NES Controller Laser Mouse

An anonymous reader writes "Old school is new school, fool. It's time to take that retired NES controller of yours that you broke so mercilessly smashing it on the carpet in frustration at never ever ever being able to beat Ikari Warriors, and recycle that biz. Be good to the environment and turn that thing into a laser mouse, why don't you? And yes, the A button is left click, and the B is your right, and your raging case of carpal tunnel is about to get a whole lot more fun."

Akari?

[BeneathTheVeil]

I believe that was, Ikari Warriors.

Re:Akari?

[AtariAmarok]

I thought it was Atari Worriers, myself.

Re:Akari?

[dknj]

the sad thing is, they stole the article summary word for word from the site and still spelt it incorrectly. what the hell are the slashdot editors doing when they read these submissions?

Re:Akari?

[spectral]

If you look at the site the comments pick on them for it. I assume the original article was changed.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Akari?

[e2d2]

They must be busy working on all those new improvements to slashdot..

Re:Akari?

[Conanymous Award]

Time to civilize yourself: he was right, it is 'spelt' [wordwebonline.com].

Re:Akari?

[IcarusMoth]

No it was Ikari see: Linky [klov.com]

Re:Akari?

[peculiarmethod]

yes.. however it is a mute point for me, as it was Kid Icarus that did me in..

Re:Akari?

[Spankophile]

I'm pretty sure you meant "moot."

OB: Friends

[Pope]

No, a moo point. Like a cow's opinion.

Re:Akari?

[operagost]

Screw Ikari Warriors, I want that "laser mouse" so I can throw my lousy optical in the trash!

Unlike modern controllers

[Drew Curtis]

there would be no damage from smashing the NES or its controllers against the floor. Hell, it was designed so that you could turn it off by KICKING it.

Re:Unlike modern controllers

[cosmol]

Yeah, but I don't have to lick or blow my hard drive to get my computer to work.

Re:Unlike modern controllers

[EEBaum]

Lick? Wow, you must have had a different relationship with your Nintendo than I did.

Re:Unlike modern controllers

[numbski]

Yeah, some people just like their PC's that way [chobitsdvd.com].

Go fig. :\

Re:Unlike modern controllers

[IcarusMoth]

Licking and blowing? thats the only way i can get my girlfriend to work *rimshot*

Re:Unlike modern controllers

[NanoGator]

"Licking and blowing? thats the only way i can get my girlfriend to work "

Well that and the puncture repair kit.

Re:Unlike modern controllers

[Alwin Henseler]

...no damage from button mashing fests either, I have ruined mice from games that require a lot clicking, but maybe I just click too hard?

A small word of advice:

Worry not what evil you may do to input devices. Only worry about what evil input devices may do to you.

If you've got a badly designed mouse or game controller that causes you RSI, then you have a problem. If OTOH a mouse or game controller crumbles under your constant abuse, who cares? Cheap plastic & electronics, easily replaced.

superscope

[firl]

Now if I could only find my superscope from 6th grade

Laser Mouse?

[thomble]

Contrary to popular belief, optical mice do not use lasers.

Re:Laser Mouse?

[thedak]

the logitech MX700 does..

Re:Laser Mouse?

[Anonymous Coward]

MX700 is only a wireless optical mouse. MX900 is optical bluetooth and MX518 is optical wired mouse. The MX1000 is the laser variant.

Re:Laser Mouse?

[quazee]

No, that's MX1000.

Re:Laser Mouse?

[roadrunnerro]

No it doesn't - it's optical too... now the MX1000 [logitech.com], G5 [logitech.com] and G7 [logitech.com] are indeed laser mice...

That's before MacGyver.

[AtariAmarok]

Give him an optical mouse, a paperclip, and some belly-button lint, and he'll have a laser weapon strong enough to take out a battlestar before the next commercial break comes along.

Re:That's before MacGyver.

[AtariAmarok]

"Anyway he retires - John Crighton is now in charge of the SG1 team."

But unlike McGyver, Crichton can't fashion a complete working stargate out of a hula-hoop and parts from an 1987 Toyota Celica. Even if he did used to hang around a blue chick and a Muppet mushroom-guy.

Re:That's before MacGyver.

[Xaositecte]

Anyone that can put togather a nuclear bomb from spare parts deserves -some- props.

