Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

How One Man Helps Keep Game Controllers Accessible

Posted by timothy on from the division-of-labor-limited-by-extent-of-market dept.

capedgirardeau writes with a clipping from the AP about engineer Ken Yankelevitz: "[W]ith the retired Bozeman engineer's 70th birthday approaching, disabled gamers say they fear there will be no one to replace Yankelevitz, who has sustained quadriplegic game controllers for 30 years almost entirely by himself. The retired aerospace engineer hand makes the controllers with custom parts in his Montana workshop, offering them at a price just enough to cover parts." Yankelevitz builds interfaces to control an Xbox 360 or PlayStation.

130 comments

  1. Plenty to go around by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Luckily they're canceling the space shuttle program so there'll be plenty of out of work aerospace engineers real soon! I'm sure at least one of them can fill the void.

  2. Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Shouldn't this be something Microsoft and Sony should be doing anyway?

    1. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, but due to the dynamics of capitalism, they don't.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    2. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What else are they going to complain about, a lack of wheelchair-accessible rock climbing harnesses?

    3. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is a quality of life issue, asshat.

      Quads spend most of their time confined to a bed. A game controller build to meet their needs opens worlds of interactive entertainment to people who would otherwise be limited to passive consumption (television) or limited interaction via a visual keyboard.

      captcha: network

      And thats what these people gain: a greater network of human interaction. Shame on you for pissing on that.

    4. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by olivier69 · · Score: 1

      Why is a manufacturer needed at all ? If I were quadriplegic, I'd build myself an appropriate controller. Oh, wait...

    5. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can you tell me why Microsoft and Sony should be building these controllers, and what specific "dynamics of capitalism" keeps them from doing so?

      I don't see North Korea building these controllers for their people.

    6. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, capitalism, that's what they practice.

    7. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Leuf · · Score: 2

      You would think that taking a loss on a thousand controllers per year would be worth a bit of positive press to compete with lots of negative press over things like rootkits and getting hacked. I mean can't you just see the "Sony cares" ads?

    8. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by syockit · · Score: 2

      Microsoft and Sony should build these controllers to increase their reputation, so that people will see them as "savior of the disabled". This gives them one extra chance to do massive evil.

      The "dynamics of capitalism" is just market force. It doesn't have to be capitalism actually.

      North Korea wouldn't be building these controllers (even if there are to be 360s sold there) as it isn't seen to be beneficial to the country, it's better for people to focus on work. All the funding needed to get the controller on the market is better off used for pleasing Dear Leader.

      And North Korea is the best Korea!

      --
      Democracy is for the people; you only vote once per season and we'll do the rest of the work for you don't have to.
    9. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't this be something Microsoft and Sony should be doing anyway?

      No it should be done by an entrepreneur who will fill a niche and make a living doing do. That's how capitalism is supposed to work. Expecting the behemoths to do so and then being snarky to them for not doing it shows your failure to understand capitalism and self-reliance.

      Oh, wait, this is /. ........

    10. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who was complaining? The choice is this guy custom making them a controller or nothing.

      Thanks for the comment without having read the article.

    11. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by nospam007 · · Score: 2

      "Shouldn't this be something Microsoft and Sony should be doing anyway?"

      The can't even be bothered to comply with the laws to make their websites usable by people with disabilities.

    12. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Many companies make right-handed ergonomic or gaming mice, but few make them for left handers. Lefties are about 10% of the population, and it isn't a big enough market for them to bother with. I don't know the percentage of quadriplegics, but I'd wager it's ay least 4 orders of magnitude less.

    13. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by gangien · · Score: 1

      and also due the dynamics of capitalism, someone else fills in the void, in this case it's Mr. Yankelevitz.

    14. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I can see the "Sony Cares" ad. . . it's right after the "Gore/Bigfoot 2012" ad during the Super Bowl.

      --
      My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
    15. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Platinumrat · · Score: 1

      Can you tell me why Microsoft and Sony should be building these controllers, and what specific "dynamics of capitalism" keeps them from doing so?

      I don't see North Korea building these controllers for their people.

      What Sony, Microsoft, etc al... will do is: to tie up the controller interfaces with patents, so that even this guy would get sued into oblivion for trying to do the socially responsible thing.

    16. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by siride · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why do you assume that all disabled people are that way because they made some stupid decision? Oftentimes, it's because some other person, like a drunk driver, made a stupid decision, but these people have to pay for it. But there's otherwise nothing wrong with them and there's no reason why they should be removed from the gene pool or made to suffer even more than they already are.

      Also, you seriously misunderstand how evolution works. Removing a couple of obvious failures from the system doesn't necessarily produce a better gene pool. The genes for stupid behaviors are complex and varied, if they even exist at all, and many, if not most of us, are probably carriers. Furthermore, the stupid are themselves carriers for good genes. By only explicitly selecting the "good" and getting rid of all the undesirables, we not only fail to solve the problem, but we also destroy good genes as well as genetic diversity.

