3Dconnexion has just released a new driver for its line of 3D Mice. According to their press release and website, this new driver will let users use their 3D Mouse ( SpaceNavigator, SpaceNavigator for Notebooks, SpaceExplorer USB and SpacePilot PRO) with any application they are running! That's an interesting concept.
I downloaded the driver (108 mb) for Windows 64 bit and installed it on my Windows 7 laptop. That was easy and painless. I plugged my Navigator and later my Space Pilot PRO into my laptop and started opening programs. The left button could not be altered, but I can change the function of the right. Out of the box it acts like a left-click of the mouse (a regular mouse.) The Space Pilot Pro already had so much integration with it (RSS feeds on the display, Outlook Integration, etc) that at first it didn't seem like much, but it's there.
So what does this mean? For most people not much. But for users it means that these 3D mice will (should) work out of the box with all applications. No need to wait for the driver. However, being able to use these 3D mice with "everything" is not that big of a deal. It's not because it doesn't add much more functionality to the programs. But if you already have one then use it. If you were concerned about getting one (face it they aren't cheap) because you weren't sure if they would work with your program or maybe you wanted more bang for your buck, then now, maybe you don't have to worry about it.
There are drivers for Mac OS, 32 bit Windows, 63 bit Windows, Siemens (3DxMagellanProxy), and a few others. I didn't see any Linux support. These drivers are still in Beta and are not officially supported. If you have any issues with them, well, use them at your own risk, they are beta.
I've been using this new driver for about a week now with my Space Pilot Pro and I want to say WOW!! I use Hootsuite.com to manage my Social Networking posts (twitter.com/bcbenton and facebook.com/cadablog) and it works in there to! I can scroll the pages up and down, 1 click copy/paste (ok, that's two clicks, one for copy one for paste), it has an ESC, CTRL, and ALT key, and more. It works great with my laptop because it provides a second (all be it much smaller) screen. It expands the usefulness of my laptop and not just in CAD anymore.
ReplyDeleteI just found two more buttons. One (button 3) opens up Bing.com in a browser. Button 4 opens Skype! You can program the buttons and knob functions per profiles, which means you can tell the 3D mouse to function differently for different applications. This takes 2 Handed CAD to a whole new level!!
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