From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.1 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID, DKIM_VALID_AU,FREEMAIL_FROM,HTML_MESSAGE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 12489 invoked from network); 7 Aug 2021 00:25:02 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 7 Aug 2021 00:25:02 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id BE36A9CA40; Sat, 7 Aug 2021 10:25:01 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DC14F9C9E8; Sat, 7 Aug 2021 10:24:29 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="JojgQWP7"; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 9F99E9C9E8; Sat, 7 Aug 2021 10:24:27 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-pj1-f46.google.com (mail-pj1-f46.google.com [209.85.216.46]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9F8009C9E0 for ; Sat, 7 Aug 2021 10:24:26 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-pj1-f46.google.com with SMTP id u5-20020a17090ae005b029017842fe8f82so11146928pjy.0 for ; Fri, 06 Aug 2021 17:24:26 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20161025; h=mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=LRGHeuX4Vsox8HbMUTlsOMZBg1qPFadywyBznUhtMt4=; b=JojgQWP7UA4/Ug/eKS9Q0bDVrshE+99LZ1rypWNYpYvk+RfrFY/0IAsbtZsU5Mw8R5 7tOF94FMVMSawGyzpSosWBhcDJWyTgVpQqWmd4Mw03i34VlBoELozCn388y/vgDE5nwp b2jmrvhyiA6+4OFdiGXr+2wnjJ+FpG+oAeyG1nOLjVvZx8nVeQFfl1VoZfgSQZH9bH4L DjY/bAVj4bYW4hm++Y/epgAYN90pw99C2EzTnuzFaf+wirFA9xB/ulavRNTo0My1froE wcXgwGZCnMA7KUUfYEybUmeL5BhrE9wu4y72arw+B0+P8gCghg8evbKHsSQEtTtws6Ya jE/w== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=LRGHeuX4Vsox8HbMUTlsOMZBg1qPFadywyBznUhtMt4=; b=ZAlqzRGAms6nCBNBqA5kykOBN+4YPvWOe8PN7sl/aVd8ixUzc+StmmME85CjjUOYV7 Cz+GqdNgmsk5g6fEJRKlmQQtVX3S5FemYGa8t7rSOiAhS4RbZAQ/fuzRp5ANdvg7IqpQ dmw/eH2oHvInES+xMoGa5VbtfwedE0cvG4Tbeqw+wHi9VP374gkn+aiif0f3Z1vzsW5o uUPmJVG5g1d9dFNkH8M5mXD5YZBhsTO12gKxVnbHMaDHtg2pgM3ZBDaN3laLrftOf05I AW4wyPRf1IdJkq8q9ngRo/K6PrXzyTkuj8O6qZGRld184uc8oll8U0BhY2sQkgE+tTqF MdyQ== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM532idNnpobJ8Jb+eP+CIVSAUWIaB9PA0J2xkHai7YDrzFYB9oyoe XxB77tEgCp1pci9VTHbs0oXF/b4V+9H+8EruZYq9nKZS X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJxUXgN7C4IBOVcLHQHoKvG6HRrBjc34x/jqPhOPVorIxiGMzxFuDmc+wbgbBoZ71TQDEhRWvORmVSFnIBrLxXs= X-Received: by 2002:a17:902:b713:b029:12b:b249:693f with SMTP id d19-20020a170902b713b029012bb249693fmr753486pls.17.1628295865726; Fri, 06 Aug 2021 17:24:25 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <-AmqyEPDFGA7JKlNEOgAqahmsc7dqEexT1kaQbALEzVtMU9DkZiBCg9p4ikYcJwHGsYprzFx13yPLlbW3PL0lHGBWFcDFp2dcleM7B20wcc=@jfloren.net> <20210806233353.GZ2781665@boogeyman.armory.com> In-Reply-To: <20210806233353.GZ2781665@boogeyman.armory.com> From: Rob Pike Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2021 10:24:14 +1000 Message-ID: To: Phil White Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000aa7a0505c8ed2cec" Subject: Re: [TUHS] Depraz/Logitech Digimouse manual X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: TUHS main list Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" --000000000000aa7a0505c8ed2cec Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I don't think anyone knows. Nobody relevant, I believe. -rob On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 9:33 AM Phil White wrote: > I'm a little embarrassed to ask, but my curiosity demands I ask. Who is > that in the framed photograph near the ceiling and between the "Protect > Your Password" and "UNIX International Member" posters? > > -Phil > > On Sat, Aug 07, 2021 at 07:53:48AM +1000, Rob Pike wrote: > > I sent a picture (actually two at different resolutions; keep reading) = to > > the list, but being images they are larger than the address space of a > > PDP-11 so not allowed here. > > > > Is it really necessary to have such a low message size limit in an era > when > > I can buy a terabyte of storage for less than a hundred bucks? > > > > Here is a Google Drive link, for the adventurous. > > > > > > 20180123-UnixSkeleton.jpg > > < > https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aS8ZmzwPUawIa8WXGoXOK9jDiYtJETGG/view?us= p=3Ddrive_web > > > > > > > > -rob > > > > > > On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 7:44 AM Rob Pike wrote: > > > > > I sent