      Social Darwinism doesn't work. Never did, never will.

    17. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's selling them at cost. That's altruism, not capitalism, at work.

    18. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      I see a problem with your argument. It ca be found in just four words: "In a fair world." The world is not fair. The world sucks. The world is a place where you are perpetually just One Bad Day from death, crippling injury or financial ruin. A place where the very best of people could get hit by a drunk driver through no fault of their own, and the driver go on to win the lottery. The world does not care for our petty imaginings of fairness or what is right.

    19. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Excuse me? Are you a communist? You certainly are not a good patriot! How could such a small target demographic of people who contribute little to the economy and rely on socialist services be worth making products for? Doesn't anybody think about the corporations?

      Whoever finds sarcasm may keep it.

    20. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by RogueyWon · · Score: 2

      Don't forget that in a world where console manufacturers were forced to make their consoles accessible to people with disabilities, there basically wouldn't be a Wii (or PS Move, or Kinect).

      Until a few months ago, a friend of mine was dating a girl who worked as a therapist in a centre that helped people recover after "life changing" accidents or surgery - in other words, people who found themselves suddenly lacking (or at least lacking the use of) an arm, a leg or more. They didn't take younger kids - that's a field that requires its own specialism, apparently - and the largest single category of their patients was elderly stroke victims. But they did get a fair number of teenagers and young adults - and "does this mean I can't play video games from now on" was apparently a common question.

      I don't know whether they used modified controllers of the sort talked about in TFA, but they did have a few gamers on the staff (including the young lady in question) who compiled lists of games that could be played using one hand or with limited motor control. There were apparently plenty of examples on the "normal" consoles (PS2, PS3, Xbox, 360) and PC, but next to none for the Wii aside from a couple of very basic kiddy games. What they were after were games like the Forza Motorsport games or Bayonetta, which can be configured with assists and the like to allow for entirely 1-handed play.

      So, in a world where developers were required by law to make their products fully accessible, it's likely that a large portion of current games wouldn't exist - along with an entire platform (the Wii). And besides, where do you want to define "accessible"? Playable with 1 hand? Playable with no hands? Wanting to make products accessible is a worthy goal, but there does, in any sensible world, come a point at which the opportunity cost is just too great.

    21. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If he is making the controllers at cost then he is working long hours without earning anything.
      That is *not* capitalism.

    22. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't this be something Microsoft and Sony should be doing anyway?

      No it should be done by an entrepreneur who will fill a niche and make a living doing do. That's how capitalism is supposed to work.

      Bespoke engineering in small quantities would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit. It would be right up there with custom military equipment. At that price nobody would buy the units.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    23. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Sony cares" = free identity theft protection after they get hacked and your shit gets stolen.

    24. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by captain_sweatpants · · Score: 1

      Evolution is not about progress, just adapting to conditions. In your ideal world the selfish would prosper, resulting in a society of assholes. What a wonderful future to aspire to!

    25. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by captain_sweatpants · · Score: 1

      Absolutely, the world ain't fair, but that doesn't mean we can't be. Actually it's an excellent reason for us to try our best.

    26. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by nharmon · · Score: 1

      The argument that Microsoft and Sony should build these controllers to increase their reputation, but do not because of market forces seems contradictory to me.

      In other words, Microsoft and Sony should NOT build these controllers because the cost to do so would outweigh the small increase to their reputation that would result. After all, companies commonly do charitable things to increase their reputation. So who do we blame when it stops being advantageous for them to do so? Most want to blame the companies. I blame all of us.

      I think it is society's fault that these controllers are not built. Imagine if Sony and Microsoft did build these things. How many of us would be thinking, "gee, that is nice of them"? I know that I would not. I would most likely shrug, believing they were required to do so under some sort of Federal regulation.

      Debate over things like ADA are for another time, but what I am trying to say is that obligatory charity cheapens voluntary charity, and that is hardly the fault of capitalism.

    27. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so that even this guy would get sued into oblivion for trying to do the socially responsible thing.

      Where in the article (or any news reporting) does it say that this guy is being sued by Sony or Microsoft? Or even threatened? He was doing the socially responsible thing, and likely with the tactic support of those same companies. Reactionary politics, even when trying to support charity, has an underlying narrative of commonplace injustice. This comment would seem to be blowing a dog whistle to initiate a 'tort-reform' discussion, even if he didn't mean to.

