How I improved my life with a PS3 controller | Hacker News Reader

How I improved my life with a PS3 controller

n00shie.com

45 pointsn00shie12 comments

MotionToJoy is pretty hard to setup IMO - they should work on their UX. IIRC you plug in the PS3 controller THEN install the software THEN go to the device manager tab of the software THEN install driver THEN restart the program because it doesn't work otherwise THEN go back to the first tab and pick the right profile for your needs (PS2 is the simplest because you don't worry about tilt sensors) THEN activate the profile THEN open the game controller panel to calibrate the new joysticks that appear. This is just for USB, bluetooth you have to have a specific kind of dongle and then override the drivers/pair the controller to your PC which is more steps.

> the analog sticks will be perfect for emulating the mouse

My experience has been the exact opposite. I can barely browse on the PS3.

I've tried what the OP has done in the past. I ran into the mouse issue and what I did to make it better was to map the button under the analog stick to increase the mouse speed. Getting the pointer to a rough position quickly is a more gross muscle movement involving pushing down on the stick while moving it in some direction. Fine positioning is done then by letting up on the stick and maneuvering using fine motor control. I agree that using analog sticks for the mouse is kind of awkward though.

I tried to be very cautious with what you were doing. I thought about it as well, but moving the analog stick while pressing it would probably put too much unnecessary stress on your thumb muscles. Try doing what I did, I have mentioned it in the comment above.

Hey guys, I did not think this would make front page so fast.

The way I mapped it on JoyToKey was to use the left analog stick as "slow" mouse (15%), and the right analog as fast mouse (100%), this way I can get the cursor to the general area that I want, fast, and then use the slow stick to further drive the analog stick with accuracy. After a while my two thumbs just start working in synchrony, and it really just feels like using a mouse.

in case you are wondering, the mappings are:

L1: Right mouse click, R1: Left mouse click, L2: CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (move to previous tab), R2: CTRL+TAB (move to next tab), D-pad Up: scroll up ,D-pad Down: scroll down, D-pad left: ALT+LEFT (back), D-pad right: ALT+RIGHT (forward), Select: ALT+TAB, Start: HOME (home directory), PS: WIN+G (Open Chrome), Triangle: CTRL+W (close tab), Square: CTRL+= (zoom in), Cross: CTRL+- (zoom out), Circle: CTRL+SHIFT+T (restore tab), Left stick click: F5 (refresh), Right stick click: middle mouse click (scroll).

EDIT: formatting

Yep, I remember back when I tried to surf the web on a PSP or PS3: too inefficient. Along the lines of efficient web browsing, a friend introduced me to Vimperator for FireFox and I can't imagine surfing without it. Check it out if you guys want to add some vim love to your everyday browsing :)

I recommend pentadactyl

http://dactyl.sourceforge.net/pentadactyl/

            Pentadactyl was once called Vimperator, initially written by Martin
            Stubenschrott, then developed and maintained by Doug Kearns, Kris
            Maglione, and several other invaluable contributors.
            Doug and Kris, the primary Vimperator developers for several
            years, have left the Vimperator project and now develop and
            maintain Pentadactyl in its stead.

Or Conkeror, for those (like me) more used to Emacs shortucts and lifestyle.

http://conkeror.org/

I use a combination of a 360 controller, a wireless receiver for windows[1] and joy2key to control XBMC and emulators for classic games. The 360 controller is a lot more pleasant to hold and use IMO compared to a PS3 controller.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Wind...

Hmm, actually makes me want to try something similar, but with a Wiimote. I picture grand orchestra conductor-like gestures to close and switch tabs…

Would love to see a video of this being used. I can't visualise this working.

Here you go Andrew: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=v...!

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