Sun Workstations

Post #46,470 by tuberculosis 7/23/02 2:41:39 AM Reply	Sun Workstations - 1987 Those had optical mice. Kensington's trackballs were using optical before Windows came out. Morley Wah-wah pedals used optical pots in the early 80's. I'll give you the scroll wheel - that thing is kinda cool. The average hunter gatherer works 20 hours a week. The average farmer works 40 hours a week. The average programmer works 60 hours a week. What the hell are we thinking?
Post #46,476 by Steve Lowe 7/23/02 3:10:27 AM Reply	Morley (ot) I have a Morley Wah, Volume Pedal, and A-B/Y box. Which you can pry from my cold, dead fingers when I'm gone. ----- Steve
Post #46,486 by tuberculosis 7/23/02 9:09:34 AM Reply	I know what you mean! I am out of the country for the duration of the Bush administration. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you when democracy returns.
Post #46,513 by tonytib 7/23/02 12:42:30 PM Reply	Different optical technologies The "optical pots" you're talking about are most likely a simple encoder wheel, somewhat similar to the encoder wheel on a mechanical mouse. (We use a lot of their precision cousins -- as relative rotary encoders on servo motors). The Sun optical mice you're talking about were, IIRC, made by Mouse Systems, and had to be used with a special pad with lines, since they had an optical detector that counted the lines. In essence, similar to a relative linear optical encoder (e.g. as used by many DRO's (digital read outs) on knee-type vertical mills). The Agilent optical mouse (MS started off using HP/Agilent, but then switched to their own design IIRC. Logitech still uses Agilent, although the their second generation design), OTOH, is more like a small camera, looking at the 'texture' of the surface and trying to track bits of texture. That's why they won't work on surfaces with no texture. So you have to give the PC world (via HP/Agilent) credit for optical mice that work on most surfaces, no special mouse pad required. Tony
Post #46,566 by tuberculosis 7/23/02 4:57:23 PM Reply	OK, Noted It doesn't quite fundamentally change the user's relationship with his machine like the scroll wheel does though. I mean, you still gotta drag the thing over some surface to make it work. I am out of the country for the duration of the Bush administration. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you when democracy returns.
Post #46,570 by pwhysall 7/23/02 5:05:15 PM Reply	Re: Sun Workstations - 1987 Bloody things. I used SPARCStation SLCs and IPCs when I was at uni in 1991-95, and they had these shiny gridded mousemats. In order to deter the kleptomaniac tendencies of the average student, the Powers That Be glued the mousemats down. On the right hand side. I'm left handed. Colour me not impressed :-) Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Blog]
Post #46,578 by admin 7/23/02 5:24:37 PM Reply	Hahahahaha! I loved those things. I used them in the late '80s in college, and yes, they glued them down there too. Of course, I'm right-handed. I can see how that would irritate the snot out of a lefty, though. :-) Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #46,584 by tuberculosis 7/23/02 5:27:48 PM Reply	Yep - I remember that. I am out of the country for the duration of the Bush administration. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you when democracy returns.
Post #46,582 by admin 7/23/02 5:25:41 PM Reply	Figured you would say that. And as tonytib pointed out, the new ones are much different than the blue Sun grid mousepads. Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."

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