    28. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by grumbel · · Score: 2

      So, in a world where developers were required by law to make their products fully accessible,

      Requiring full accessibility would certainly go to far and would simply be impossible in a general fashion, but it wouldn't hurt to much to force them to actually follow proper USB HID standards or publish the protocol their controller use, to at least make building third party controllers a little easier. Currently even something simple as an arcade stick that works on Xbox360 and PS3 is already a mess, both use USB, except hat Microsoft specifically locks out any unlicensed third party gear. PS3 in that regard is the most open console, as it actually supports standard USB HID controller, but even that kind of falls short, as it doesn't allow button or axis remapping, thus most regular USB HID controller will have their buttons all mixed up and be unusable.

    29. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Idarubicin · · Score: 2

      and also due the dynamics of capitalism, someone else fills in the void, in this case it's Mr. Yankelevitz.

      Didn't bother to read the article, did you?

      Mr. Yankelevitz didn't recognize a profitable niche market and use his small-business agility to step in where the big guys couldn't. He's selling these controllers for the cost of materials and giving away his time, skills, and experience for free. He's not making money and has no expectation of a return on the time and effort he's expended, ever. It would be impossible for him to make a living wage manufacturing these devices at his current price point.

      If he were to factory-build the devices and pay employees to assemble them, he'd be charging at least five times as much. (That's from Yankelevitz, not my own hyperbole.) The market knows a price signal when it sees one, and demand would fall accordingly. In other words, fewer people could afford these devices. The invisible hand (ouch) has no sympathy for the handicapped. That would be "the dynamics of capitalism".

      Capitalism is perfectly willing to leave voids unfilled; this is basic ECON 101 stuff. Since I'm assuming that you haven't still got your course notes, here's the Wikipedia article on price elasticity of demand.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
    30. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but due to the dynamics of capitalism, they don't.

      The free market is the aggregation of all voluntary transactions. This guy making these controllers in his workshop at cost IS PART OF THE FREE MARKET. Capitalism has been solving the very problem you accuse it of ignoring. Stop with this anti-free-market bullshit. I guess you think that if people won't do it voluntarily then you should be allowed to force them at the barrel of a gun. Not you personally of course but jackbooted government thugs. We'd hate for you to get blood on your hands. Yet, I don't see you learning how to make controllers or donating money to a start-up that takes care of this problem. Hmm, someone is a bit hypocritical and just wants everyone else to be their slave.

    31. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Charity is part of the free market. This is capitalism, which is all about free trade i.e. not having the government interfere in the economic liberty of individuals.

    32. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Charity is part of the free market. This is capitalism, which is all about free trade.

    33. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by laura20 · · Score: 1

      You're like (I used this example, because something similar really happened and is well-known):
      Hey, that dude went to the back of his motor home to make a coffee *while on the freaking highway*, crashed, and now can't walk.

      Nope. Long running urban legend, constantly morphing according whatever the current society or teller wants to bash (in your case, disabled people.)

    34. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by CSMastermind · · Score: 1

      Sony doesn't really care ... isn't that why Gabe and Tycho founded Child's Play?

    35. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

      Market isn't big enough to make it worth their while. To make the controllers cost effective they would be horrendously expensive for the end-user. Alas that's how business works. TFA notes that he's only sold 800 controllers in the last 30 years,

      --

      Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

    36. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Charity is part of the free market. This is capitalism, which is all about free trade i.e. not having the government interfere in the economic lives of individuals.

    37. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 1

      I was going to say "...but bespoke engineering in small quantities is exactly what he's been doing for 30 years." and then realized he started doing it when he retired and charged just enough to cover his costs, so he wasn't actually making a living out of it. Really the only person - or people - who could take over are other people with the required skills who don't need to make a living out of it but have the time to spare.

      --

      Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

    38. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by TheLink · · Score: 1

      Charity is part of the free market. This is capitalism, which is all about free trade i.e. not having the government interfere in the economic lives of individuals.

      With that sort of logic then religion, communism and even Government interference are part of the free market too. The latter especially if the Government is bought or supplied by the Corporations ;).

      Q) How many free market capitalists does it take to change a lightbulb?
      A) Free market capitalists don't change lightbulbs. They sit in the darkness writing academic crap[1] and wait for Adam Smith's Invisible Hand[2] to do stuff.

      [1] If you're going to say charity is part of the free market then free market theory doesn't help predict much, nor help people better understand things.

      [2] aka Other People.

      --
    39. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it's a voluntary transaction then it's part of the free market. If you know of any voluntary communes then yes, those would be part of the free market.

      Charity is just a transaction where one party gains money and the other party gains a subjective warm fuzzy feeling.

      Read up on Austrian Economics for more...

    40. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by TheLink · · Score: 1

      Then as I already said, the buying of governments can also be part of the free market. Willing buyer, willing seller = voluntary transaction. In that case Government interference is also part of the free market.

