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New Product: 49-Way USB Interface - The GP-Wiz49 with DRS Technology (TM)

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SirPoonga:

--- Quote from: Toonces on April 12, 2005, 02:45:01 pm ---Randy said he'd look at that in a future version and I'm good with that. For people who haven't already bought the product
--- End quote ---

IntruderAlert:
Have you guys ever seen this before?

It's supposed to be a 49 way with rotary.



armax:
intruder, where did you see that joystick at?

Toonces:

--- Quote from: SirPoonga on April 13, 2005, 10:41:53 pm ---
--- Quote from: Toonces on April 12, 2005, 02:45:01 pm ---Randy said he'd look at that in a future version and I'm good with that. For people who haven't already bought the product  to come along and say that they wouldn't do it because the parallel port is dying...blah blah blah is rediculous. He should support all versions of the product with the same type of features if it's possible and non-cost prohibitive. In this one particular case it should be. The materials are cheap to get and the programming source is available free. It does cost some of his time though to add a feature to a program he is already writing.

Is that such an unreasonable request?

--- End quote ---

No, it isn't unreasonable.  I was just expressing my opinion that it isn't a smart decision.  It may be cheap but what's it worth when it can't be used.

The last three new computers I have seen do NOT have parallel port.  They have serial but not parallel port.  Those computers were my new one (an athlon 64), my new work computer (a Dell pentium 4), and a friends new Duron 1.8Ghz.

Has PCs get cheaper, especially those Duron 1.8Ghz that can be less than $200, you are going to see less and less parallel ports in arcade cabients.

Why should Randy stick with the past when the future is so obvious?  Why not think ahead?  Look at how many parallel port devices are being created today.... why even think about it then.  The hardware is being phased out.  It's no different then these arcade hardware manufacturers (Randy, Andy, etc..) not supporting DOS.  You just don't see it today so why take a step backwards to support a technology that is being phased out, which usually means some limitations have to be done so it will work the same in the future when a change has to be made.

--- End quote ---

You know, basically, I don't disagree with you. The only reason I do think Randy should add it to this particular app is because he put the product out there and people purchased it knowing that this was one of the only options for computer based switching. Early on, Randy said that someone would make a circuit or figure out how to accomplish switching of the modes via the computer. He was right, I didn't do anything unique and was probably not even the first to do it with the GP-Wiz49. He's now in a redesign of the firmware to make USB the "Supported" switching method (besides using the buttons or a rotary switch). If the parallel support were actually difficult I could see not adding it but with a freely available DLL that works on all Windows versions from 9X to XP, it should be fairly simple to add.

Now it may be my fault that I didn't wait months after it was released to buy, but if I and others who bought all waited, Randy probably wouldn't be adding the USB switching support now or may not even continue the product. Why carry it if it won't sell? I think from the very moment the product was announced, many people saw the opportunity and the possibilities that mode switching could be accomplished using the computer based on the information from your controls.ini project. Personally, I think once his USB switchable version of the GP-Wiz49 is available and shipping, he will see a pretty good increase in sales and you will see an increase in participation for adding new games to controls.ini.

I'm not asking him to support the past technology for the sake of using older technology but to support those people, like myself, who bought his product early on. He is already writing the app and adding "Unofficial" support for the parallel port mode goes a long way to proving that the decision they made was a good one because, like all of his products, he does his best to support them well.

IntruderAlert:

--- Quote from: armax on April 13, 2005, 11:03:53 pm ---intruder, where did you see that joystick at?

--- End quote ---
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=13718&item=6170164386&rd=1

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