{"id":192,"date":"2009-05-21T05:03:21","date_gmt":"2009-05-21T13:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192"},"modified":"2010-07-12T20:32:33","modified_gmt":"2010-07-13T04:32:33","slug":"spacepilot-pro-overreaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192","title":{"rendered":"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a Simpsons<\/a>‘ episode where Homer discovers he has a successful half-brother named Herb Powell<\/a>.\u00a0 Herb\u00a0runs a car company.\u00a0 Herb is convinced that\u00a0Homer represents\u00a0the average<\/em> American and is therefore\u00a0the perfect person to design a new car for his company.\u00a0 Herb introduces Homer to his company’s design team.\u00a0\u00a0The design team ignore\u00a0Home and instead use their\u00a0experience to design\u00a0perfect vehicle.<\/p>\n

Homer is at first intimidated by the design team, but Herb feels that Homer is not being forceful enough with his ideas.\u00a0 Herb\u00a0invigorates Homer.\u00a0 Homer then\u00a0rejects the designers’ ideas and instead\u00a0implements\u00a0strange ideas like dual bubble domes, fins and several horns that play “La Cucaracha”.\u00a0 At the unveiling of new car, dubbed “The Homer”, Herb is horrified to discover that the car is a monstrosity that costs $82,000.\u00a0 Herb’s company goes under and he becomes broke.<\/p>\n

What’s the lesson here?\u00a0 Have a focus when designing the next hot gadget.\u00a0 The design of the 3DConnexion SpacePilot PRO isn’t like “The Homer” in that it is sleek and functional.\u00a0 However, there does not seem to be a strong focus for the device.\u00a0 Is it a 3D mouse, or an Outlook companion, or a keyboard replacement, or an RSS feed reader?\u00a0 Right now, it is all of these things.<\/p>\n

First, why does a control device have an LCD screen?\u00a0 If there was a need for me to see a status of something, then I can see why some sort of visual feedback would be necessary.\u00a0 There isn’t much of a need for that with this device, however.\u00a0 (Please see P.P.P.S below for notice of an update to this criticism.) <\/em><\/p>\n

Second, on that LCD, I’m given the ability to open Outlook email, appointments and tasks.\u00a0 Given the fact that I have two monitors, this functionality is not needed for me.\u00a0 I keep Outlook open and in view on my second monitor all day anyway.<\/p>\n

Third, why does this device give me RSS feeds?\u00a0 In my mind, the goal of a control device should be to not require the user to look at it while it is being used.\u00a0 That LCD screen bags to be looked at.\u00a0 Sometimes I feel bad that I’m not using it.<\/p>\n

My criticism of the LCD is based solely on the fact that I have two monitors.\u00a0 For someone with a single monitor, I can see why this functionality would be useful and a real time saver.<\/p>\n

I think that a future device that 3DConnexion should develop is a more compact version of the SpacePilot PRO without an LCD screen.\u00a0 Then bring in all the buttons closer to the control knob and place them under the most likely locations where one’s fingers will naturally land.\u00a0 Make sure all of the buttons are multi-function programmable (just like the SpacePilot PRO).<\/p>\n

My bottom line, this device is worth the $499 price tag if there happens to be a need for an LCD screen with the ability to launch Outlook tools and read RSS feeds.\u00a0 I’m sure this device will save someone time and money (such as users with only one monitor).\u00a0 However, if I were to spend my own money, I would want a simpler device that is geared towards controlling my views within the model and shortcuting tasking within the 3D CAD environment.\u00a0 The SpacePilot PRO is a strong step in that direction, but it overreaches in other areas where there doesn’t seem to be much of a need (at least for me).\u00a0 When I am in the market to buy another 3D mouse, I would be interested in the hypothetical SpaceExplorer PRO with a more compact design, more multi-function programmable buttons, and better placement for the buttons.\u00a0 My price range would be in the area of $300, though 3DConnexion might hafta bring the price down to $199 (twice the price of high-end standard mice) to help sales take off.<\/p>\n

I don’t represent the average American, nor do I feel I am the average 3D CAD user.\u00a0 I like my SpacePilot PRO<\/a>, and will likely continue to use it.\u00a0 However, I can see where this might be a case of less is more.\u00a0 I’ve looked at the current generation of the SpaceExplorer <\/a>and I actually think that it would be more ideal for one’s home office.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

P.S., why hasn’t the 3DConnexion control knob not been turned into a gaming controller yet?\u00a0 This seems like an obvious application for 3D mice.\u00a0 Speaking of other applications, this might not be a bad idea as a control mechanism for a navigation and center console control system in a car.<\/p>\n

P.P.S., this device works awesomely in the main mode of Google Earth (though it would be nice for it to work in all modes withing Google Earth).\u00a0 They should really make a driver for Celestia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