      And in the case where the voters elect a government, it is also part of the free market too. After all using your reasoning, voting is just another transaction. In such a case there would be no point grumbling about Government interference getting in the way of the free market. By your logic, government interference would be part of the free market.

      QED.

      --
    41. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      Sony and Microsoft are unmotivated to fill a niche market due to the low ROI of the research involved. I am not saying anything about the market as a whole, only the participation of the first-party manufacturers within it. Please kindly die in a fire.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    42. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      in the case where the voters elect a government

      Only in the special case where the vote is unanimous and everyone actually voted. I'll let you guess how often that happens (hint: never).

      If you rape 1,001 people and 1,000 consent but 1 does not, you're a rapist.

      If you take money from 1,001 people and 1,000 consent but 1 does not, you're a thief.

      Government intervention, taxation, etc., is only part of the free market when it's entirely voluntarily i.e. never.

      QED. (I can be smug too.)

    43. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by TheLink · · Score: 1

      OK, now that we've eliminated that one case. How about the other case where the government isn't elected, but bought instead.

      The entities consensually doing the transaction may negatively affect those who are not directly involved in the transaction.

      Would that that mean it is not a free market transaction as long the transaction has negative effects/impact on others?

      Or is that transaction still a "free market" transaction (willing buyer, willing seller), but the subsequent acts by the Government might not be?

      --
    44. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's kind of a bizarre question so I'll just grant you that the buying and selling of political favors is part of the free market (who cares? that's a tiny fraction of what politicians do) but the political favors themselves, usually some kind of subsidy, protective tariff, stricter regulation to prevent competition, etc are certainly not part of the free market.

      You're overcomplicating things so here's a simple rule to go by. All voluntary transactions are part of the free market. All involuntary transaction are not.

    45. Re:Why is a third party manufacturer needed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy shit are you an ignorant asshat.
      I SAID I TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME.

      YOU said I don't. But YOU don't.

      You're a sad lost cattle, serving someone else.
      Oh well, you will some day serve me. And love it too.
      AND defend me even.
      It will be awesome!

  3. Consulting opportunity by Dishwasha · · Score: 4, Funny

    TFA: "Quadriplegic gamers now have around a dozen different actions they can work with their mouth."

    Damn, I need a quadriplegic gamer consultant to provide training for my wife.

    1. Re:Consulting opportunity by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      No problem. I will be happy to drop by and consult with your wife as to how she should best use her mouth.

      For a reasonable weekly fee, I'm sure it will only take maybe six months to a year for her to master the techniques I have to teach her.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:Consulting opportunity by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      Damn, I need a quadriplegic gamer consultant to provide training for my wife.

      That's strange, the guys from the Union Park basketball court and I think she's great. She does complain quite a bit about your performance, though.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:Consulting opportunity by ae1294 · · Score: 1

      No problem. I will be happy to drop by and consult with your wife as to how she should best use her mouth.

      For a reasonable weekly fee, I'm sure it will only take maybe six months to a year for her to master the techniques I have to teach her.

      I know everyone is thinking this is a sex joke but 'davester666' takes gaming extremely seriously and is also the Korean World Champion of Star-Craft...

    4. Re:Consulting opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, you are into weird shit when you can quickly cite top quadriplegic sex scenes in movies.

    5. Re:Consulting opportunity by syockit · · Score: 1

      Strange to see a second mention of Korea here, except in a different context.

      --
      Democracy is for the people; you only vote once per season and we'll do the rest of the work for you don't have to.
    6. Re:Consulting opportunity by JonySuede · · Score: 1

      why is that I never get mod point when I am drunk, as I had would modded you up damm it !

      --
      Jehovah be praised, Oracle was not selected
    7. Re:Consulting opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You think he is the only one? haha he is just the only one with the balls to admit it..

    8. Re:Consulting opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Second?
      We're from the Korean Liberation Organization.
      We are the only true patriots.
      Don't believe in that fake Organization for the Liberation of Korea.

    9. Re:Consulting opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      really? it's not a sex joke? really? Are you saying gamers can't make good sex jokes? I'd have to really hear it from him that this is not a sex joke, one that I had a small chuckle at... I'm sure even my wife would have a small smile before giving me crap about how it's wrong.

    10. Re:Consulting opportunity by PopeRatzo · · Score: 0

      So the majority of them are black guys with huge penises?

      No, the majority of them are asian students with tiny little weens from UIC. There are also several hispanic guys and an equal number of black and white guys. Luis, one of the hispanic guys is an award-winning pastry chef and restauranteur. One of the guys is a University of Chicago economist (dick) and another is a harmonica player whose name you would recognize if you were a blues fan. My guess is that given your penchant for racial stereotypes, you could not guess the races of those last two.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  4. And this is what I call a Hobby. by LWATCDR · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Really what a great and admirable hobby. This is a gentleman that must sleep well every night.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    1. Re:And this is what I call a Hobby. by Brummund · · Score: 1

      Could not agree more. What a brilliant man and engineer!

