Is this clip really needed?

Dart
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:00 am
Location: Alabama!

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by Dart »

Ah, I think I get the good Captain's question.

Okay, you're gonna have to shell out the bucks for the activation code. Really, that's what it's all about.

I'm going to assume that in the future replacement clip thingies will be available for sale (I hope so, I have a kid in my house, and there is a direct relationship between the PITA of replacing a thing to the likelihood of a kid breaking it).

Right now, though, it's a combo package.

The question of "if I reproduce the tracker reflector thingy in the same dimensions" is both reasonable and likely to work.

However, one can't just make a three pronged dealie bobber out of spare bits and expect Vector to work, because the software has to be unlocked.

It's rather like WindowsXP or HalfLife2 in that respect, though I think one has to go online.

If it wasn't that way, NaturalPoint would be essentially giving 6DOF away for free - which is nice for us, but a terrible way to earn a profit from a business, especially considering R&D costs.
Charlie251
Posts: 955
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2003 5:00 am
Location: Melbourne, Florida

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by Charlie251 »

Dart is on the money.

As for whats illegal, read that lovely peice of crap legislation we have called the DMCA. You will be amazed at what is illegal these days.

Oh, and anything is illegal if the other side has a good enough lawyer... (cursing under breath).

Edit: Fat fingers... it is DMCA not DCMA.

[ December 13, 2004, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: Charlie ]
DonULFonso
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2004 5:00 am
Location: near THE Neandert(h)al (Germany for all Homo Sapiens)

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by DonULFonso »

quote:There are also other threads where I said it works just fine when hooked to a heatset. However, the software looks for it to be shaped to the hat so, while the headset works, it is not a supported position.

Jim stated in yet another thread that in the future, the software will be expanded so that it fully supports a headset mount and maybe others.But will there be some sort of a calibration routine added to some later software version that would allow us to use solutions differing from the measurements of the original vector thingy?

The current software may need that thingy's fixed measurements to work properly, but a way to calibrate for differing measurements would allow us to just stick additional stripes on our headsets, for instance.

That's why I personally don't really understand all that discussion about the required original thingie and the recommended hat, at least not if we think in the longer run and future releases. Just my 2cts of course...
Magic Man
Posts: 93
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:00 am

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by Magic Man »

I see it more along the lines of we are effectively getting the clip for free. It's the software and the whole vector development that the cost covers and this is why it is licence protected and rightly so.

Obviously the clip had to be designed to provide a development tool for the software and it had an associated cost but I don't think it's really a case of anyone having to buy the clip to get the software, more a case of you getting a clip and hat (i.e. the only current approved and guaranteed way of making the software perform as it should) with the purchase of the software.

I'm checking my status on eDimensional and awaiting mine...
BM357_TinMan
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat May 29, 2004 5:00 am

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by BM357_TinMan »

Mine is on the way
Captain_Krunch
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2003 5:00 am

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by Captain_Krunch »

Well, I apologize, too; I probably flew off the handle quicker than I should have, and could have given others the benefit of the doubt. Oh well, too late now. Anyway, I hope the forum can work together to come up with some alterative approaches for Vector.
Dart
Posts: 35
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:00 am
Location: Alabama!

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by Dart »

(walking over with two cups of coffee, handing you one)

No problemo!

I'm just as keen as you are on how hard it is going to be to make a vector clip, as I hate wearing a ball cap, and tend to be very rough with my headset.

I've actually got a Soviet "garrison" cap called a pilotka (think of a "fin" for your head) that fits just great under a headset, isn't hot at all, and can't be crushed if you sit on it!

The problem is that one needs to attach it to the front - easy enough with TIR as it's a dot stuck to a pin on the front. For Vector I'll need to rig something to hold it on without spinning. I'm loathe to glue anything to the clip, and soldering is above my level of maintenance.
Charlie251
Posts: 955
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2003 5:00 am
Location: Melbourne, Florida

Re: Is this clip really needed?

Post by Charlie251 »

Misunderstandings happen. No biggie.

Let me just say that I am with you on this one. If there were a way in the future to reduce the size of the clip... ect ect it would be cool. Personally, I think the clip looks really cool and I dont even notice it when it is on the hat. But that is just me.

I also want to say that this is really new cutting edge stuff. There is not a single head tracking unit, unless it is in the DOD and I dont know about it, that can do what the Vector can. I am sure the guys at NP are already scratching their heads saying "OK, how can we make it better?". If you hadnt noticed, NP doesnt like to sit around doing nothing!

I think the future will bring around things that you will like in regards to this product. For right now, this is what we got.
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