The SpaceOrb is a 6-degrees-of-freedom input device that is 20 times cheaper than dials, and we are evaluating if it is a useful substitute.
It's very easy to set up :
From any window on the local machine, type
You can also type "$ spaceorb &" within O.
The SpaceOrb is capable of controlling translations at the same time
as rotations, but this facility has been disabled for now.
The movement of the molecule
should correspond exactly to the rotational forces you apply to the orb,
but guinea pigs so far have had trouble believing this, I suspect because
they are so used to having non-intuitive input devices that they can't
believe how simple the relationship is.
One little catch - The device is programmed assuming that you hold it
horizontal. If you rotate it vertical, then the Y and Z axes swap over
(think about it), and you will no longer get the intuitive mapping.
If you really want to hold it this way, press buttons C, D and F simultaneously
to reprogram with Y and Z reversed. Pressing C, D and F will reset.
Pressing A, B and then C together quits the program, or you can let it die
naturally when you log out.
If your molecule keeps rotating after you have let go of the ball, you may need to tap it gently, or press the reset button underneath.
You probably won't prefer the Orb to dials under normal conditions, so remember that we are really comparing it to mouse and fake-dials control for people who don't have dials. But one time where I personally prefer the Orb is when stepping through water molecules. Then it is easier to leave the mouse in the "next" box, and use the Orb to make small viewpoint changes, than to keep having to find your way back to the "next" box after using the mouse to make those changes.
For more on the joysticks project see : http://xray.bmc.uu.se/markh/notes/joystick.html
And I would love to hear your views in the notebook or by mail to markh "at" xray.bmc.uu.se
Mark Harris 12-Oct-98