    2. Re:And this is what I call a Hobby. by godrik · · Score: 1

      That guy must be seen as a heor by his "customers". Hats off!

    3. Re:And this is what I call a Hobby. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      No thanks to Microsoft though. The XBOX 360 controllers use some kind of encryption to prevent third parties making their own. Recently some Chinese guys figured out how to bypass it, but until then the only way to make a 360 controller was buy a license from Microsoft.

      If you head over to the SRK forums you can see how all the joystick builders have to wire in the PCB from a 360 pad to support it. One chip can do every other console in existence, but a "pad hack" is the only way to connect to a 360. The older pads were a pain in the arse because they didn't use a common ground for the buttons, but those problems are easing now unofficial Chinese controller PCBs are available.

      In comparison the PS3 works with ordinary USB controllers and the Wii's Gamecube ports are not restricted in any way. There is some basic protection on the nunchuck port which is a bit worrying, but I'm not entirely convinced it was aimed at locking out unapproved peripherals and may just be a weird protocol. Anything earlier than that (PS2/PS1, Dreamcast, SNES...) is open too and relatively easy to develop your own hardware for.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:And this is what I call a Hobby. by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      This is a clear case of unintended consequences. Microsoft doesn't care at all about block the sale of these controllers. What they didn't want was a bunch of cheap knock offs making money from their console.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    5. Re:And this is what I call a Hobby. by sixsixtysix · · Score: 1

      well, it would be unfair to let one and not the other.

      --
      ...
    6. Re:And this is what I call a Hobby. by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      No it would be wise. Thing is that it is probably blocked by a bureaucratic hell at Microsoft. If they where really smart they would offer to give this guy the parts to make these controllers. Probably cost them all of a $1000 and be worth millions in good PR.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  5. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AMD just announced their new Octriplegic controllers with twice the buttons and axes!

    1. Re:In other news... by petteyg359 · · Score: 1

      I didn't know consoles were marketed to octopi...

  6. What a story without pictures? by dottperiod · · Score: 0, Troll

    After more that 10 minutes of search, finally found the pictures Hope you like them.

    1. Re:What a story without pictures? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *sigh*
      Goatse alert...

    2. Re:What a story without pictures? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Goatse warning.

    3. Re:What a story without pictures? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      asshole. literally.
      goatse is so old.
      grow up you fool.

    4. Re:What a story without pictures? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, this is what your life amounted to. Posting goatse on Slashdot and collecting comment trophies.

    5. Re:What a story without pictures? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Awww, jealous someone won't ram your ass like that ?

    6. Re:What a story without pictures? by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      For those that would like to see the actual hardware here is the PS2 and here is the X360. I hope he has released the plans so that when he does pass on someone can pick up the torch without having to reinvent the wheel, as these things do look to be seriously complex.

      BTW if you are gonna be a dipshit and post old troll crap? Why not do it on one of the articles where there is plenty of fanboy bullshit and nerd rage and NOT on an article where poor cripples are afraid they are gonna lose the only way they have to interact with their friends and kids like normal folks.

      It is called having class and style man, you should try it sometime.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    7. Re:What a story without pictures? by admiralranga · · Score: 0

      "Can someone make a fucking goatse blocker firefox plugin please? This is pissing me off now."

      I have no idea how difficult plugins are to program are, but how hard would it be to code a plugin that is you click on a shortened url, compares the images on the next page to a folder of shock images and give you a warning page with the similarity to a shick image displayed?

    8. Re:What a story without pictures? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the poor cripples want to be treated like normal folks, then the goatse troll belongs here, too. Surely skipping it qualifies as special treatment.

  7. warning... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    warning...

  8. damnit ! by Anne+Honime · · Score: 2

    nearly 15 years reading /. and I still fall in a goatse.cx trap !

    1. Re:damnit ! by Cryacin · · Score: 1

      Has anyone else consider how old this guy must be by now?

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    2. Re:damnit ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has anyone else considered whether his wife knows about these pics?
      (See wedding ring)

  9. How does he do it? by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    on the Xbox 360? The controllers have special chips in them to lock third parties out? I can see him getting permission, but those chips are complex and hard to come by... Is Microsoft giving him a supply as charity? Kudos if they do.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:How does he do it? by eakerin · · Score: 4, Informative

      He's not trying to complete on price w/ Microsoft; So there's nothing stopping him from buying an official controller for each one he builds to get the interface hardware. It just becomes part of the BOM cost.

      Then he just has to replace the buttons and joysticks with ones that work for his end-users.