P.P.P.S., I originally wrote this article before the recent update to the drivers for the SpacePilot PRO.\u00a0 With the recent update, my opinion about the LCD has changed a little bit.\u00a0 I’ll address this in a future article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s a Simpsons‘ episode where Homer discovers he has a successful half-brother named Herb Powell.\u00a0 Herb\u00a0runs a car company.\u00a0 Herb is convinced that\u00a0Homer represents\u00a0the average American and is therefore\u00a0the perfect person to design a new car for his company.\u00a0 Herb introduces Homer to his company’s design team.\u00a0\u00a0The design team ignore\u00a0Home and instead use their\u00a0experience to … Continue reading “SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10,5],"tags":[519,516,561,517,518],"series":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-complaints","category-product-review","tag-3d-mouse","tag-3dconnexion","tag-spaceexplorer","tag-spacepilot","tag-spacepilot-pro"],"yoast_head":"\nSpacePilot PRO (overreaching?) - SolidWorks Legion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?) - SolidWorks Legion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There’s a Simpsons‘ episode where Homer discovers he has a successful half-brother named Herb Powell.\u00a0 Herb\u00a0runs a car company.\u00a0 Herb is convinced that\u00a0Homer represents\u00a0the average American and is therefore\u00a0the perfect person to design a new car for his company.\u00a0 Herb introduces Homer to his company’s design team.\u00a0\u00a0The design team ignore\u00a0Home and instead use their\u00a0experience to … Continue reading "SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolidWorks Legion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-05-21T13:03:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-07-13T04:32:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"fcsuper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swsuper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swsuper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"fcsuper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"fcsuper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b\"},\"headline\":\"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-21T13:03:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-07-13T04:32:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\"},\"wordCount\":861,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b\"},\"keywords\":[\"3D mouse\",\"3Dconnexion\",\"SpaceExplorer\",\"SpacePilot\",\"SpacePilot Pro\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Complaints\",\"Product Review\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\",\"name\":\"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?) - SolidWorks Legion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-21T13:03:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-07-13T04:32:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/\",\"name\":\"SolidWorks Legion\",\"description\":\"SolidWorks related topics!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b\",\"name\":\"fcsuper\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/310185_10150356792820560_1654177_n.jpg?fit=153%2C153\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/310185_10150356792820560_1654177_n.jpg?fit=153%2C153\",\"width\":153,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"fcsuper\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"description\":\"As a drafter, mechanical designer and CAD engineer, I've been in the mechanical design field since 1991. For the first 8 years of my career, I was an AutoCAD professional. I utilized AutoLISP and many other AutoCAD customization features to streamline drafting activities for 6+ drafters and designers. I authored several custom functions, one of which was published in the March 1997 issue of Cadalyst Magazine. Since 1998, I've been used SolidWorks non-stop. I've worked to utilize the SolidWorks' user environment to simplify drafting and design activities for 20+ engineers. I've created this website to provide current information about SolidWorks from a variety of contributors. More recently, I am now employed by Dassault Systemes as SOLIDWORKS Sr. Product Definition Manager to improve drawing, annotation and MBD related areas.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swsuper\"],\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?) - SolidWorks Legion","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?) - SolidWorks Legion","og_description":"There’s a Simpsons‘ episode where Homer discovers he has a successful half-brother named Herb Powell.\u00a0 Herb\u00a0runs a car company.\u00a0 Herb is convinced that\u00a0Homer represents\u00a0the average American and is therefore\u00a0the perfect person to design a new car for his company.\u00a0 Herb introduces Homer to his company’s design team.\u00a0\u00a0The design team ignore\u00a0Home and instead use their\u00a0experience to … Continue reading \"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192","og_site_name":"SolidWorks Legion","article_published_time":"2009-05-21T13:03:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-07-13T04:32:33+00:00","author":"fcsuper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swsuper","twitter_site":"@swsuper","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"fcsuper","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192"},"author":{"name":"fcsuper","@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b"},"headline":"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)","datePublished":"2009-05-21T13:03:21+00:00","dateModified":"2010-07-13T04:32:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192"},"wordCount":861,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b"},"keywords":["3D mouse","3Dconnexion","SpaceExplorer","SpacePilot","SpacePilot Pro"],"articleSection":["Complaints","Product Review"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192","url":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192","name":"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?) - SolidWorks Legion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-05-21T13:03:21+00:00","dateModified":"2010-07-13T04:32:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?p=192#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SpacePilot PRO (overreaching?)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/","name":"SolidWorks Legion","description":"SolidWorks related topics!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/859d9f25668554f7193852892dbad92b","name":"fcsuper","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/310185_10150356792820560_1654177_n.jpg?fit=153%2C153","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/310185_10150356792820560_1654177_n.jpg?fit=153%2C153","width":153,"height":153,"caption":"fcsuper"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"As a drafter, mechanical designer and CAD engineer, I've been in the mechanical design field since 1991. For the first 8 years of my career, I was an AutoCAD professional. I utilized AutoLISP and many other AutoCAD customization features to streamline drafting activities for 6+ drafters and designers. I authored several custom functions, one of which was published in the March 1997 issue of Cadalyst Magazine. Since 1998, I've been used SolidWorks non-stop. I've worked to utilize the SolidWorks' user environment to simplify drafting and design activities for 20+ engineers. I've created this website to provide current information about SolidWorks from a variety of contributors. More recently, I am now employed by Dassault Systemes as SOLIDWORKS Sr. Product Definition Manager to improve drawing, annotation and MBD related areas.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog","https:\/\/x.com\/swsuper"],"url":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/?author=2"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=192"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fcsuper.com\/swblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fseries&post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}