a higher-res version in which you can read all the text but it > was > > > "moderated". > > > > > > This is the Unix room as of the year 2000 or so. > > > > > > -rob > > > > > > > > > On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 4:34 AM ron minnich wrote= : > > > > > >> The story of the mice, one of which I gave to John: > > >> > > >> I ran a program called FAST-OS for LANL/Sandia for 6 years starting > > >> 2005. Think of it as "Plan 9 on petaflop supercomputers" -- it may > > >> seem strange now, but in that era when some top end systems ran cust= om > > >> kernels, there was a strong case to be made that plan 9 was a good > > >> choice. By 2011, of course, the Linux tsunami had swept all before i= t, > > >> which is why you no longer hear about custom HPC kernels so much -- > > >> though in some places they still reign. In any event, this program > > >> gave me 6 years to work with "the Unix room", or what was left of it= . > > >> I had been in the Unix Room in 1978, and even met Dennis, so this > > >> prospect was quite a treat. > > >> > > >> We funded Charles Forsyth to write the amd64 compilers for Plan 9, > > >> which if you used early Go you ran into (6c 6a 6l); we also funded t= he > > >> amd64 port of Plan 9 (a.k.a. k10) as well as the port to Blue Gene. > > >> That amd64 port is still out and about. You can find the Blue Gene > > >> kernel on github. > > >> > > >> I had lots of fun spending time in the Unix room while working with > > >> the late Jim McKie, and others. I saw the tail end of the traditions= . > > >> They had cookie day once a week, if memory serves, on Thursday at 3.= I > > >> got to see the backwards-running clock, Ken's chess trophies, his > > >> pilot's license, pictures of Peter everywhere, a "Reagan's view of t= he > > >> world" map, the American Legion award for Telstar (which was rescued > > >> from a dumpster!), and so on. The "Unix room" was more than one room= , > > >> all built on a raised floor, as I assume it was former old school > > >> machine room space. If memory serves, it filled the entire width of > > >> the end of the top floor of the building it was in (4th floor?) -- > > >> maybe 50 ft x 50 ft -- maybe a bit more. There was a room with desks= , > > >> and a similar-sized room with servers, and a smaller room containing= a > > >> lab-style sink, a very professional cappucinno machine, decades of o= ld > > >> proceedings, and a sofa. I fixed the heavy-duty coffee grinder one > > >> year; for some reason the Italian company that produced it had seen > > >> fit to switch BOTH hot and neutral, and the fix was to only switch > > >> hot, as the neutral switch had failed; I guess in the EU, with 220v, > > >> things are done differently. > > >> > > >> It was fun being there. A few years later the whole room, and all it= s > > >> history, was trashed, and replaced with what Jim called a "middle > > >> management wxx dream" (Jim was never at a loss for words); Jim found > > >> some yellow Police crime scene tape and placed it in front of the > > >> doors to the new space. It was redubbed "the innovation space" or so= me > > >> such, and looked kind of like an ikea showroom. Much was lost. I tri= ed > > >> to find a way to save the contents of the room; I had this dream of > > >> recreating it at Google, much as John Wanamaker's office was preserv= ed > > >> in Philadelphia for so many decades, but I was too late. I have no > > >> idea where the contents are now. Maybe next to the Ark. > > >> > > >> One day in 2008 or so jmk took me for a tour of the buildings, and w= e > > >> at one point ended up high in the top floor of what I think was > > >> Building One (since torn down?), in what used to be Lab Supply. Nobo= dy > > >> was there, and not much supply was there either. Finally somebody > > >> wandered in, and Jim asked where everyone was. "Oh, they closed lab > > >> supply, maybe 4 years ago?" > > >> > > >> Bell Labs had seen hard times since the Lucent split, and it was cle= ar > > >> it had not quite recovered, and Lab Supply was just one sign of it. = I > > >> think the saddest thing was seeing the visitor center, which I first > > >> saw in 1976. In 1976, it was the seat of the Bell System Empire, and > > >> it was huge. There was a map of the US with a light lit for every > > >> switching office in the Bell Labs system. There was all kinds of Bel= l > > >> Labs history in the visitor center museum. > > >> > > >> The museum had shrunk to a much smaller area, and felt like a closet= . > > >> The original transistor was still there in 2010, but little else.The > > >> library was, similarly, changed: it was dark and empty, I was told. > > >> Money was saved. At that time, Bell Labs felt large, strangely quiet= , > > >> and emptied of people. It made me think of post-sack Rome, ca. 600, > > >> when its population was estimated to be 500. I have not been back > > >> since 2011 so maybe things are very different. It would be nice if s= o. > > >> > > >> As part of this tour, Jim gave me 3 depraz mice. I took one, gutted > > >> it, (sorry!), and filled its guts with a USB mouse innards, and gave > > >> it back to Jim. He then had a Depraz USB mouse. jmk's mouse did not > > >> have any lead in it, as John's did, however. The second I gave to > > >> someone at Google who had worked at the labs back in the day. The > > >> third mouse I gave to John, and he made it live again, which is cool= . > > >> > > >> In spite of their reputation, I found Depraz mice hard to use. I hav= e > > >> gone through all kinds of mice, and am on an evoluent, and as far as > > >> Depraz go, I guess "you had to be there". I don't recall if jmk used > > >> his "usb depraz" or it ended up on a shelf. Sadly, I can no longer a= sk > > >> him. > > >> > > >> I'll be interested to see what John thinks of the Depraz. > > >> > > >> ron > > >> > > >> On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 9:52 AM John Floren wrote: > > >> > > > >> > Ah, right. I opened the mouse because one of the encoders didn't > seem > > >> to be working (it worked fine again this morning, who knows...) and > > >> discovered that there was something duct taped inside the plastic > shell: > > >> > > > >> > http://jfloren.net/content/depraz/inside.jpg > > >> > > > >> > Peeling back the tape, I saw what I first took to be chunks of > > >> flattened beer cans: > > >> > > > >> > http://jfloren.net/content/depraz/reveal.jpg > > >> > > > >> > A closer look showed that they were the wrappers which cover the > corks > > >> of wine bottles. Up into the 1980s, these were made out of lead, and > by > > >> flattening five of them, a previous owner of the mouse was able to a= dd > > >> quite a bit of extra weight to it: > > >> > > > >> > http://jfloren.net/content/depraz/wrapper.jpg > > >> > > > >> > > > >> > john > > >> > > > >> > =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90 Or= iginal Message =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80= =90 > > >> > > > >> > On Friday, August 6th, 2021 at 9:34 AM, ron minnich < > rminnich@gmail.com> > > >> wrote: > > >> > > > >> > > john, don't forget to mention the beer can > > >> > > > > >> > > On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 9:29 AM John Floren john@jfloren.net > wrote: > > >> > > > > >> > > > I stuck an Arduino on it and with surprisingly little code I > have > > >> it acting like a 3-button USB mouse. > > >> > > > > > >> > > > The only problem is that the pointer doesn't move smoothly. It > does > > >> OK left-to-right, and can move down pretty well, but going up is a > problem. > > >> I think pushing the mouse forward tends to move the ball away from t= he > > >> Y-axis wheel, and the old spring on the tensioner just doesn't have > the > > >> gumption to hold that heavy ball bearing in any more. > > >> > > > > > >> > > > john > > >> > > > > > >> > > > =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80= =90 Original Message =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90= =E2=80=90 > > >> > > > > > >> > > > On Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 9:12 PM, ron minnich > > >> rminnich@gmail.com wrote: > > >> > > > > > >> > > > > John, you can see that "stick a bird on it" -> "stick an > arduino > > >> on > > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > it" -> "stick a pi on it" has gone as you once predicted :-) > > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 8:59 PM John Floren john@jfloren.net > > >> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > > =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2= =80=90 Original