Re:Laser Mouse?

[Daath]

Logitech MX700 Cordless laser mouse [logitech.com].
Logitech G7 Cordless laser mouse [logitech.com].
Logitech G5 laser mouse [logitech.com].

I don't know of others :)

Re:Laser Mouse?

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

The MX1000 is a cordless laser mouse.

Re:Laser Mouse?

[Jagasian]

The Razor Copperhead [razerzone.com] is also a laser based mouse.

Re:Laser Mouse?

[Zakabog]

An optical mouse uses an LED to light up an area for an optical sensor to pick up hundreds of images and compare them to detect movement. A laser mouse just uses the laser. So, optical mice do not have lasers. You just listed 3 laser mice (if you notice, it doesn't say laser optical in the name.)

Re:Laser Mouse?

[pahles]

So does the link to the G7 (which actually is a laser mouse)...

Re:Laser Mouse?

[Greg_D]

Then I'll have to remind my retinas that I burned out playing with the newfangled Sparcstation mice in the early 1990s at Louisiana Tech of that fact.

Not only did they use lasers, but they had a special laminated metallic pad which is the only thing they'd work on.

"WARNING: DO NOT POINT AT EYES!" Oh, okay, um... let's test that theory out... BZzZZT!

Re:Laser Mouse?

[docflan]

Contrary to popular belief, optical mice do not use lasers.

Well this one does. If you had read the article you'd know that.

An anonymous...

[Anonymous Coward]

... Engadget employee?

no mention of new command

[GunFodder]

The article doesn't mention the hidden backdoor command sequence to immediately gain root access:

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A

Re:no mention of new command

[AtariAmarok]

"Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A"

Laser mouse steps: Up, Up, Down, use fire extinguisher to put out burning lampshade, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, wipe up melted monitor plastic on floor, Left, Left, B, A, call 911, Left, Right, B, A.

Re:no mention of new command

[gid]

The code to Ikari Warriors is ABBA, isn't it? Free endless guys as long as your friend is still alive. Or am I mixing games up?

Re:no mention of new command

[nra1871]

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A That's the Contra unlimited lives code. ABBA is the original Ikari Warriors I believe.

Re:no mention of new command

[Canadian_Daemon]

Fatality!

Re:no mention of new command

[Error629]

The article doesn't mention the hidden backdoor command sequence to immediately gain root access: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A

and if you want to run as a proxy, don't forget to hit Select, Start!

Re:no mention of new command

[flink]

No, no, in Ikari Warriors it's A,B,B,A. Use the code after you've lost your last life but before the game ver screen appears. You can use the contine code as many times as you like, but you have to advance the screen a little bit between each use.

To beat the game, you have to find the hidden entrance to the fourth level. After you blow up the octpus boss thing at the end of the third level, throw grendes into the shadow under his dias (it's in a different location every game, but that seems to be were it

Re:no mention of new command

[LoRdTAW]

You use select if you want 2 players otherwise its just start after A.

Re:no mention of new command

[justforaday]

2 player root access? How does that work? I guess it's like shell wars or something...

Re:no mention of new command

[Mike Schiraldi]

No he didn't:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_Code [wikipedia.org]

Usefull?

[ozamosi]

It's great, but... Why!?

Yes, it seems kind-of-cool, but it seems to be the least comfortable mouse ever. You can't control the velocity of the pointer, and you are using the device that created the term "Nintendo thumb", because it is really bad to use all day long. Regular mice, however, doesn't give you that kind of pain.

Re:Usefull?

[jgannon]

You don't use the D-Pad to control the cursor. It has an actual optical mouse installed in the underside of the pad. The A and B buttons act as the mouse buttons. You can control the velocity of the pointer just as easily as any mouse, and you certainly don't do anything with your thumb.

Am I the only one around here who still actually reads the articles?

Light Gun

[sheehaje]

Now, if I can just change the light gun into a real gun, I can finally finish Ikari Warriors for good.

Re:Light Gun

[Error629]

I wouldn't mind that gun for those times I'd get the tank stuck in Ikari. Albeit the girlfriend might not like laser holes in our widescreen HDTV too much, since I've already have her blowdryer blowing on my NES.

A warning.

[AtariAmarok]

Do not stare into laser mouse beam with remaining eye.

Mouse article does not work

[jurt1235]

So does the mouse work??

