Xbox 720 with Windows 9: Release Date and Cheaper Price — A Hoax?
Blogger MSNerd is bringing thrills on the online community with his revelation about a possible smaller Xbox version in the near future tagging along a Windows 9 and ARM processors. And it will be cheaper, as the rumor goes.
Even though a rumor based on rumors is hearsay in legal parlance, legal vernaculars is ignored in tech-inspired online community where rumors have it that a “loop” or XboxTV or Xbox 720 is in the offing and that it is to be fitted with the latest graphics, sensors, sound, encryption and networking features resembling a Zune HD-like hardware. Microsoft will be designing the platform along with two partners based on ARM architecture with a smaller design and a lower price.
The blogger is believed to be credible based on earlier information emanating from the blog about Microsoft’s tablet project Courier (abandoned), the whole fiasco about Zune, Kin and Windows Phone in previous years and the blogger’s possible connection with the Microsoft’s Xbox group. The blogger went further by declaring that the future Xbox will demonstrate Windows Phone’s functionality in Windows 9 development platform.
Given the fact the Microsoft is preoccupied with motion control integration augurs well about the rumor’s validity. On the other hand, everything is still in the planning stage so an Xbox 720 release next year is very unlikely. Stay tuned.
Port Response Devices
Presentation can communicate with a variety of port devices. The port response device feature allows you to interpret codes received by those devices as response button events.
To create a port response device, go to the Response panel, right-click on the "Devices" list and select "Add port device" in the context menu. A new device will be added to the response device list, and a properties window for the new device will open. The "Name" property identifies the response device. You may use any name that you like, but it must be unique within the list of response devices. You can create as many port response devices as you need.
As discussed in the Port Input section, the port response device feature is one of the features that utilize port input channels. The "Input Channel" property specifies the port input channelwhich generates the codes used by the port response device. Therefore, you may use any port and port configuration supported by port input channels as a response device.
In some cases, a port input channel is capable of generating more than 256 distinct "start" or "end" code events. In this case, you must place a restriction on the allowable codes that can be interpreted as response buttons. To do this, enter a range description in the "Range restriction" box. A range restriction is a list of either single codes or code ranges separated by commas. For example "1,10-20" would allow codes 1,10,11,...,20. Note that the range restriction is only used if the number of allowed codes from a port input channel is too large. If the number is not too large, Presentation will simply list all available codes as response buttons for the device, ignoring any range restriction. If the number is too large and you do not define a range restriction, no available buttons will appear for the device on the Response panel.
Once you configure the port response device and the associated port input channel, the "Buttons" box on the Response panel will display the available buttons for the device. What buttons appear will depend on the configuration of the port input channel. For some input channels, you will be able to use both "start" and "end" events. At this point, the buttons may be added as active buttons for the scenarios in the experiment.
Note: If you make changes to the associated port input channel, the buttons for the device may change. If some of the buttons are being used as active buttons and they are no longer available because of changes to the port input channel, you will receive a warning message.
Debouncing
The port response device can selectively ignore certain responses based on the timing of previous responses. This is useful if the connection to a port is directly connected to the switch of a response button which may exhibit some electric "bouncing" when closing or opening. This "debouncing" feature depends on the "Debounce interval" entered in the properties window, a time in milliseconds. There are four "debouncing" options:
None - no events are ignored.
Standard - an event is ignored if it occurs within the debounce interval of any previous event. This is true even if the previous event was itself ignored, and is true of both "start" and "end" events.
Rising Interval - an event is ignored if it occurs within the debounce interval after a previous "start" event which was not ignored. "end" events do not affect the debouncing. Note that unlike "Standard" debouncing, the ignored interval is not extended by events that are ignored.
Falling Interval - an event is ignored if it occurs within the debounce interval after a previous "end" event which was not ignored. "start" events do not affect the debouncing. Note that unlike "Standard" debouncing, the ignored interval is not extended by events that are ignored.
Timing
The timing properties of response events for port response devices are identical to those of the port input channel associated with the device. See the timing information in the Port Input Channels section.
Previous Versions
Versions of Presentation prior to 11.0 automatically created two special response devices named "serial response box" and "parallel port device". Since port input channels are capable of producing the same codes as those devices, the new port response device functionality is a superset of the functionality provided by those two special devices.
Note: If you open an experiment file written by a previous Presentation version for an experiment that uses either the "serial response box" or "parallel port device" response devices, Presentation will automatically convert the settings to provide the identical functionality using the new port response device feature. However, experiments written by version 11.0 or later which use a port response device will not be compatible with previous versions, even if you are only using functionality identical to the old "serial response box" or "parallel port device" options. If you open such an experiment in a previous version, you will need to reconfigure the active buttons for the scenarios in the experiment.
The following table describes the equivalent new settings to reproduce the functionality of the old "serial response box" and "parallel port device" response devices.