Message =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80= =90=E2=80=90 > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > > On Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 6:12 PM, Henry Bent > > >> henry.r.bent@gmail.com wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > On Wed, 4 Aug 2021 at 20:52, John Floren john@jfloren.ne= t > > >> wrote: > > >> > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > Having just been given a Depraz mouse, I thought it > would > > >> be fun to get it working on my modern computer. Since the DE9 > connector is > > >> male rather than female as you usually see with serial mice, and > given its > > >> age, I speculate that it might have a custom protocol; in any rate, > > >> plugging it into a USB-serial converter and and firing up picocom ha= s > given > > >> me nothing. > > >> > > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > Does anyone have a copy of a manual for it, or more > > >> information on how to interface with it? If I knew how it was wired > and > > >> what the protocol looked like, I expect I could make an adapter pret= ty > > >> trivially using a microcontroller. > > >> > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > This might be of some help? > > >> > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > > > >> > https://www.vcfed.org/forum/forum/technical-support/vintage-computer-hard= ware/74403-whitechapel-mg-1-depraz-mouse-grey-pinout#post904391 > > >> > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > > -Henry > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > > This looks great, thank you! > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > > john > > >> > > > > --000000000000aa7a0505c8ed2cec Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
I don't think anyone knows. Nobody relevant, I believe= .

-rob


On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 9:33 A= M Phil White <cerise-tuhs@= hockeyphil.net> wrote:
I'm a little embarrassed to ask, but my curiosity demands= I ask.=C2=A0 Who is
that in the framed photograph near the ceiling and between the "Protec= t
Your Password" and "UNIX International Member" posters?

-Phil

On Sat, Aug 07, 2021 at 07:53:48AM +1000, Rob Pike wrote:
> I sent a picture (actually two at different resolutions; keep reading)= to
> the list, but being images they are larger than the address space of a=
> PDP-11 so not allowed here.
>
> Is it really necessary to have such a low message size limit in an era= when
> I can buy a terabyte of storage for less than a hundred bucks?
>
> Here is a Google Drive link, for the adventurous.
>
>
>=C2=A0 20180123-UnixSkeleton.jpg
> <https= ://drive.google.com/file/d/1aS8ZmzwPUawIa8WXGoXOK9jDiYtJETGG/view?usp=3Ddri= ve_web>
>
>
> -rob
>
>
> On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 7:44 AM Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I sent a higher-res version in which you can read all the text bu= t it was
> > "moderated".
> >
> > This is the Unix room as of the year 2000 or so.
> >
> > -rob
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Aug 7, 2021 at 4:34 AM ron minnich <rminnich@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> The story of the mice, one of which I gave to John:
> >>
> >> I ran a program called FAST-OS for LANL/Sandia for 6=C2=A0 ye= ars starting
> >> 2005. Think of it as "Plan 9 on petaflop supercomputers&= quot; -- it may
> >> seem strange now, but in that era when some top end systems r= an custom
> >> kernels, there was a strong case to be made that plan 9 was a= good
> >> choice. By 2011, of course, the Linux tsunami had swept all b= efore it,
> >> which is why you no longer hear about custom HPC kernels so m= uch --
> >> though in some places they still reign. In any event, this pr= ogram
> >> gave me 6 years to work with "the Unix room", or wh= at was left of it.
> >> I had been in the Unix Room in 1978, and even met Dennis, so = this
> >> prospect was quite a treat.
> >>
> >> We funded Charles Forsyth to write the amd64 compilers for Pl= an 9,
> >> which if you used early Go you ran into (6c 6a 6l); we also f= unded the
> >> amd64 port of Plan 9 (a.k.a. k10) as well as the port to Blue= Gene.
> >> That amd64 port is still out and about. You can find the Blue= Gene
> >> kernel on github.