Re:Mouse article does not work

[AtariAmarok]

The mouse does not work? No, but I do think it runs Linux.

Hmmm

[Realistic_Dragon]

Ikari not Akari. If you are going to blatantly steal the introduction to the article why not at least do it right?

Re:Hmmm

[Realistic_Dragon]

Come to that you could have linked directly to http://zieak.com/projects/nintendo_mouse.htm [zieak.com] rather than to a ad laden blog site whoring someone else's content for pennies a click. (Not that it matters I suppose as the site is offline already.)

Re:Hmmm

[CableModemSniper]

also since if they ha linked to the real thing mirrordot mighta saved that instead of the engadget page.

Neat, but

[Bob Cat - NYMPHS]

Can it perform cunnilingus on a hardwood floor?

Re:Neat, but

[jez9999]

+5, Insightful? :-O *jaw hits ground* I must seriously be missing something about this comment.

Re:Neat, but

[NitsujTPU]

Yeah, ditto. I think that at least 3 mods didn't understand the world "cunnilingus"

Re:Neat, but

[Mozk]

I do not want to know how people use mice for cunnilingus. Damn computer fetishes.

Re:Neat, but

[frankmu]

it's sunday, in august. it's probably a dupe

Re:Neat, but

[stinkbomb]

Idiots FTW!

Re:Neat, but

[Turn-X Alphonse]

I think we can all agree Slashdot has gone to hell and not only are the editors lazy but so are the mods..

Lets all goto Fark (even though I don't like Fark much)!

Re:Neat, but

[gt623]

You are. It's a reference to the konami code for women. you know up up down down left right left right . . . but you're right it should be modded funny.

Re:Neat, but

[NitsujTPU]

Well, I found the original reference, [slashdot.org] for everyone who, like me, was confused by this post.

Essentially, the original reference was a story posted to slashdot which involved a comparison between female orgasm, and game playing. The hardwood floor part was there to infer that you would remember the experience of performing cunnilingus on a woman on a hardwood floor because your knees would hurt thereafter.

A high point in Slashdot history, to be sure.

Re:Neat, but

[Cerberus7]

I propose your post become a cliche for any new clever and/or useless hacks. Like that Death Star subwoofer from a while back. Neat, but can it perform cunnilingus on a hardwood floor?

Incidentally, I don't know if I should be proud or scared that I instantly recognized what you were referencing with you comment.

Nevermind. I'm scared.

Re:Neat, but

[Bob Cat - NYMPHS]

I havn't gotten modded up trying it since the original post. Feel free to try it yourself.

Re:Neat, but

[Bob Cat - NYMPHS]

Thanks. It's so hard to start a meme these days!

google cache

[Bob Cat - NYMPHS]

http://64.233.161.104/search?sourceid=navclient-me nuext&ie=UTF-8&q=cache:http%3A%2F%2Fzieak.com%2Fpr ojects%2Fnintendo_mouse.htm [64.233.161.104]

Re:google cache

[CableModemSniper]

Alternatively, coral cache: http://zieak.com.nyud.net:8090/projects/nintendo_m ouse.htm [nyud.net]

It's not a laser mouse...

[joNDoty]

it's an optical mouse (LED).

IT Looks Cool But...

[B11]

Other than impressing your friends, I don't see a whole lot of use for it. It can't be comfortable to use.

Only for Novelty Value

[Sonny Yatsen]

My problem with this is that I don't see how this could possibly a viable mouse that one can use for any length of time. INstead of having the mouse buttons in a line that corresponds to your fingers, you need to shape your hands to specifically handle it. Or, you have to turn the controller so that you have a big chunk in the way of where your thumbs rest.

It's a cool mod, but it's not practical in the least. Maybe if they turn it into a Joystick for flight sims, perhaps?

Re:Only for Novelty Value

[Tx]

Maybe the guy is getting a Mac :).

article link

[yincrash]

What I don't understand is why you would link to a page that has a link to what we want. 2nd degree news isn't news.

Re:article link

[BarryNorton]

Because:
1) You can copy text word for word, and/then
2) You're one level of indirection from being an outright advert!

A little off topic but ....

[The_Spectry]

Did anyone else besides me buy the little robot that would play gyromite with you ? That thing was awesome .I'm betting that has seriosu modding potential .

