist the orb at any point, but it does not rotate freely the way a track ball does. Release the orb, and it springs back to the neutral position. Spacetec includes a demo program that perfectly illustrates this multi-axis control by displaying a simple jack-in-the-box. Pressing the orb in any direction bends the jack's long accordion accordion, musical instrument consisting of a rectangular bellows expanded and contracted between the hands. Buttons or keys operated by the player open valves, allowing air to enter or to escape. The air sets in motion free reeds, frequently made of metal. neck. Pressing the orb up and down makes the neck stretch and collapse. Twisting the orb makes the jack's head look around. All of these moves can be combined for instant accuracy that would be almost impossible with conventional controllers. Vivitar's WJ2000 joystick ($129) is for those who want the accuracy of a joystick but crave the freedom of wireless technology. This is more than a joystick that has shed its wires. It has no base, either. The unit looks like a small ray gun that you hold in midair. Rotating ro·tate v. ro·tat·ed, ro·tat·ing, ro·tates v.intr. 1. To turn around on an axis or center. 2. your wrist counterclockwise or clockwise clock·wise adv. & adj. Abbr. cw. In the same direction as the rotating hands of a clock. clockwise Adverb, adj in the direction in which the hands of a clock rotate moves things left or right. Tilting forward or angling backward gives you corresponding movements. It's like gripping an ``air'' joystick. The receiving unit plugs into your PC's standard game port and doubles as a stand to hold the WJ2000 when it is not in use. In addition to the freedom of movement, the WJ2000 offers two triggers that are easily squeezed with the second and third fingers. If you want a more traditional approach, flick a switch and you can use your other hand to press the four flush-mounted directional In one direction. Contrast with omnidirectional. buttons on top. |
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