> >>
> >> I had lots of fun spending time in the Unix room while workin= g with
> >> the late Jim McKie, and others. I saw the tail end of the tra= ditions.
> >> They had cookie day once a week, if memory serves, on Thursda= y at 3. I
> >> got to see the backwards-running clock, Ken's chess troph= ies, his
> >> pilot's license, pictures of Peter everywhere, a "Re= agan's view of the
> >> world" map, the American Legion award for Telstar (which= was rescued
> >> from a dumpster!), and so on. The "Unix room" was m= ore than one room,
> >> all built on a raised floor, as I assume it was former old sc= hool
> >> machine room space. If memory serves, it filled the entire wi= dth of
> >> the end of the top floor of the building it was in (4th floor= ?) --
> >> maybe 50 ft x 50 ft -- maybe a bit more. There was a room wit= h desks,
> >> and a similar-sized room with servers, and a smaller room con= taining a
> >> lab-style sink, a very professional cappucinno machine, decad= es of old
> >> proceedings, and a sofa. I fixed the heavy-duty coffee grinde= r one
> >> year; for some reason the Italian company that produced it ha= d seen
> >> fit to switch BOTH hot and neutral, and the fix was to only s= witch
> >> hot, as the neutral switch had failed; I guess in the EU, wit= h 220v,
> >> things are done differently.
> >>
> >> It was fun being there. A few years later the whole room, and= all its
> >> history, was trashed, and replaced with what Jim called a &qu= ot;middle
> >> management wxx dream" (Jim was never at a loss for words= ); Jim found
> >> some yellow Police crime scene tape and placed it in front of= the
> >> doors to the new space. It was redubbed "the innovation = space" or some
> >> such, and looked kind of like an ikea showroom. Much was lost= . I tried
> >> to find a way to save the contents of the room; I had this dr= eam of
> >> recreating it at Google, much as John Wanamaker's office = was preserved
> >> in Philadelphia for so many decades, but I was too late. I ha= ve no
> >> idea where the contents are now. Maybe next to the Ark.
> >>
> >> One day in 2008 or so jmk took me for a tour of the buildings= , and we
> >> at one point ended up high in the top floor of what I think w= as
> >> Building One (since torn down?), in what used to be Lab Suppl= y. Nobody
> >> was there, and not much supply was there either. Finally some= body
> >> wandered in, and Jim asked where everyone was. "Oh, they= closed lab
> >> supply, maybe 4 years ago?"
> >>
> >> Bell Labs had seen hard times since the Lucent split, and it = was clear
> >> it had not quite recovered, and Lab Supply was just one sign = of it. I
> >> think the saddest thing was seeing the visitor center, which = I first
> >> saw in 1976. In 1976, it was the seat of the Bell System Empi= re, and
> >> it was huge. There was a map of the US with a light lit for e= very
> >> switching office in the Bell Labs system. There was all kinds= of Bell
> >> Labs history in the visitor center museum.
> >>
> >> The museum had shrunk to a much smaller area, and felt like a= closet.
> >> The original transistor was still there in 2010, but little e= lse.The
> >> library was, similarly, changed: it was dark and empty, I was= told.
> >> Money was saved. At that time, Bell Labs felt large, strangel= y quiet,
> >> and emptied of people. It made me think of post-sack Rome, ca= . 600,
> >> when its population was estimated to be 500. I have not been = back
> >> since 2011 so maybe things are very different. It would be ni= ce if so.
> >>
> >> As part of this tour, Jim gave me 3 depraz mice. I took one, = gutted
> >> it, (sorry!), and filled its guts with a USB mouse innards, a= nd gave
> >> it back to Jim. He then had a Depraz USB mouse. jmk's mou= se did not
> >> have any lead in it, as John's did, however. The second I= gave to
> >> someone at Google who had worked at the labs back in the day.= The
> >> third mouse I gave to John, and he made it live again, which = is cool.
> >>
> >> In spite of their reputation, I found Depraz mice hard to use= . I have
> >> gone through all kinds of mice, and am on an evoluent, and as= far as
> >> Depraz go, I guess "you had to be there". I don'= ;t recall if jmk used
> >> his "usb depraz" or it ended up on a shelf. Sadly, = I can no longer ask
> >> him.
