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3DConnexion SpaceNavigator gets unboxed
We've seen the official images, but those itching for a better look at 3DConnexion's new SpaceNavigator 3D mouse for laptops can now get their fix courtesy of Flickr user zeta.phoenix, who has kindly chronicled the traditional unboxing process for us. As you can see above, the peripheral definitely won't take up too much space in your laptop bag, and the just-long-enough USB cable means it likely won't be doing double duty on your desktop (at least without an extension). If that's whet your appetite, you can find plenty more pics where it came from by hitting up the link below.[Thanks, Jon]
3Dconnexion intros SpaceNavigator 3D mouse for laptops
Logitech subsidiary 3Dconnexion managed to impress with its original SpaceNavigator 3D mouse, and it's now shrunk the 3D environment-navigating tool down to laptop size for those that like to dip into their virtual environs of choice while they're on the go. Apart from the size, however, the only significant change appears to be a new cap design that promises "more immersive and natural interactions within 3D applications," with it otherwise offering you the same pressure sensitive controls and ability to fly through spaces while simultaneously zooming and rotating the view as before. Also likely of interest to a number of folks is that the device is now fully supported by Second Life, although you'll probably still want to hang onto your usual mouse if you want to have any chance in your favorite FPS games. Look for this one to set you back $129 when it's released early next month.
Cinemassively: 3Dconnexion 3D mice in Second Life
Excuse us if we geek out for a few minutes, but the device that we're about to show you is really outstanding. In fact, it could be this blogger's best friend in Second Life. It's actually pretty funny that they're just now announcing the mouse as coming to SL, as many residents have been using it for the last eight months or more. The 3Dconnexion Spacenavigator allows you to use many programs, such as Maya, 3DS Max, Google Earth, and Photoshop CS3, among other things. For machinima use, you are able to move forward, backwards, left, right, up, down, tilt, and zoom. This makes for very precise shots. In addition, it's fun to cruise around sims when you have nothing better to do. According to the video, it even helps out with building! If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
SpaceNavigator: Beta Driver for OS X
The SpaceNavigator from 3Dconnexion is a tres cool USB peripheral for navigating in 3 dimensions in certain 3D software. Until now the SpaceNavigtor was Windows only, but 3Dconnexion has announced beta OS X support at Macworld.Unfortunately, the SpaceNavigtor will only initially support "Google SketchUp 6.0, Autodesk® Maya® 7 and above (with MelScripts available from 3Dconnexion) and auto•des•sys form.Z© 6.1 (must have 3DxMacWare plus the downloadable plug-in from the form.Z Web site). Additional Mac-based 3D applications will be added as the beta program progresses." What is striking is what is missing from that list: the just out of beta, Google Earth 4. As you can see from the Windows videos, with the SpaceNavigtor you can smoothly and continuously "fly" around, instead of grabbing and zooming with a mouse. Hopefully, support will be coming to Google Earth in the near future, so I guess I'll have to wait until then.The SpaceNavigtor comes in two versions: one at $99 for commercial use and one at $59 for non-commercial use.[Edit: Fixed spelling of '3Dconnexion']
3Dconnexion announces SpaceNavigator
Chances are you haven't considered your options for 3D inputs unless they were specialty gaming rigs or homebrew hacks, but that's gonna change today. 3Dconnexion, a subsidiary of Logitech, launched their new SpaceNavigator, a very simple, inexpensive six-axis method for navigating virtual environments. End users will plunk down $59 (pro users pay $99 for the same device, but a commercial license) to be able to run through Google Earth and build in SketchUp like they've never before. Unfortunately, until that SDK gets taken advantage of it won't be good for much else, but the built-in Google support for the SpaceNavigator really makes using at least those two 3D apps completely different. And let's face it, you're just not going to find a 3D controller for this price on the market. It should be available immediately or in short order; Mac users can probably expect support in 2007. Click on for more shots we got when we played around with it the other day.
