rec.autos.simulators

I just got one of those little Falcon NW "Fragbox" LAN-party 'putas: $995
for a foot-square cube containing a 2.66-GHz P4 w 533 FSB, an eVGA GeForce
FX5600 Ultra, 80-Gb 7200-rpm, 8-Mb cache HD, 512 RAM, XP Home, built-in 5.1
sound w. digital I/O, 10/100 Ethernet, Firewire, USB 2.0, etc.  It runs

everywhere).

Revu here:

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Company info here:

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Also, a Dell 1800FP, the best-reviewed 18-in. flat-panel (no ghosting, no
dead pixels).

Forum discussion (of the larger, less-well-regarded 1900FP) here:

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Company info here:

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

(The $529 price is for suckers; if you can wheel n' deal, it can be had for
a hundred bucks less.)

Plus a vintage ROC-built Logitech Wingman Formula Force (aka "Ol' Red") with
the ball-bearing kit installed by Alison Hine (SWEET!) with the piece of
resistance (as we say in French), a pair of ECCI E3000 pedals:

http://www.racesimcentral.net/

The pedals are incredible.  Sure, they look like they came off a combine or
an 18-wheeler (and built like the proverbial brick sh*thouse), but they are
delicate enuf to "threshold" the brakes just shy of lockup.  Yields an
incredible feeling of control.

What can I say?  RASCAR aside, life is good.

--Steve

Achim

...

How do you heel 'n toe with those? ;o)

--
ed_

Point of order: I've never driven a '67 F1 car nor a latterday NASCAR, but
am I the only one that's noticed you can shift 2-3 times faster in N2003
than in GPL?  I *have* driven rock-crushers like Mark Donohue's Trans-Am
Camaro, and I would think that the huge rotational inertia of a 6-liter
Roush V-8, big fat clutch, and beefy 4-speed would make for *much* slower
shifting than a '67 F1 car with its short-throw crank, spindly con-rods,
flyweight pistons, skeleton flywheel, tiny clutch, and itty-bitty Hewland
gears, but nooooooooooooo...................

;o)

It's really nice. My previous PC is the "bloke's toolbox" approach -
the biggest box you can imagine, with loads of space, bits***
out, modified case, enough fans to levitate if they were pointing the
same way. The new one is much better. Now, if I can install one in the
boot of the car with small TFT screen and loads of MP3s....

John

I'm going to reassign the Fragbox, actually.  My ancient and honorable 50"
Panasonic projection TV is approaching the end of its useful service life.
Like an ageing Trabant, bits & pieces are beginning to crumble, and it ain't
worth the cost of repairs to keep it going.  So...I've decided to replace it
with a 50" Samsung projection TV, the main difference--other than a
scarifying price-tag--being that it uses DLP (digital light processing)
technology, so has only one gun instead of 3; its electron stream is aimed
by turning on & off some 917,000 eensy-weensy mirors...for a rez. of 1024 x
768 (if I've done my math right).

Indeed, the Sammy has a VGA (or XVGA) input, plus HDTV capabilities, 16:9
screen, optical audio I/O, iLink (aka FireWire) output, Faroudja
de-interlacer (nee line doubler), etc., etc., so I thought Why the Shtup
Not?  I'll replace the AV receiver I've been using for the Pana with the
Fragbox, using the midget 'puta as a TVR (TV recorder), like a TiVo...only
w/o the monthly cost, and as a killer game platform to put stuff like "Call
of Duty" up on the big screen.

Problem is: controllers.  A steering wheel is out of the question.  The
Little Woman (take my wife...no, please!) wouldn't stand for a wheel &
pedals in the center of the living room (which means no GPL, N2003, or F1C),
and although I might try a joystick (for IL-2 and LOMAC), I really need a
means of controlling a FPS like CoD or MoH.  There are wireless keyboards,
of course, and wireless mice, but there's no way, ergonomically, to operate
the latter from the couch.

Solution 1: a wireless keyboard w. a built-in trackball.  Nice in theory,
but every review said the trackball response was painfully slow, so that's a
non-starter.  Solution 2: I've ordered a corded keyboard w. a built-in
touchpad, but I have a feeling its rez is going to be insufficient to put
any wad-cutters on target (much less FMJ rounds), so I'm not hopeful.
Solution 3: I saw an $80 "air mouse" (for want of a better term) at CompUSA
today.  Forgot to note the mfr., but the idea sounds promising: you wave the
thing around in mid-air like a Theramin wand to move the cursor.  OTOH, this
same approach was tried w. the hopelessly flawed Essential Reality P5, a
"***glove" that allowed you to wave your hand and wiggle your fingers,
like the fictitious "gesture" controller employed by Tom Cruise in the movie
"Minority Report."  Anybody have any experience w. devices like this?

Convergence, here I come...ready or not.

--Steve

But everyone forgets the high price of the bulb in current LCD projectors
(about half the total cost) and relatively short life (something like 1000
hours).  You should consider this in your decision to purchase.

Stephen

During a meeting with some T.I. guys a few months back it was
suggested not to look at DLP as a "new improved" DLP was on the way.
The main saving seemed to be space, so reading your later comment
about the Samsung's footprint maybe it already uses that.

Given that my wife is Japanese, Korean products are pretty much a
no-no for me (!!) but Samsung products do tend to be good.

My Shuttle is actually an ICE box, which I mainly wanted for the peace
and quiet. My previous one sounded like an Apache in full-on attack
mode, with seven fans blasting away, so the ICE is sheer bliss.

They do indeed, I just bought a set recently. I've always liked the
ergonomics of Microsoft mice, and with the wireless and optical it's
really excellent. Certainly sounds ideal for what you intend, and will
happily work on couch, trouser leg, carpet - indeed I'm testing all of
these while typing this :-)

John

If for general viewing and watching a lot of TV (6hrs/day?) then 2,000
/ 6 - 333days, which with a bulb coming in at $360 or so is $1/day for
the viewing (lamp life is 2,000 hours).

For me I just want to watch movies, the odd big football match
(Champion's League, World Cup) and F1, so the lamp would last ages.

Of course the best solution is when it's not yours :-)

John

Oopsies!  I forgot that yer wife is Japanese.  Apologies.

--Steve