> >>
> >> I'll be interested to see what John thinks of the Depraz.=
> >>
> >> ron
> >>
> >> On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 9:52 AM John Floren <john@jfloren.net> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Ah, right. I opened the mouse because one of the encoder= s didn't seem
> >> to be working (it worked fine again this morning, who knows..= .) and
> >> discovered that there was something duct taped inside the pla= stic shell:
> >> >
> >> > http://jfloren.net/content/depraz/ins= ide.jpg
> >> >
> >> > Peeling back the tape, I saw what I first took to be chu= nks of
> >> flattened beer cans:
> >> >
> >> > http://jfloren.net/content/depraz/rev= eal.jpg
> >> >
> >> > A closer look showed that they were the wrappers which c= over the corks
> >> of wine bottles. Up into the 1980s, these were made out of le= ad, and by
> >> flattening five of them, a previous owner of the mouse was ab= le to add
> >> quite a bit of extra weight to it:
> >> >
> >> > http://jfloren.net/content/depraz/wr= apper.jpg
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > john
> >> >
> >> > =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90= =E2=80=90 Original Message =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2= =80=90=E2=80=90
> >> >
> >> > On Friday, August 6th, 2021 at 9:34 AM, ron minnich <= rminnich@gmail.com<= /a>>
> >> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > > john, don't forget to mention the beer can
> >> > >
> >> > > On Fri, Aug 6, 2021 at 9:29 AM John Floren
john@jfloren.net wrote:<= br> > >> > >
> >> > > > I stuck an Arduino on it and with surprisingly= little code I have
> >> it acting like a 3-button USB mouse.
> >> > > >
> >> > > > The only problem is that the pointer doesn'= ;t move smoothly. It does
> >> OK left-to-right, and can move down pretty well, but going up= is a problem.
> >> I think pushing the mouse forward tends to move the ball away= from the
> >> Y-axis wheel, and the old spring on the tensioner just doesn&= #39;t have the
> >> gumption to hold that heavy ball bearing in any more.
> >> > > >
> >> > > > john
> >> > > >
> >> > > > =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90= =E2=80=90=E2=80=90 Original Message =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2= =80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90
> >> > > >
> >> > > > On Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 9:12 PM, ron= minnich
> >> rminn= ich@gmail.com wrote:
> >> > > >
> >> > > > > John, you can see that "stick a bird= on it" -> "stick an arduino
> >> on
> >> > > > >
> >> > > > > it" -> "stick a pi on it&quo= t; has gone as you once predicted :-)
> >> > > > >
> >> > > > > On Wed, Aug 4, 2021 at 8:59 PM John Flore= n john@jfloren.net
> >> wrote:
> >> > > > >
> >> > > > > > =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90= =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90 Original Message =E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2= =80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90=E2=80=90
> >> > > > > >
> >> > > > > > On Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 at 6:= 12 PM, Henry Bent
> >>
h= enry.r.bent@gmail.com wrote:
> >> > > > > >
> >> > > > > > > On Wed, 4 Aug 2021 at 20:52, Jo= hn Floren john@jflore= n.net
> >> wrote:
> >> > > > > > >
> >> > > > > > > > Having just been given a D= epraz mouse, I thought it would
> >> be fun to get it working on my modern computer. Since the DE9= connector is
> >> male rather than female as you usually see with serial mice, = and given its
> >> age, I speculate that it might have a custom protocol; in any= rate,
> >> plugging it into a USB-serial converter and and firing up pic= ocom has given
> >> me nothing.
> >> > > > > > > >
> >> > > > > > > > Does anyone have a copy of= a manual for it, or more
> >> information on how to interface with it? If I knew how it was= wired and
> >> what the protocol looked like, I expect I could make an adapt= er pretty
> >> trivially using a microcontroller.
> >> > > > > > >
> >> > > > > > > This might be of some help?
> >> > > > > > >
> >> > > > > > >
> >> https://www.vcfed.org/for= um/forum/technical-support/vintage-computer-hardware/74403-whitechapel-mg-1= -depraz-mouse-grey-pinout#post904391
> >> > > > > > >
> >> > > > > > > -Henry
> >> > > > > >
> >> > > > > > This looks great, thank you!
> >> > > > > >
> >> > > > > > john
> >>
> >
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