    2. Re:How does he do it? by Bob_Sheep · · Score: 1

      The same way I made a wireless arcade controller, by soldering leads directly onto a genuine controller and then connecting them up to the switches.

    3. Re:How does he do it? by locopuyo · · Score: 1

      He uses an official Xbox 360 controller connected to his device to make it work, so it passes through using the real chips.

      --
      The Official Site of 1337 Pwnage
    4. Re:How does he do it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look at the pictures. His controller is connected to a regular Xbox 360 controller. He's probably soldering leads directly to the buttons/sticks.

  10. Is his design patented? by Mike+deVice · · Score: 1

    I wondered whether he decided to patent his design, in an effort to license it to a manufacturer. The reason I wonder about this is that if he stops making these because of health or death, no one else will be able to make them either, unless the patent ownership is passed on, sold, or the patent expires. Which would seem like a shame.

    1. Re:Is his design patented? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Just publish the designs on the web. You don't have to own it to pass it on, you simply have to share it. -- Hiten

    2. Re:Is his design patented? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is another reason the IP / Copyright system needs to be scrapped. Dead people don't need copyright or IP, and his work should go to the public domain upon his death. A man like this I'm sure would love for someone to take it upon themselves to do his work for him once he passes on.

      Take it back to 14 years and retro all existing works or admit you like government welfare (which is all copyright and IP laws are - government enforced monopolies, the socialism that Republicans fear yet promote in every law).

    3. Re:Is his design patented? by Mike+deVice · · Score: 1

      Just publish the designs on the web. You don't have to own it to pass it on, you simply have to share it. -- Hiten

      I'm not sure, as IANAL, and stuff. But my understanding is, in the U.S. at least, that if a design is patented, then it can't be legally manufactured by an unauthorized party. Publishing the design on the web or other public forum doesn't change the protection a patent offers. Remember, patents and all they describe are all available to the public already from the USPO itself.

      Just to be clear, I'm not trying to hate on this guy. I admire his work, and he's just the sort of person patents are intended to benefit.

    4. Re:Is his design patented? by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 1

      The only thing that would stop someone from making these would be if he enforced this hypothetical patent. It seems very unlikely that he would do so after being dead.

      Then there is the other thing - he started making these controllers 30 years ago. Any possible patents would be either expired or otherwise moot.

    5. Re:Is his design patented? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      Patents, like other legal things, can be inherited. If he held the patent (as an individual), then it would just become the property of his next of kin. As we know nothing about who that is, what happens from there is unpredictable. It's of minimal commercial worth, so they would probably just ignore it. Worst case, they sell it to a patent troll. He might have left it unpatented just to avoid such a scenario, or simply because he doesn't want to spend time on the paperwork of an application. There is nothing new in the use of head-controls and sip/puff tubes as an interface, they go back decades, but he could probably have gotten a patent for their use in games controllers. Not that it would matter if he tried today - he's been at it for thirty years. Longer than the patent term, which has not (yet) been through the near-infinite extension process that happened to copyright.

  11. Wii U Fleshlight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Still waiting for my Wii Fleshlight

  12. Similar projects and people by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Similar projects and people:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83nSodg-HTU

    http://benheck.com/03-16-2008/new-single-handed-controller

    http://benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/controls/1hand/singlehandcontroller.htm

    I think it's great that there are a handful of people focussing on gamers who would otherwise struggle with standard controllers. I only wish the Sonys, Microsofts, and Nintendos of this world would occasionally take the lead in this research, or at the very least contribute to some R&D once in a while.

    1. Re:Similar projects and people by Braedley · · Score: 1

      Ben Heck was the first name that came to my mind. He may even be able to improve on the design. No offense to Mr. Yankelevitz, but Ben Heck's controllers, even the prototypes, have a fit and finish that I don't quite see in Ken's work.

    2. Re:Similar projects and people by GNious · · Score: 1

      Yup - Ben Heck could be a "replacement", in the sense that he has the skills and interests to possibly be talked into taking up the mantle.

  13. Interesting.. and frustrating? by Altheron · · Score: 3, Interesting

    As a gamer who has a mild neurological condition that limits fine motor control in one of my hands... and have become increasingly annoyed at the complexity of controllers and control schemes (the shoulder buttons on a dualshock controller are particularly hard to reliably control)...

    I both salute this man, and I wonder what kinds of games one can actually play with such a controller... the amount of reflexes and reaction time required to play most (90%?) of the games, seems like it would be beyond what you could convey through one of these devices in a useful amount of time..

    1. Re:Interesting.. and frustrating? by Brummund · · Score: 2

      I found this guy on youtube, rather amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNjWecipbTA He plays COD WAW, and is pretty good at the zombie levels. He cannot move and aim at the same time, but he manages to get pretty far.