You mean R.O.B.?

[theurge14]

That plastic bastard was nothing but an expensive target for your little sister's stomping feet.

Just what I need!

[miyako]

Hmm, this is just what I need... a mouse with sharp square plastic edges .

Re:Just what I need!

[slacktide]

Here you go, sir. http://www.oldmouse.com/mouse/hawley/ [oldmouse.com]

Gravis Gamepad

[PhYrE2k2]

Ya know,
  I saw an ad in the paper, and a part of it had Gravis Gamepads for $1.29CDN each (In Toronto).

-M

Pathetic example of internet "journalism"

[Reaperducer]

So, what we have here is a Slashdot article which rips off an Engadget article which is basically ripped off from a Joystiq article on something from some guy's blog.

So, the guy who put the time, money and effort into this hack gets virtually no credit for what he's done, but three other web sites make money off of him via banner ads.

(I'd link to the original site, but it's already collapsed under the weight of the combined Slashdotting/Engadgeting/Joystiqing.)

I weep for the state of internet "journalism" these days. Can't imagine why people still buy newspapers.

Re:Pathetic example of internet "journalism"

[wodeh]

I hear you!

I saw Engadget as competition to my new GamingGadgets venture until I realised they basically just "report on" articles written by someone else and posted elsewhere.

Internet journalism these days has a bad habit of being links to links to links to original content, the site with the most hits looks like it has the most content, and thus gets the most visitors without doing any real work.

On another note, it's crazy how many of these completely pointless how tos get slashdotted. There's nothing to

Re:Pathetic example of internet "journalism"

[agent0range_]

I weep for the state of internet "journalism" these days. Can't imagine why people still buy newspapers.

Is it so they can all read the same reuters article printed under the same AP photo in every newspaper?

Re:Pathetic example of internet "journalism"

[Reaperducer]

Wow. Reuters and AP cover local news in your city? What planet do you live on?

Re:Pathetic example of internet "journalism"

[cpt kangarooski]

Well, you're assuming that we're not blocking the ads. I haven't had to put up with graphic ads for a while, and if Privoxy wasn't the world's biggest piece of shit, text ads would be gone too.

Finally

[Junior J. Junior III]

Something less ergonomic than the Apple "hockey puck" mouse. My fingers are cramping up just thinking about it.

Ikari Warriors?

[Dogun]

You couldn't beat Ikari Warriors? A B B A fool!

Advertise?

[tenco]

So, what's this article good for? Advertisement for ImageShack?

Talk about a slow news day.

[elgee]

Nothing of any importance happpened in technology or science today.

You know, I have one simple request...

[samureiser]

Dr. Evil: And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that cannot be done. Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly? Throw me a bone here! What do we have? Number Two: NES Controllers Dr. Evil: [pause] Right.

What is this?

[PunkOfLinux]

A slow news day?

wow... anyway, this sounds like a neat project... probably a pain to make though.

A more practical project

[BlastM]

would be modding an optical mouse into the Super Nintendo mouse [wikipedia.org].

It's something I've been thinking about for a while but hadn't gotten around to doing. The SNES mouse would certainly be more practical (useable) in Quake or Firefox.

Re:A more practical project

[springbox]

It would be cooler if you could create a USB or PS/2 bridge for the thing without removing the original components and have that function as a mouse

Of all the possible NES mods...

[aywwts4]

Neat: Using the gamepad as a working mouse, scroll with the D pad, click with the A & B buttons; I could see sitting back and actually using that with my laptop. Cool: Getting the NES Light gun we used to try to shoot that `effing dog with to work on our monitors; Sure, browsing the internet would turn into a game of skill but great fun none the less. Uh, thats... umm, great, good for you: Putting an already working optical mouse that fits your hands inside of a uncomfortable controller.

Lame

[ks_miles]

This is like transplanting the guts of a USB hub into an old Atari controller. What's the point? That Nintendo mouse looks damned uncomfortable to use, too.

Re:Question?

[Anonymous Coward]

Zonk's gone the way of Michael: he's been fired. Don't know the exact reason, yet.

Re:Laser?!

[erick99]

We can't be arming pilots.....

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Wait... strike that, reverse it...

[yoyhed]

But you hold the mouse turned 90 degrees CCW, so the top button is left click (A), and the bottom button is right (B).