Yoke A Mouse To Your Machine
The Age
Thursday January 14, 1993
THE MOUSE YOKE By: Colorado Spectrum WITHOUT doubt, a mouse is the most approachable way of using a computer. There is a downside to this handy little gadget, of course.
For starters, a mouse is the world's finest means of collection and storage of dirt.
My own research has indicated that a neoprene mat is worse than useless as the substance is almost impossible to keep clean; ask any scuba diver or surfer! As it turns out, mice actually feed on the fabric coating, converting it into a gunk that clogs up rollers.
My own mouse requires cleaning every two or three days, and the yuck thus collected will be used to create a voodoo effigy of the nut-case responsible for neoprene mouse mats!
The second drawback of a mouse becomes apparent only during certain applications. Driving and flying are tricky enough as it is, and a mouse will make a hideous botch of the job. A joystick is an obvious choice but even it has shortcomings.
Several companies have released control yokes, devices that are intended to provide a realistic means of using flight and car racing simulation software. Quality and price vary from laughable to ``Well, there goes a pay cheque!" A mouse yoke, on the other hand, pulls back the stick on a nosedive into needless whizz-bang gadgetry. It is a slick, yet simple, affair consisting of an extruded aluminium mounting block, a clamp, plastic tubing and a handle. The whole device can be assembled in around half a minute _ once the mouse has been correctly positioned under an elastic ``seatbelt", that is it! The yoke tubing rotates and slides freely in the block, transferring its motions to the mouse ball.
Some mice have a ballistic tendency. This means that the sensitivity is set so that as the mouse is moved faster, the cursor travels proportionally greater distances. In a flight simulation, this would have disastrous consequences, so the mouse yoke instruction leaflet has a range of driver software solutions to the problem of a twitchy mouse.
The beauty of a mouse yoke is that it is truly universal. Any computer that uses a ball-type mouse can be used with it. Apart from the possibility of changing driver parameters, no further adjustments are necessary.
The materials used in its construction are a refreshing change from the flimsy tack that is on the market. The product is quite durable, made entirely from recycled and recyclable products. Fancy that! A computer product that has little or nothing to wear out and break _ whatever will they think of next?
Recommended retail price: $59.95 Mouse yoke supplied by New Image Pty Ltd, 8/743 Horsley Drive, Smithfield 2164, NSW. Victorian distributor: Hampstead Agencies Pty Ltd, (03) 696 5598.
DOC'S FIX-IT PLUS: Console cartridge cleaning system. By: Doc's Hi- Tech Game Products, Inc.
LIFE is hard for a videogame console, too. It is not the hours spent playing one that matters so much, but the time it spends between sessions. Besides cringing from near-misses with everything from coffee cups to cosmic radiation, the console will sit untended, quietly gathering an astonishing variety of atmospheric contaminants.
Dust is an insidious thing. It contains much more than just remnants of a Mallee farmer's topsoil, as one would first suspect. It travels well, too. Imagine the properties of a dust-mote from, say, a scrap yard. It would not take much imagination to guess what would happen should one end up in an electronic component.
An antistatic dust cover should be your first line of defence, but a little work will keep your beloved game console in fighting trim for years to come!
Now, before everyone turns into cyberchondriacs, I have good news!
Doc's Fix-it Systems are the proverbial ``ounce of prevention", also offering some cures for whatever ails your games console. Many malfunctions are caused by dirty contacts and the most common remedy is to clean them with isopropyl alcohol. This substance is highly flammable, not wholly trustworthy around plastics, and hideously expensive! Doc's uses a combination of ethyl alcohol and a detergent.
Used properly, the solvent will remove dirt, grease and most corrosion products from card and slot contacts and dry quickly without leaving any residue.
Each kit contains a 13cc bottle of solvent, a cartridge swab, applicator swab and custom cleaning cards. Kits are available for Sega and Nintendo systems, with a variety of cleaning tools suited to each product range.
The Doc's product line includes other useful fixits, such as replacement membrane contact/button kits, controller pads, power supply adaptors, battery chargers, speakers and protective carry- cases. All are competitively priced, and as good as the genuine article!
Recommended retail price: $19.95 (Sega version). Supplied by: New Image Pty Ltd, 8/743 Horsley Drive, Smithfield 2164, NSW. Victorian distributor: Hampstead Agencies Pty Ltd, (03) 696 5598.
© 1993 The Age