    2. Re:Interesting.. and frustrating? by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 1

      As a gamer who has no disability I can, sadly, relate. Some games make flight simulators seem easy to control.

    3. Re:Interesting.. and frustrating? by Altheron · · Score: 1

      I found this guy on youtube, rather amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNjWecipbTA He plays COD WAW, and is pretty good at the zombie levels. He cannot move and aim at the same time, but he manages to get pretty far.

      I sit on my ass in utter awe. And here I was getting annoyed at the driving scenes in L.A. Noire. .... wow.

  14. For those weary of the inevitable goatse link.... by westlake · · Score: 3, Informative

    If someone wanted to fill his shoes, it wouldn't be an easy task.

    He puts each controller together by hand, using his engineering skills to solder dozens of switches and circuits. Controllers are offered for just over $200 and include a 1-year warranty for repairs.

    "If the bottom line is profit, there's no way to make a profit on these," Yankelevitz said.

    Yankelevitz said larger companies and game manufacturers have shown no interest in producing the controllers because the market is so small. He's sold just over 800 of the devices through 30 years. Factory construction of the controller would be cost prohibitive, over $1,000 each.

    Man builds 30 years of quadriplegic gaming

  15. Needs an Instructable! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This calls out for an Instructable post. If Mr Yankelevitz's nice designs are not open source, then there should be an alternative design that is. Perhaps as he re-retires, he will consider creating a How-To. Warranties wouldnt come with such a device, but perhaps the friend who makes one would be willing to help if it breaks. Another great build it project of makerspaces.

    1. Re:Needs an Instructable! by westlake · · Score: 1

      If Mr Yankelevitz's nice designs are not open source, then there should be an alternative design that is.

      Have you considered the possibility these controllers may have to be customized for each client or patient? That solutions have to be found for each new generation of controller? That training the user is a problem in itself?

    2. Re:Needs an Instructable! by nospam007 · · Score: 1

      "Have you considered the possibility these controllers may have to be customized for each client or patient?"

      Great job for a makerbot.
      Change design.
      Print.

    3. Re:Needs an Instructable! by onepoint · · Score: 1

      You are all thinking along the right lines in my perspective.
      If he could publish some of the plans from the past,
      what the thinking was for the specific controller,
      and how to formulate the right devices together
      it would be a benefit for the 'home brew' hackers that
      wants to help.

      open source for the project would just be a benefit for
      those that are disabled.

      Just think, I got a cnc in my basement, another guy
      has spare chips, another has got the tubes they need
      and everyone could donate to the project. and make gifts
      of these things every year. Find a non-profit sponsor
      to help hire the right people to advise the group of what
      the needs of the disabled are and in no time a mock-up
      is made on the computer, the logic is reviewed, and
      final confirmation for making is made. Heck this could
      be a start to finish project that each controller could take
      only 2 months to make as initial prototype, then basic
      models could be made and proper adjustments could be
      built in ...

      Well I am off to help Hatti and solve that problem

      --
      if you see me, smile and say hello.
  16. Charity Foundation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A charity organization would be an excellent way to solve this problem. A company or a group of company's could pitch in some PR money or what have you to a charity dedicated to taking this man's lead and producing these at low cost to the recipients. If you found a way of producing them, either by hand or factory, that wasn't too cost prohibitive, the charity could cover the labor and development costs. Since it seems that there is not an extensive market, it would only need a low production capability and the costs to maintain the charity should not be prohibitive for a larger corporation.

  17. I guess this is good for 1980 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But I expected by now for someone's hobby to be repairing spinal cords. Where is all this vaunted "technology" I keep hearing about? More programming languages and a few billion more transistors in my PC are about all I see as "progress" in the last 30 years. Why is medicine so Stone Age still?

    1. Re:I guess this is good for 1980 by Chaos+Incarnate · · Score: 1

      You can freely experiment on tech without someone suing you for medical malpractice. It's much harder to make advances in medicine when nothing can ever be tested.

      --
      Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
    2. Re:I guess this is good for 1980 by nospam007 · · Score: 2

      "Why is medicine so Stone Age still?"

      Because not enough people donate computing time to Folding@home ( http://folding.stanford.edu/ ) instead of leaving those other 1/37 cores run idle.
      They also have version that runs on that expensive gaming graphics card you've got.
      It's not much, but it helps me sleep better.

    3. Re:I guess this is good for 1980 by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      There are some problems in medicine that can be solved by throwing processing power at them. There are a lot more problems that can be solved only by throwing biologists at them. Science needs to go faster. This body is only good for a century, a little more with luck - I need a new one ready before it wears out.

    4. Re:I guess this is good for 1980 by Inda · · Score: 1

      Greed and capitalism.

      We have a thousand companies all trying to win a single race where the winner takes all and the 999 others lose billions.