Old Device
Equivalent input channel settings
serial response box
Port: COMX
parallel port device, polled mode
Port: LPTX; Data source: Data port/Status port; Use interrupt: unchecked; Mask: empty; Inversion mask: 0/255; Independent lines: checked
parallel port device, interrupt mode
Port: LPTX; Data source: Data port/Status port; Use interrupt: checked; Invert value: checked/unchecked
Extension Devices
If Presentation does not directly support a particular device, it may be possible to use that device using a Response Device extension. A Response Device extension is a type of "plug-in" that adds support for a device to Presentation. If a Response Device extension exists for a device and is registered with Presentation, that device will appear automatically in the list of response devices and can be used like any other device that Presentation supports directly.
Each type of device requires its own Response Device extension. In general, NBS does not provide Response Device extensions. A device manufacturer may decide to provide one for their device so it can be used with Presentation. However, if the device has a published programming interface, a Response Device extension can be written by anyone with enough programming experience and the right tools.
You can find more information in the Extensions and Response Device Extensions sections.
Axis Devices in PCL
Axis information can be accessed from PCL using the joystick PCL type and the mouse PCL type, two built-in PCL reference types. When you use a device as an axis device, Presentation will create a joystick or mouse object associated with that device. You can get information about these devices by using theprogram_response_manager object.
#------- Example -------
mouse the_mouse = response_manager.get_mouse( 1 );
joystick stick1 = response_manager.get_joystick( 1 );
joystick stick2 = response_manager.get_joystick( 2 );
The joystick and mouse interfaces are slightly different but the most important methods are the same. For details about all methods, see the mouse PCL type andjoystick PCL type sections. Details about the different device properties are provided in the following two sections. This section describes common behavior.
Presentation does not continuously poll axis devices. If you want to know the position at any given time, you must call the poll method. You can then retrieve the information by using the x, y or pos methods. These methods return the information provided by the last call to poll, so the values they return will not change until you call poll again.
#------- Example -------
stick1.poll();
the_mouse.poll();
pic1.set_part_x( 1, stick1.x() );
pic1.set_part_y( 1, stick1.y() );
pic1.set_part_x( 2, the_mouse.x() );
pic1.set_part_y( 2, the_mouse.y() );
Some devices can have more than two axes. The axis_count method returns the number of available axes. To retrieve position information by axes index, use thepos method. The axes indices start with 1. Calls to pos for some indices can be identical to calling the x or y methods.
#------- Example -------
the_mouse.poll();
wheel_pos = the_mouse.pos( 3 ); # use the wheel on a wheel mouse
Experiment Example:
mouse.sce
Example:
joystick.sce
See the Mouse Selection tutorial for a detailed example of using mouse axes.
Blogger MSNerd is bringing thrills on the online community with his revelation about a possible smaller Xbox version in the near future tagging along a Windows 9 and ARM processors. And it will be cheaper, as the rumor goes.
Even though a rumor based on rumors is hearsay in legal parlance, legal vernaculars is ignored in tech-inspired online community where rumors have it that a “loop” or XboxTV or Xbox 720 is in the offing and that it is to be fitted with the latest graphics, sensors, sound, encryption and networking features resembling a Zune HD-like hardware. Microsoft will be designing the platform along with two partners based on ARM architecture with a smaller design and a lower price.
The blogger is believed to be credible based on earlier information emanating from the blog about Microsoft’s tablet project Courier (abandoned), the whole fiasco about Zune, Kin and Windows Phone in previous years and the blogger’s possible connection with the Microsoft’s Xbox group. The blogger went further by declaring that the future Xbox will demonstrate Windows Phone’s functionality in Windows 9 development platform.
Given the fact the Microsoft is preoccupied with motion control integration augurs well about the rumor’s validity. On the other hand, everything is still in the planning stage so an Xbox 720 release next year is very unlikely. Stay tuned.
Port Response Devices
Presentation can communicate with a variety of port devices. The port response device feature allows you to interpret codes received by those devices as response button events.
To create a port response device, go to the Response panel, right-click on the "Devices" list and select "Add port device" in the context menu. A new device will be added to the response device list, and a properties window for the new device will open. The "Name" property identifies the response device. You may use any name that you like, but it must be unique within the list of response devices. You can create as many port response devices as you need.
As discussed in the Port Input section, the port response device feature is one of the features that utilize port input channels. The "Input Channel" property specifies the port input channelwhich generates the codes used by the port response device. Therefore, you may use any port and port configuration supported by port input channels as a response device.
In some cases, a port input channel is capable of generating more than 256 distinct "start" or "end" code events. In this case, you must place a restriction on the allowable codes that can be interpreted as response buttons. To do this, enter a range description in the "Range restriction" box. A range restriction is a list of either single codes or code ranges separated by commas. For example "1,10-20" would allow codes 1,10,11,...,20. Note that the range restriction is only used if the number of allowed codes from a port input channel is too large. If the number is not too large, Presentation will simply list all available codes as response buttons for the device, ignoring any range restriction. If the number is too large and you do not define a range restriction, no available buttons will appear for the device on the Response panel.
