Driver development Mac

[BooME]

I am quite disappointed about the developtment of the driver.
It makes no sense to have a greate Hardware without having the support of the curent Software. Like Maya 2011 (released on March!!!).

I am slowly losing my Patience.
What about the other Mac users?

[trilobyte]

Agreed. My gf's had a Space Navigator for a while and have enjoyed using it from time to time, and recently decided it was time to stop taking hers off her desk when she wasn't looking and get my own.

I would have actually been quite happy to have bought one of the higher end units, but after doing a little looking around I learned that only the Space Navigator has any real Mac support. I just posted something related in another thread, I'll re-post it here in the hopes that someone from 3D Connexion reads it within the next few months...

I know this might sound like crazy talk, but perhaps 3D Connexion should consider either hiring a Mac programmer, or possibly contracting with a Mac developer/programmer to create Mac drivers for its full range of products.

Not only would it be an amazing act of goodwill towards the Macintosh user community, but you could open the doors to significantly increased sales. Mac now represents 8.8-9.4% of US marketshare, but if you focus specifically on premium PC's (which is prosumers and enthusiasts/gamers), it's 9 out of 10 (according to NPD).

[Fred]

We have a beta version of 3DxWareMac on our 3DxLabs site: http://www.3dconnexion.com/supported-so ... xlabs.html. This version includes support for Maya 2011 and Photoshop CS5.

[trilobyte]

Excellent, thanks - will download and check it out.

[Neil Morgan]

We have a beta version of 3DxWareMac on our 3DxLabs site: http://www.3dconnexion.com/supported-so ... xlabs.html. This version includes support for Maya 2011 and Photoshop CS5.

Fred, thanks for pointing this out but it is still only a minor step.

Could you possibly comment on the development schedule for OSX drivers?

I now use Alias design for Mac but my space pilot pro doesn't work at all - yet it did in the Windows version. I have very basic functionality in Rhino for Mac and I can't see any real support for NX on the Mac. Autodesk are porting Autocad to the Mac with I believe Inventor to follow and some Solidworks executives are quietly mentioning the development of SW for the Mac, not to mention all the other existing 3d apps currently available that only have very basic support.

I'm sure you'll agree there is a fast growing Mac market for your products, what I cannot understand is the business decision not to support these applications properly. You already have the hardware, surely it's not that difficult to support ALL your products on the OSX platform.

[flomotan]

Hi Neil,

Thank you for your feedback on improving our products. Let me try to address your questions.

We work with software vendors, such as Autodesk and McNeel, to add support for our devices. Alias and Rhino are two examples where the vendors have added support. For Alias, we will continue to discuss with Autodesk the possibility to offer 3d mice support on the Mac. Same with Rhino and other popular 3D applications.

You can help us (and them) by providing specific functionality you think will improve your use of 3d mice. It's good to send this information to the software vendor as well so they can prioritize this properly.

[Neil Morgan]

Hi Neil,

Thank you for your feedback on improving our products. Let me try to address your questions.

We work with software vendors, such as Autodesk and McNeel, to add support for our devices. Alias and Rhino are two examples where the vendors have added support. For Alias, we will continue to discuss with Autodesk the possibility to offer 3d mice support on the Mac. Same with Rhino and other popular 3D applications.

You can help us (and them) by providing specific functionality you think will improve your use of 3d mice. It's good to send this information to the software vendor as well so they can prioritize this properly.

Thanks very much for getting back to me

I've been in contact with Marlin at McNeel regarding integrating full support for all 3dconnexion devices in Rhino for Mac. He has been very supportive but as you know his workload is excessive at the best of times.

I shall raise it again with autodesk.

With regard to functionality - I'd like exactly the same level of functionality in OSX as I have in Windows. Alias is virtually identical on either OS and I would think it appropriate that all 3dconnexion devices function the same regardless of platform.

I have a space pilot pro and the notebook version of the space navigator, I think both products are superb when used in windows but sadly the space pilot pro is little more than an expensive (but very attractively styled) paper weight, and the space navigator enjoys limited support in certain applications, when using OSX.

I would love to be an evangelist for your products as I think they are fantastic on the windows platform - both stylish and offering advanced productivity but I think you ignore the fastest growing computing company at you peril - more and more 'creatives' are switching.