      If they all worked together, we'd have cracked all illnesses by now.

      --
      This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
  18. sock puppet controllers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want sock puppet controllers so I can finally interact with my game system the same way I'd enjoy going through life, talking with and interacting with my hands.

    seriously, folks, sock puppets are the way of the future! Nothing loves you more than your own hand(s), why not dress them up, give them some pet names, and hook them up to your game system?

    the movie, the beaver, is one way the sock puppet revolution is breaking into the mainstream. do you like playing with sock puppets? you are not alone, soon we will be mainstream.

  19. Mr. Heckindorn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Calling Ben Heck...

  20. Hopefully by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Someone can step up and ask to apprentice to him. That'd be awesome.

    I'm certain there's someone out there that would enjoy doing this and be able to carry on.

  21. Open Source by dadioflex · · Score: 1

    Publish the schematics for what he does, let the community deal with it.

    Guy's a star and I want to hug him but there are a LOT of people out there who would do this gratis if they knew how.

    1. Re:Open Source by dutchwhizzman · · Score: 2

      The schematics aren't the problem here, because they are identical to the ones already used for people with full motion. The mechanics are what is making this difficult.

      --
      I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
    2. Re:Open Source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm, I suppose, I was looking at it, and it seems like that you can move 1 XY direction with the mouth, and another one with the tongue(atleast that is how I would do it). Not quite sure if im correct though.

    3. Re:Open Source by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The schematics aren't the problem here, because they are identical to the ones already used for people with full motion. The mechanics are what is making this difficult.

      I think you may be under the impression that schematics imply electronics. That is not true.

      Opened sourced (mechanical) schematics would indeed be very helpful.

  22. Re:For those weary of the inevitable goatse link.. by TubeSteak · · Score: 1

    Considering how much Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo spend on advertising, you'd think they could offer the same service in-house.
    Even if they gave away the modified controllers for free, they'd more than recoup the cost through increased goodwill and word of mouth.

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  23. What about Playstation Move? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And kinect. Did he adapt those?

    Maybe he should make a kinect game for cripples in which you are a plant, and just sit still and you grow.

    Get back fuckers, it was MY idea!

  24. Re:For those weary of the inevitable goatse link.. by PyroMosh · · Score: 1

    That's EXACTLY what Nintendo used to do. At least during the NES era.

    I wrote about this once before on Slashdot.

    Basically the controller (which worked in very much the same way as what this guy builds) was $120 by itself, or $180 if you purchased it as a complete package with a new NES. Since a new NES was the same price in stores at the time, it essentially made the controller free if you didn't already have a system.

    They used to distribute these to children's hospitals too. And I can't find a link to verify this bit, but I believe it was in cooperation with The Starlight Foundation.

    Sadly, I never heard of a similar project for later Nintendo consoles. I can see why they don't still make these for the Wii. It's control scheme is a bit too oddball to translate to a controller like that. But I don't know why they couldn't offer something like this for the SNES / N64 / GameCube eras.

    --
    Touch everywhere, even when inappropriate.
  25. Am I the only one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...who dreams of one day being able to help people in the same way as he? I'd love to have such a hobby, and I hope to have enough knowledge once I finish my MSc in Comp. Sci. to be of any help. I genuinely do.

  26. Almost is right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ben Heckendorn has made a niche business out of custom special needs controllers. It's not his primary output but as with his other console work, quality is high.

  27. Makes me cry... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thinking how happy these controllers must make people. Also makes me feel pathetic at the little things in life I let discourage me.

  28. Thanks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    great, http://exercisesto-reducetummy.com/articles/exercises-to-reduce-tummy-super-quick-circuit/

  29. Learn to SPELL & WRITE, dolt! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The CORRECT spelling & phrase is not what you wrote:

    http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2234578&cid=36429134

    "Gotos have there place" - by JonySuede (1908576) on Monday June 13, @05:10PM (#36429134)

    It's THEIR, indicating possessive, not THERE, you blatantly obvious illiterate dolt!

    (LOL, If that's how you write english? I'd HATE to see your code you write (that is, IF you even do)).

    ---

    Addendum/Update here (lmao):

    You keep doing it, as evidenced in this post here I am replying to now in fact!

    Case-in-point/e.g.:

    "why is that I never get mod point when I am drunk, as I had would modded you up damm it !" - by JonySuede (1908576) on Saturday June 11, @11:02PM (#36415300)

    Ahem: It's "get mod points", you illiterate fool - keep drinking! It's clearly doing wonders for you... not!

    APK

    P.S.=> Payback's a BITCH, yea? See here, and I am waiting on your trolling behind to show up there:

    http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2248218&cid=36479278

    Just so I can publicly make you look more stupid than you already have clearly evidenced yourself to be!

    ... apk