Macworld Conference & Expo in Boston has a smaller display mansion house floor and no game arcade presence like the San Francisco show , but that ’s not to say that the Boston show was altogether devoid of content for gamers . Here are the highlight .
•Razer Pro v1.6 : Razerhas made precision mice for gamers since 1999 , set out with the company ’s legendary communication channel of Boomslang mice . But it was n’t until 2005 that the party has had a solution that it feels meets the need of creative professionals who use Macs and PCs who ask a higher - resolving , programmable ocular mouse .
The troupe has adapted its popular Diamondback Plasma model for the pro space . The Pro v1.6 has been redesigned using blanched and grey control surface , and is illuminate with a gamy light-emitting diode . The gadget feature a total of seven programmable push button including a clickable coil wheel . Four of the buttons eternal sleep on the side of the mouse , and two are on the top in between the roll wheel , which also glow blue .
Like Razer ’s play mouse , the sides and the top two buttons are surface in a rubberized material that provides users with a better gripping airfoil than a tricksy , hard plastic mouse offer . It features 1,600 dot - per - column inch ( DPI ) firmness , twice that of most ocular mouse , but it also boasts a frame pace of more than 6400 build per second — captured using a 16 - moment data path ( most visual mice use 8 - bit or 12 - bit path ) , which means more of the precision tracking data is actually report by the mouse back to the computer . It can get over motion detection at up to 40 inches per instant , which mean that your pointer is less likely to resile or stammer across the screen if you move it tight . A Web storage is come soon , but attendees of this week ’s show were able to purchase the mouse for $ 60 .
The $ 30 Razer ProPad is a precision mousing control surface — a difficult mouse pad , if you will , made using an anodized atomic number 13 base . Crafted in white with greyness emphasis to equal the Pro v1.6 , the trapezoidally shaped ProPad measurement 10.4 - by-13 - by-0.1 inches . It ’s hard - coat using a non - slip , anti - reflective fabric that ’s ideally suited for any opto - mechanically skillful or ocular mice , and it also sport a gelatin - filled wrist rest to aid foreclose arm fatigue .
The one constituent miss from the products offered at Macworld Expo was the Macintosh number one wood software that ’s still in ontogeny . Razer USA president Robert Krakoff said that it ’s current in final development position and should be released in day or week . When it ’s done , the software will reside in Mac OS X ’s System Preferences window and will let exploiter to program the buttons for the Finder , custom-make the shiner ’s cover features and more .
Multibutton USB mice are already greet by Mac OS X , without the pauperization to install any extra number one wood . Indeed , many games and other program recognize multibutton mice as well , but the usage Mac software will be welcome word for Mac users looking to get the most from their mouse . Razer will release the driver on its Web site when they ’re quick — a placeholder page on their situation says “ 7 more days ” with a date post of July 12 , 2005 .
•Power Game Factory : MacCentralalso sat down with Jesse Simko , whose companySawblade Softwarerecently release Power Game Factory . The dick lets users make their own side - scroll action plot without let to programme . Although Simko was n’t an exhibitor at this year ’s show in Boston , he did assist the effect .
Power Game Factory was modernise using Real Software ’s RealBasic app ontogeny environment . With his scope both in aim and programming , Simko created Power Game Factory to give people who are visually oriented but want computer programming skill an chance to make their own secret plan . The software lets you utilise your own art for backgrounds , characters , vivification and weapons — clicking on the individual artwork lets you fix its characteristics — weapon system , bullet , explosions and whatever else your vision can make out up with .
Once you ’re well-chosen with how your plot works , a “ Build Game ” button ( not unlike the “ Burn Disc ” button you ’ll chance in Apple ’s iTunes package ) lets you create a standalone copy of your secret plan that you’re able to then distribute without having to pay royalties .
Simko toldMacCentralthat Sawblade Software has see an uptick in sales agreement since the recent liberation of a demo version that permit users to try the software without buying it first . But the full software program costs only $ 44 , and includes a sample distribution game and tutorial information to get started .
Simko said that Power Game Factory has already spawn a patriotic cell of users who are actively work on their own projects ; a assembly on the Sawblade Software entanglement site is where they can be found , trading bakshish and tricks for getting the most out of the inexpensive game software .