Thanks for your time,

Neil

[Amnesiac]

...
<snip>more and more 'creatives' are switching.<snip>
Neil

Not to mention people like me who like to have the right tools for the job when at home even if that's not our living! I wouldn't look at a peripheral unless it has OSX support

I may have more Windows machines at home than Linux or OSX ones but my main machine is a MacPro and that's where I prefer to play... I just bought a SpaceNavigator and ONLY because it has OSX support.

I also found: http://sites.google.com/site/snpemouse/index-e

which is useful for me as I KVM one screen and leave the other running. With the Navigator attached to the Mac not the KVM I can still "do" things on the second screen if I choose.

What I'm really hoping for though is full feature parity between OSX and Win drivers.

[mtr0212]

my space navigator with drivers 1.6.1 and osx 1.6.4

DOESN'T WORK WITH:
-Autocad mac 2011
-maya 2011
-sketch up

WORKS WITH:
-google earth
-rhino beta mac

i bought this device specifically for the three first programs, exactly the ones which don't work properly with this 3d mouse, very disappointing... hope they develop the driver further. am i missing something? should i reinstall maya?

[mtr0212]

my space navigator with drivers 1.6.1 and osx 10.6.4

DOESN'T WORK WITH:
-Autocad mac 2011
-maya 2011
-sketch up

WORKS WITH:
-google earth
-rhino beta mac

i bought this device specifically for the three first programs, exactly the ones which don't work properly with this 3d mouse, very disappointing... hope they develop the driver further. am i missing something? should i reinstall maya?

[mtr0212]

my space navigator with drivers 1.6.1 and osx 10.6.4

DOESN'T WORK WITH:
-Autocad mac 2011
-maya 2011
-sketch up

WORKS WITH:
-google earth
-rhino beta mac

i bought this device specifically for the three first programs, exactly the ones which don't work properly with this 3d mouse, very disappointing... hope they develop the driver further. am i missing something? should i reinstall maya?

[flomotan]

AutoCAD 2011 for the Mac does not currently support a 3D mouse. We are contacting Autodesk to see if 3d mouse support can be enabled in a future version. If you have time, please also send them a note. It may help them prioritize this task properly.

With regards to Maya 2011, please check that the plug-in files are properly installed

- Confirm the plug-in 3DxMaya.bundle is in Users/Autodesk/maya/2011/plug-ins
- Confirm these files are in Users/Autodesk/maya/scripts
C3DxButtonEditor.mel
C3DxControlPanel.mel
C3DxMapping.mel
MagellanStartup.mel
usersetup.mel
- Can you look at the MEL script console after startup and paste the output here?
- Go to Maya Window->Settings/Preferences->Plug-In Manager and check that 3DxMaya.bundle is loaded

Finally, try typing the MEL command:
MagellanStartup;

[mtr0212]

Wow!!! Thanks a lot for this tips, now it works great on Maya, just without setup it works completely intuitive from first moment.

Although I still have some issues:

1.- Could you please give me a tip on how to open maya always with MagellanStartup command loade from the beginning?

2.- That icon you mention appears empty on my maya (not icon at all, just an empty square), also the panel for that icon appears empty. Is this normal?

3.- And finally: I can't find that plug-in section inside the maya preferences, could you explain me where it should be located exactly?

Thanks a lot for the fast answering, the mouse works very good on Maya. Will try to make it work on Autocad mac on the future.

[mtr0212]

problems solved... now I´m trying to make it work properly on Rhino for Mac, any tips for this?

[Grizzla]

Don't know what happened. SpaceNavigator worked beautifully for many months in Second Life on my Mac, then one day it became deranged.

Now, when I move the Navigator forward, my av squats or flies down; when I pull it back, she flies.
Pull it up, she walks forward; push it down and she turns around and walks backward.
Tilting moves the cam over her head.
Twisting does nothing; can't make her turn right or left.

I've tried changing the preferences, I've uninstalled and reinstalled, I've gone through the Mac's inner libraries and deleted all SpaceNav-related preferences etc. that I could find, and reinstalled again.

I thought maybe the thing had just broken - but then I borrowed one from a friend and it does the same thing.

Where can I look, what should I delete, to get the SpaceNav to move in the directions I've tried to set the preferences?

Grizzla