Once you configure the port response device and the associated port input channel, the "Buttons" box on the Response panel will display the available buttons for the device. What buttons appear will depend on the configuration of the port input channel. For some input channels, you will be able to use both "start" and "end" events. At this point, the buttons may be added as active buttons for the scenarios in the experiment.
Note: If you make changes to the associated port input channel, the buttons for the device may change. If some of the buttons are being used as active buttons and they are no longer available because of changes to the port input channel, you will receive a warning message.
Debouncing
The port response device can selectively ignore certain responses based on the timing of previous responses. This is useful if the connection to a port is directly connected to the switch of a response button which may exhibit some electric "bouncing" when closing or opening. This "debouncing" feature depends on the "Debounce interval" entered in the properties window, a time in milliseconds. There are four "debouncing" options:
None - no events are ignored.
Standard - an event is ignored if it occurs within the debounce interval of any previous event. This is true even if the previous event was itself ignored, and is true of both "start" and "end" events.
Rising Interval - an event is ignored if it occurs within the debounce interval after a previous "start" event which was not ignored. "end" events do not affect the debouncing. Note that unlike "Standard" debouncing, the ignored interval is not extended by events that are ignored.
Falling Interval - an event is ignored if it occurs within the debounce interval after a previous "end" event which was not ignored. "start" events do not affect the debouncing. Note that unlike "Standard" debouncing, the ignored interval is not extended by events that are ignored.
Timing
The timing properties of response events for port response devices are identical to those of the port input channel associated with the device. See the timing information in the Port Input Channels section.
Previous Versions
Versions of Presentation prior to 11.0 automatically created two special response devices named "serial response box" and "parallel port device". Since port input channels are capable of producing the same codes as those devices, the new port response device functionality is a superset of the functionality provided by those two special devices.
Note: If you open an experiment file written by a previous Presentation version for an experiment that uses either the "serial response box" or "parallel port device" response devices, Presentation will automatically convert the settings to provide the identical functionality using the new port response device feature. However, experiments written by version 11.0 or later which use a port response device will not be compatible with previous versions, even if you are only using functionality identical to the old "serial response box" or "parallel port device" options. If you open such an experiment in a previous version, you will need to reconfigure the active buttons for the scenarios in the experiment.
The following table describes the equivalent new settings to reproduce the functionality of the old "serial response box" and "parallel port device" response devices.
Old Device
Equivalent input channel settings
serial response box
Port: COMX
parallel port device, polled mode
Port: LPTX; Data source: Data port/Status port; Use interrupt: unchecked; Mask: empty; Inversion mask: 0/255; Independent lines: checked
parallel port device, interrupt mode
Port: LPTX; Data source: Data port/Status port; Use interrupt: checked; Invert value: checked/unchecked
Extension Devices
If Presentation does not directly support a particular device, it may be possible to use that device using a Response Device extension. A Response Device extension is a type of "plug-in" that adds support for a device to Presentation. If a Response Device extension exists for a device and is registered with Presentation, that device will appear automatically in the list of response devices and can be used like any other device that Presentation supports directly.
Each type of device requires its own Response Device extension. In general, NBS does not provide Response Device extensions. A device manufacturer may decide to provide one for their device so it can be used with Presentation. However, if the device has a published programming interface, a Response Device extension can be written by anyone with enough programming experience and the right tools.
You can find more information in the Extensions and Response Device Extensions sections.
Axis Devices in PCL
Axis information can be accessed from PCL using the joystick PCL type and the mouse PCL type, two built-in PCL reference types. When you use a device as an axis device, Presentation will create a joystick or mouse object associated with that device. You can get information about these devices by using theprogram_response_manager object.
#------- Example -------
mouse the_mouse = response_manager.get_mouse( 1 );
joystick stick1 = response_manager.get_joystick( 1 );
joystick stick2 = response_manager.get_joystick( 2 );
The joystick and mouse interfaces are slightly different but the most important methods are the same. For details about all methods, see the mouse PCL type andjoystick PCL type sections. Details about the different device properties are provided in the following two sections. This section describes common behavior.
Presentation does not continuously poll axis devices. If you want to know the position at any given time, you must call the poll method. You can then retrieve the information by using the x, y or pos methods. These methods return the information provided by the last call to poll, so the values they return will not change until you call poll again.
#------- Example -------
stick1.poll();
the_mouse.poll();
pic1.set_part_x( 1, stick1.x() );
pic1.set_part_y( 1, stick1.y() );
pic1.set_part_x( 2, the_mouse.x() );
pic1.set_part_y( 2, the_mouse.y() );
Some devices can have more than two axes. The axis_count method returns the number of available axes. To retrieve position information by axes index, use thepos method. The axes indices start with 1. Calls to pos for some indices can be identical to calling the x or y methods.
#------- Example -------
the_mouse.poll();
wheel_pos = the_mouse.pos( 3 ); # use the wheel on a wheel mouse
Experiment Example:
mouse.sce
Example:
joystick.sce
See the Mouse Selection tutorial for a detailed example of using mouse axes.
