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Modding Game Controllers For Greater Grip
japala writes "Fast-paced videogames require a steady hand and great reflexes, it's generally agreed. But some game controllers and pads just don't seem to fit in your hand, and sometimes they slip and slide, making you miss the action. So Metku.net has tried coating videogame controllers with chemical rubber - it seems to improve grip, and possibly even your score."
I highly doubt this could improve anybody's Counter-Strike or Unreal score. When you suck, you suck. A game controller coated in rubber isn't going to help you. It's going to give n008s another excuse to suck. Sure it wouldn't hurt, but I'm sure it wouldn't make much of a difference.
For the most part though the "steady-hand" the submitter mentions comes from, surprise, not moving your hands, it's the fingers that are doing all the work. Expert typists can hit 100 wpm without rubber coated keys or race car style 5-point body restraint systems. It's a zen thing.
Game players need to learn to relax their hold on the controller. The tighter you hold the controller, the sweatier your palms and fingers get. I've played games for hours on end (yes, on many different systems) and have never had a problem hitting the right buttons.
Of course....when you're playing Socom and silenced bullets start popping in the water next to you...it's easy to hit the wrong button out of panic. But that really has nothing to do with grip.
Maybe people should just wear rubber gloves when playing games LOL
Mod points are pointless when you browse at -1.
Why can't I underclock? Why wont mobo mfg's allow this?
I can set the FSB on my gigabyte board to moronic levels, like 300.. Theres no safeguards for how high I can go. There's always a limit, and that limit is usually low enough that it makes overclocking a fruitless endeavor. But there's no limit on how slow it could go.
Why cant I drop it to 100 from 133? I don't always need my 3.06 ghz P4, and the temp-controlled "varies" from 4000 rpm to 4800 rpm, that is from annoyinly loud to slightly-more-annoyingly loud.
I'll have a 400mhz effective FSB instead of 533. And so what? I have a 2.0ghz celeron with a 400mhz fsb and it performs all my day-to-day functions as well as the 3.06 p4.
A modest underclock and it would run cooler, quieter, and in turn, last longer. Same for the video card. If jacking the GPU clock by 5% (a negligable performance boost in real life) increases the heat by like 50% or more, then lowering it by 5% (a negligable performance loss) should decrease the heat dramatically. Which it does, the 9800 non-pro is much cooler than the pro, and both are the same card with the non-pro clocked just slightly lower.
I'd like to run that 3.06 at about 2ghz. Plenty of speed for gaming and watching porn. I'll jack it up only when I have something big to compile.
I'm not the only one, there's a huge quiet-computer movement about, could be the next big "niche" market.. Perhaps bigger than the "enthusiasts who know nothing about what they're doing" market who desire an FSB setting that goes from 133-300+change.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
So what rubber is not chemical?
It looks like they are using more words than needed to sound more intelligent.
This "product" isn't new, you can get it at Home Depot or any other hardware store, and have been able to do so for at least 20 years, because I remember dipping some wrenches in it years ago.
It's called plasti-dip or something. It's a can of liquid (its just rubber cement with some additives for all I can tell), you dip your tools into it, it hardens and there you go, rubbery grips.
They also sell industrial strength paper towels and high powered wet-vacs, in which you might be interested.
This is the lamest "modding" article ever posted on slashdot. It's about as clever and new as spray painting your case.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I agree with typebox43.
No one said that the FSB and clock multiplier weren't responsible for the speed - and yes, people overclock because they want it faster. But it's a tradeoff - more speed gets you more heat.
So, if you want less heat, then why not go with less speed? If you're doing web browsing, email, word processing, legacy gaming, whatever, then chances are you don't need a CPU as fast as whatever you have. So if you're in a high-heat situation (poor ventilation, for instance), underclocking is the solution. I know people that have done it because of heat problems and are quite content with the results. A slower, cooler, more stable system.
No reason? Anything? Underclocking PDAs and notebooks results in longer battery life. Most come with utilities (aka power management) that include underclocking as a power saver.
Less of use to the consumer, but still done, underclocking chips by manufacturers allow them to keep supplies of various lines of chips at demand levels.
There may be some stability gains. There are certainly power consumption decreases.
But most of all, someone might want to overclock...because they can.
I see they call you Gigahertz. You might want to try underclocking to see what kind of stability gains you get.
"When it rains, it pours." --Morton's Salt