? TI MOUSE - FROM MECHATRONICS- A REVIEW By - Richard A. Fleetwood Until recently, most computer systems other than the TI 99/4A had a variety of neat hardware that made them easier to use in many ways. The device most common to the BIG computers was a device called the MOUSE. The Apple MacIntosh was one of the first to initiate making the mouse a major part of the system, and it was followed by most of the other big computer manufacturers like Atari, IBM, and Commodore. Now thanks to Mechatronics, the TI 99 has a mouse it can call its own. For those of you who may not have ever seen a mouse in action, or have no idea what a mouse is, here is an explanation. A MOUSE is a device similar in use to a joystick. The mouse is use to MOVE objects around on the screen with much more ease and exactness then could be achieved with a joystick. This mouse in particular is a small flat box, shaped to fit in the cup of your hand comfortably. It has four small flat teflon pads on the bottom of the unit that allow the mouse to slide over any flat surface smoothly and quickly. If you turn the mouse over, you will see a round opening out of which a very heavy rubberized ball hangs out and rolls over the table when you move the mouse around. This ball is the part of the mouse that makes contact with the sensors that transfer the data to your computer telling the cursor or icon which way to move on the screen. It takes very little effort to control the cursor, with an area about 10 inches wide on your table giving you enough room to move the cursor from one side of the screen to the other. On the top of the mouse are two push button switches. The one on the left acts as a fire button/enter key. The one on the right acts as a HOME key, serving to move the cursor to the upper left hand corner of the screen when pushed. When you purchase the Mechatronics TI Mouse, you get a mouse, an ac adapter that provides the power to the pc board contained within the mouse, an adapter that allows you to plug the mouse into your joystick port, a disk of several demo programs using the mouse, and a 20 page manual that explains all aspects of the mouse operation, and how to interface the mouse with your own programs. The programs on disk auto load with Extended Basic, and display a menu with 4 different choices consisting of 1)BASIC, 2) TI-DOS, 3) CALCULATOR, and 4) BREAKOUT. Selecting TI-DOS loads in a program that allows you to have full disk access such as cataloging up to three drives, reading DISPLAY type files, loading XB programs, and protecting/unprotecting files. When a disk is cataloged, the filenames are displayed on the left side of the screen, along with an icon ( picture ) representation of the type of file that it is. A program file has an icon shaped like a sheet of paper with one corner folded over. A DV type file has an icon of an opened file cabinet draw, while other kinds of files have other types of icons. On the right side of the screen are several icons for actual control of the TI-DOS system. These icons are to read Display type files, load programs, protect files, catalog files, and remove an icon from the cursor of the mouse. These Icons are represented respectfully as an eyeball with an arrow pointing at it, a TI bug( the TI logo you'll find just over your number one key), a padlock, three floppy disks with drive numbers on them, and a small trash can in the lower left hand corner. Say you want to run the program BREAKOUT, located on the disk that comes with the unit. If you are in TI-DOS, catalog drive number one by moving the arrow-cursor to the disk icon marked number 1, and press the left mouse key. The program will catalog the disk in drive one, displaying the filenames and their icons for the different file types. BREAKOUT will have an icon that stands for PROGRAM file. Move the cursor to this icon and press the left mouse button. The cursor will pick up the icon, and then you can move it by rollng the mouse around the surface of your desk. Now carry the icon over to the TI bug(remember the TI logo?) and place the icon over the state of Texas on the right of the screen. Now push the left mouse button. The computer will clear the screen and proceed to load BREAKOUT into memory and auto-run it. That's all there is to using TI-DOS. The other functions of this program are equally as easy to use. BREAKOUT is game that is available on all kinds of computers, as well as already being available in other languages for the 99/4A. With the mouse, it adds a new dimension to the game. CALCULATOR uses the mouse icon as a hand with a pointed finger to push the buttons on a calculator that is displayed in the screen. The manual notes that the TI-DOS program supplied with the mouse is only a Demo program--There is a complete TI-DOS package available thru Mechatronics that is much more complete. Interestingly, I just purchased the latest version of TI Artist, version 2.01. It came with a new DSR routine that I can load thru the INPUT option from the main menu that allows me to use the mouse to control the cursor and screen input. The disk even contains the source code. I loaded TI Artist, then loaded the MECHA file from the TI Artist disk(MECHA is the new DSR routine) and when it came back to the main menu, I selected 1) and loaded the main TI Artist program. It took a few seconds to get my bearings and figure out how the mouse interacted with TI Artist, but that was no problem. What was a problem was that somehow the DSR did not completely interface the mouse with the program. I could move the cursor from side to side easily, but this quickly got boring with a multitude of horizontal lines going across the screen. When I tried to move the cursor up or down, the cursor movement in those directions was at best very jerky; at worst non-existant. I believe that this particular DSR file needs a little work. When using the mouse with the programs that come packaged with it, the action is flawless. But when using it for this particular purpose it was obvious that the TI Artist "Mecha" DSR Link still was in need of help. I hope to be able to use the Mouse with TI Artist soon because it would allow unbelievably more flexability over using the keyboard or joystick. Except for the inability to interface with TI Artist, which is no fault of the mouse or its software, but of the routine supplied with the TI Artist program, I could find no faults with the Mechatronics TI Mouse Package. The Software is fully self explanatory and seems to be uncrashable. The manual, though translated from German, and a little rough around the edges, but clear and precise in its layout is great help for setting up the system and using it. The Mouse itself is made of plastic, with stainless steel bearings for contacting with the internal sensors, and thick teflon pads which should last a LONG time. I rate the TI Mouse system an A for overall design, layout, and use. If you are looking for an addition to your system that will be quite useful, then why not give this a try. The list price is $ 119.00 but can be found for less then $ 100 at several mail order suppliers. Don't Forget the Cheese! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ REPORT CARD: COST: $ 119.95 (on sale-$ 99.95-USA) MANUFACTURER: MECHATRONICS GmbH Performance: A+ Dresdener StraBe 21 Ease Of Use: A+ D-7032 Sindelfingen Documentation: A- -Federal Republic Of Germany- Value: A Overall Grade: A ---------------------------------------------------- Download complete. Turn off Capture File.